Shane Walsh thriving with new rules as Galway blow Donegal away in a gale

Walsh scored 11 points, including four two-pointers. 

Shane Walsh said football is returning to the game he loved growing up. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

AFL Division 1: Galway 0-21 Donegal 0-14 

Kick hard, kick early and race out in front. Dig in and get ready for a similar strategy in response. Welcome to the chase. The new rules, a gale in Pearse Stadium and a fine spread of shooters turned this tie into an absurd contest.

Galway were comfortable seven-point victors having led 0-16 to 0-1 at the interval. From the minute Caolan McGonagle won the toss and elected to go against an uprooting wind, it was clear what Pádraic Joyce needed to do. Fill their boots with two-pointers and hope they were not the latest side to watch a big half-time lead slip.

They scored seven two-pointers in total. Shane Walsh led the way with eight points from six shots in the first half and finished with 11 in total. Here he was awesome. Brendan McCole couldn’t live with him. The 2022 All-Star looks at home with the new rules.

“It is great,” said Walsh post-match. 

“It is back to the skills of the game. You are seeing a lot more lads go one-on-one, seeing lads side-stepping and taking shots on. For me growing up that is what I believe football is all about and got you playing. That is why I love it.” 

He was one of many positives for Joyce. Conor Flaherty made his first start since the 2022 Division 2 league final. The Claregalway man returned to the squad last year but did not feature. He came forward and kicked a score from outside the arc. Connor Gleeson came on in the second half to make the most of his longer kickouts.

A proper pre-season looks to have done wonders for captain Sean Kelly. Johnny McGrath was immense at the back, keeping Oisin Gallen to one point from play. Matthew Thompson came on for a debut while Matthew Tierney and Robert Finnerty added two-pointers as well.

Tierney was sent off before the turnaround for a high hit on Hugh McFadden. Galway went down to 13 players twice, Daniel O’Flaherty receiving a black card for a late collision and substitute Finnian Ó Laoi was sent to the line for wrapping up Mark Curran. It hardly troubled them.

Donegal struggled to get anything going against the breeze. Every Shaun Patton kickout hung in the air, their only point of the first half was a Conor O’Donnell free. Daire Ó Baoill and Peadar Mogan did kick two-pointers in the second half but it wasn’t enough. Donegal had 23 shots compared to Galway’s 26. A lack of two-pointers crippled their challenge.

Jim McGuinness also rested Ryan McHugh, Patrick McBrearty and Michael Murphy for the trip. It was their first defeat of 2025, though it hardly scarred them. It has been repeatedly pointed out in recent weeks that if Donegal made a league final, they would have to play Derry in the opening round of the Ulster SFC a week later.

“I'd be happy with our lads,” said McGuinness. “They battled the whole way to the end there. As I say, you are not going to win every game.

“We got six points on the board last week and it gives us an opportunity to do other things now and that's what we plan on doing.

“You are not planning to lose any game. It is a matter of trying to look at things and develop one or two tactical things every single day, change that up and look at things and look at players.

“Obviously today, rest a few lads as well. That is what we wanted to get out of the day.” 

Scorers for Galway: S. Walsh 0-11 (3 tps, 1 tpf, 2 f); R. Finnerty 0-3 (1 tpf), C. Flaherty 0-2 ( 1 tp), Tierney 0-2 (1 tp), Silke, D. O’Flaherty, J. Maher 0-1 each.

Scorers for Donegal: Ó Baoill 0-6 (2 tps); C. O’Donnell (1 free), P. Mogan(1 tp), C. Thompson 0-2 each; O. Gallen, S. O’Donnell 0-1 each.

GALWAY: C. Flaherty; J. McGrath, S. Fitzgerald, D. O’Flaherty; D. McHugh, S. Kelly, L. Silke; P. Conroy, J. Maher; C. Sweeney, S. O’Neill, C. D’Arcy; R. Finnerty, M. Tierney, S. Walsh.

Subs: C. Gleeson for Flaherty (half-time), J. Glynn for Fitzgerald, F Ó Laoi for O’Neill (both 44); S. Mulkerrin for Hernon (50); M. Thompson for Finnerty (60).

Black card: Daniel O’Flaherty (45—55), Finnian Ó Laoi (63).

DONEGAL: S Patton; M Curran, B McCole, P Mogan; E McHugh, C McGonagle, C Moore; H McFadden, D Mac Giolla Bhríde; O Doherty, D Ó Baoill, J Brennan, O Gallen, C O’Donnell, S O’Donnell.

Subs: C. Thompson for O’Donnell, E. Ban Gallagher for Mac Giolla Bhríde, N. O’Donnell for Doherty (all half-time); C. McGuinness for Moore, J. McKelvey for Brennan (59).

Referee: D. Coldrick (Meath).