Cathal Murray’s Galway rebuild will go down as his greatest achievement

Cathal Murray once again outsmarted Cork and he nullified key performers with spot-on match-up calls.

Cathal Murray won his third All-Ireland camogie title as Galway manager with victory over Cork. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

Heading into the 2018 championship, Galway were holding a loose membership of camogie's big three. It had been five years since they’d bettered either Cork or Kilkenny in a knockout championship fixture. The latter pair had lifted themselves and their levels of preparation, Galway had been caught standing still.

In the days after Galway’s 2018 League semi-final defeat to Kilkenny, the panel passed a motion of no confidence in a management team headed up by Tony O’Donovan. It was the opening sentence in Galway players rewriting the county’s camogie story of heartbreak and hard luck.