Galway remain the one side capable of knocking Cork off stride

Carrie Dolan of Galway in action against Julieanne Bourke of Tipperary during the All-Ireland semi-final. File picture: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Cork the standard-pushers, Galway the stone in their shoe.

All the world knew from the throw-in of the 2025 camogie championship that Cork would make up one half of the concluding Sunday. Similarly, three-in-a-row chasing Cork always knew it would be maroon in the far corner on that concluding Sunday.

The simplest way to explain their current relationship is such: Galway haven’t kept pace with Cork’s panel reach or ruthless dismissal of every other outfit on the camogie landscape, but they have remained the one side capable of knocking them off stride.

Where Cork hit and have maintained top speed from the early rounds of the League, Galway are a slow cooker. The ingredients take months to ferment. The annual timer is set to late July.

Case in point was the 2024 summer. Galway stumbled unconvincingly through the later rounds. They very nearly stumbled out of the championship at the semi-final stage when going scoreless for 21 second-half minutes against Tipp. A late flurry of points saved them.

Cork were overwhelming favourites for the decider. They’d walloped their final opponents 2-16 to 1-7 just six weeks earlier. And yet six unanswered points had the underdogs level at 1-13 to 0-16 six minutes from home. Cork got there, eventually, but not before surviving the stiffest examination they have received over the past three years.

Ailish O'Reilly, right, and Niamh Mallon of Galway console Caoimhe McCarthy after the game. File picture: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

The three-point difference at the finish - 1-16 to 0-16 - remains the sole occasion that a team has come within a single score of Cork in championship since they bested the same maroon opposition by 0-15 to 2-6 in the 2023 semi-final.

Saoirse McCarthy, on these pages, recently picked out that 2024 decider as their most complete performance since planting the red flag atop camogie’s summit a year earlier. It had to be their most complete performance such was the litany of curve balls Galway threw at them, such was Galway’s refusal to bend when faced with a third quarter six-point deficit.

Galway's form on the run into Sunday's latest instalment is much healthier than 12 months ago but still remains a distance behind what Cork have been doing to teams unfortunate enough to be put in their way.

“It’s the two best teams in the country in the final, and I suppose it's no shock that it's Galway we're playing,” said Cork captain Meabh Cahalane this week.

“We didn't see much of the Tipp-Galway game the last day, but Galway really stood up when it mattered. And that's the strength of this Galway team. We know that when it comes to the semi-final and All-Ireland final day, they're a different animal.

“We played them early on in the league final during the year but we're expecting a huge battle on Sunday.” 

Cork whacked Galway in April’s League final, the same as they did in the round-robin championship encounter last summer. The difference at full-time was in double digits on both occasions. The ‘24 hiding didn’t dent Galway belief heading into last year’s final, the same way the 0-21 to 0-10 League final hammering won’t cause any lost sleep out west this week.

Aoife Donohue is blocked by the hurley of Emma Carey of Tipperary, not pictured, File picture: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Between retirements, torn cruciates, and player defection, Galway know they don’t have the depth for a sustained year-round push. They also know that if they can remain standing to the last Sunday, and irrespective of form coming in, their collective clicking can unsettle and unseat Cork.

“Going into the All-Ireland final last year, we definitely believed we could match them. To be honest, we believed we could beat them, but on the day that just didn't happen,” said injured Galway centre-back Áine Keane. 

Both teams are down players from that final. Cork defender Izzy O’Regan has done her cruciate, centre-forward Fiona Keating is unavailable. Galway are missing four of their starting team from last August, including the aforementioned Keane and legendary Niamh Kilkenny.

Galway’s last victory of consequence over Cork was the 2023 League decider. Besting them in the championship opener seven weeks later brought to eight the number of consecutive wins Galway had scored over Cork in all competitions dating back to 2019. Cork have been the dominant hand ever since in camogie’s outstanding rivalry. 

Galway know they can live with Ger Manley's side, but the challenge is to again prove they can outlast them.