Maurice Brosnan: No-one in Galway group is blameless in this meek exit

Hurling observations on David Burke's pain, Mayo's comeback kid, Limerick's shots mantra, Clare's assist king, Dublin's sharp-shooter and Offaly delirium

OBSERVATIONS: A dejected Adrian Tuohey of Galway after the Leinster SHC against Dublin. Phic: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

Last but not least. In the aftermath of All-Ireland glory, there is a long list of captain’s duties to be performed before they can plunge fully into the celebrations. For David Burke, it climaxed in his club, with the cup and a commendation.

In 2017, a hoarse Burke arrived back to St Thomas with Liam MacCarthy and a long list of matters that had to be addressed. “We’ve been waiting 29 years, I’ll take my time,” he said with a smile.

They had been criticised for a league cup homecoming earlier that season and Burke was keen to mention that. The four-time All-Star then lauded his teammates. He paid tribute to former clubman Barry Burke, a stalwart who lost his life in a tragic workplace accident in 2009.

The captain was conscious of all that had come before. Former boss Anthony Cunningham was his club mate and a friend of Burke’s father. Burke was one of a handful who held a dissenting view when the team ousted the manager. He referenced his help on the journey: “It is as much for them as it is us.” 

Finally, he extended thanks to manager Michael Donoghue. It was one of many sincere salutes across the two days of festivities. After Donoghue arrived back to his own club of Clarinbridge and presented his father with the trophy in what became an iconic image, the midfielder spoke of their enduring friendship. In St Thomas’ the focus was the staff and support Donoghue brought with him. “It is a credit to the man he is,” Burke declared.

The 34-year-old’s 2024 came to an end on Sunday. He was sent off in the first half as Galway were beaten by Donoghue’s Dublin. Post-match Henry Shefflin took issue with “the opposing manager in the linesman’s ear telling him it’s a red card.” 

Burke was evidently heartbroken by the outcome. One of the county’s greatest ever hurlers, he battled back admirably from an ACL injury to help his club to All-Ireland glory. There is no doubt that he held a similar ambition for his county. The involvement of his friend and former manager only inflated all of that emotion. There will be plenty of pain on all sides after Sunday.

Here are eight observations from the hurling championship.

Galway have no excuses.

Before Galway played Wexford earlier this month, former manager John McIntyre penned a preview of the contest in the Connacht Tribune.

“Galway are too professional and too good to be caught napping by Wexford on Saturday,” he wrote.

“Sure, they will expect their hosts to thunder in the exchanges, but no amount of passion and emotion can bridge the yawning gap in quality.” 

McIntrye is a frank assessor of the game. His take on last Sunday’s disaster will be worth reading. At the time of writing, Wexford were coming off a sobering loss against Antrim. Galway carried with them expectation.

Brutal crashes tend to prompt all sorts of comprehensive reviews. When the black box is recovered from the 2024 wreckage, that fact shouldn’t be forgotten. There will be lists of the underage record in the county, the quality of the club competition, the reliance on the same figures that climbed the Hogan Stand steps in 2017. None of that explains how this current group folded in such a manner. They are undeniably capable of better than they have produced for three successive seasons.

Galway haven’t won a U20 title since 2011. They have, however, reached two finals. That’s the same total as Wexford. It’s more than Dublin (one). Kilkenny have reached three and won one.

The county is home of the All-Ireland club champions. The club scene remains competitive but has not proven to be an effective pathway. Tiernan Kileen and John Cooney have hurled superbly with Loughrea and Sarsfields recently but struggled for minutes in 2024. No county had more players involved in Fitzgibbon Cup squads in 2024.

The renewed focus on S&C after the Limerick semi-final defeat suggests a side that learned the wrong lessons and aspired for a style of play that doesn’t suit their skillset. Their inability to press Dublin late on with their season on the line was galling. No one is blameless in this meek showing. No structural issues can explain such a collapse. For players and management, there are no excuses.

Mayo’s comeback kid.

Mayo take on Donegal in Donegal in the Nickey Rackard Cup final this weekend. It has been a superb campaign so far after they claimed the Division 3A cup last March. Helping them along the way has been Ballyhaunis defender Eoghan Collins.

A former Mayo minor and U-21 footballer, Collins is the first cousin of Clare’s Podge. He hurled for Mayo in 2016 but made the move to the Clare footballers in 2017 and only returned this year.

Joint managers Brian Finn and Ray Larkin elected to involve no outside players in the team for 2024. They did manage to bring Collins, who works as teacher in St Colman’s College, back into the fold.

“I got a phone call from Brian,” Collins told the Irish Examiner. “Mark Fitzgerald was on to me a couple of times. The last two years I struggled with a groin injury and an ankle injury last year. I only played two games last year. I didn’t know if I would get back to the standard of intercounty football. I spoke to Mark twice and said I wasn’t going to commit. Up and down the road was too much. The boys in the gym, our club lads, heard about it. Adrian Phillips said it to Brian. He rang me and I said I’ll give it a go.

“I’m injury-free, touch wood. I had a small knock in January but haven’t missed many sessions this year. It’s down to less driving, that has helped the body.” 

O’Donnell’s Limerick shots mantra.

Limerick’s faith in numbers is long-established. They trust in the data. A key cog in that is performance analyst Seán O’Donnell. Ask any former player about him and his shots mantra will inevitably come up. They want to shoot more. Wides don’t particularly matter. Pepper the posts.

This creed is built on a solid foundation. Limerick are awesome on the opposition’s puckouts, using it as another launchpad. Therefore, even wides don’t necessarily hurt them. What is important is to keep creating chances.

Their players live by this doctrine. In January, the defending champions returned to action against Clare in the pre-season Munster hurling league. Shane O’Brien mustered one point from seven shots in the first half. John Kiely left him on for the full 70 minutes and the young prospect finished with 0-4. On Sunday, he came off the bench and hit 0-3.

Of all the issues identified in their league semi-final loss to Kilkenny, that they were outshot 38 to 32 would have been most concerning. Since then, they outshot Clare 36 to 32, hit 46 against Tipperary, fell short against Cork 37 to 40 but bounced back last weekend. Per the excellent Gaelic Statsman (@gaelicstatsman), against Waterford the tally was 50 shots to 28.

Clare’s assistant king.

As Shane O’Donnell collected possession outside of the Tipperary 45 in the second half, he made for the left sideline with David Fitzgerald storming down the centre to his right. Craig Morgan was standing in between them. Somehow, O’Donnell spotted the run and landed the handpass in stride. Fitzgerald fed Diarmuid Ryan for the goal.

It comes a week after he cleverly played the man twice for two of Clare’s four goals against Waterford. He scored a goal against Cork and created another. He was fouled for five converted frees in Thurles. The 29-year-old is in Hurler of the Year form.

Dublin’s sharpshooter.

Donal Burke’s remarkable 1-10, 1-5 from play, proved crucial as Dublin overcame Galway.

“Unbelievable for a fella who had a really significant injury and how he has worked himself back into it,” said Donoghue post-match.

Burke made his debut against Galway as a teenager in 2017, firing 0-3. His childhood sporting hero was Joe Canning. The Na Fianna club man has become as integral for his own outfit.

Across 27 championship games, Burke has scored 5-249 (4-63 from play). He has only failed to score twice, one of which was the 2023 Clare quarter-final when he came off due to injury. It is an average of almost 10 points per championship match.

Is the managerial merry-go-round set for take-off?

Liam Cahill was in no mood to tolerate inquiries about his future as Tipperary boss, taking “umbrage to that question,” when it was floated after the conclusion of their Munster championship. Elsewhere, however, there are managers with plenty to ponder.

A statement confirming Stephen Molumphy had stood down as Kerry manager arrived minutes after the final whistle in their 3-13 to 1-10 victory over Meath. They lost manager Seoirse Bulfin in an unexpected move on eve of championship.

Galway’s Henry Shefflin said he has plenty to weigh up. Darren Gleeson in Antrim agreed to an extension two years ago for an extra two seasons with the option of a third and suggested after their triumph over Carlow that “it would be easy to say job done”.

Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald was tight-lipped about his own future too.

Offaly delirium.

One of the best-supported hurling teams in the land have their grand outing next Saturday. Offaly take on Tipperary in the U20 All Ireland hurling final at the 26,000 capacity Nowlan Park. On Monday, social media was awash with supporters’ frustration as Ticketmaster struggled to cater for the demand.

“We are asking supporters to please be patient,” announced the official Offaly GAA page.

Ninety minutes after general tickets went on sale, there were 14,000 sold.

Kilkenny’s squad.

Derek Lyng’s bid to develop the Kilkenny squad has seen him utilise 34 different players in the championship. A curious feature is that in the second half of the league final against Clare, Kilkenny made three changes. Timmy Clifford, Liam Blanchfield and Kevin Blanchfield all came on. None of them have played a minute in the championship.