Back to the future for Galway after defeat as next generation lead the way

Aaron Niland of Galway scores a free during the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Galway and Limerick at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Galway’s future grew impatient for tomorrow. A naked present cried out to them and so they fast-tracked their maroon takeover.

When those of multiple past campaigns proved incapable of influence, impact, or really anything at all on the defining and deciding Sunday, the Galway kids didn’t shirk behind those 10, 11, and 12 years their senior.

The season-long appraisal of the Galway kids was that they represented one branch of the present but all of the future. And given how the season had panned out up to yesterday, you couldn’t argue against the accuracy of this appraisal.

Sunday panning out as horrendously as it did, the appraisal needs revisiting. The kids themselves have demanded its revisiting and its revision.

In a claustrophobic environment that should have swallowed both their inexperience and still-early conditioning, the kids stood out and stood apart to become both the present and the future.

The raft of newbies, while important actors on the road to Sunday, never held lead roles.

The Mannion brothers. Darren Morrissey. Tom Monaghan. Ronan Glennon. Conor Whelan, in patches. It was they who led the younger flock. It was they who would lead against Limerick. Until they didn’t lead.

Cathal Mannion, Monaghan, and Glennon were all slumped in the Hogan Stand before the finish. An unfathomable reality at 3.30pm. Equally unfathomable was that had Whelan and the older Mannion brother ended up sitting beside them, they nor anyone else would have argued any unfairness.

Monaghan was Galway’s top-scorer arriving into the final. He had one unsuccessful attempt across the entire first-half. Conor Whelan’s entire day amounted to two unsuccessful attempts. Cathal Mannion conformed to none of the 20 different descriptions that had titled his stunning season of versatility. Ronan Glennon’s All-Star disappeared in the shadow of Gearóid Hegarty's aerial awesomeness.

The front line of Galway’s present was choked and suppressed.

Micheál Donoghue spoke afterwards of the importance of the kids being exposed to “big and meaningful” games this past month and a half. “They learned in the fire today,” he added.

They learned, sure. But they also came out of the fire.

On a day when Galway’s bid slowly went up in flames, the kids suffered no third-degree burns. It isn’t they who’ll be scarred by this experience.

Cillian Trayers endured a most difficult opening half. Twas desperate timing for him that Aaron Gillane decided to roll the clock back to April 5 and his lifting League form.

The 21-year-old re-emerged for the second half and chose to rewrite his contribution. He routinely got out front, he executed blocks when he didn't. He put credibility into his gearbag getting onto the team bus.

Darragh Neary did likewise. Anonymous and unacquainted with possession for the first 33 minutes, the 22-year-old hunted and hared down running lanes upon the restart. What a point he landed after a surge of comfortably 70 metres.

Corner-back Joshua Ryan struggled with the movement of Peter Casey, and yet it was the 22-year-old foraging deep in green territory to win the injury-time penalty.

Tom Monaghan’s 42nd-minute point was the first not to come from the stick of either Aaron Niland or Jason Rabbitte. Sit with that stat for a second. 42 minutes of an All-Ireland final and Galway’s lone two contributors are a 19 and 20-year-old who had four senior visits to Croker between them coming in under the tunnel.

Multiple frustrations with the maroon collective and sideline, nothing but genuine admiration for a teenager responding to a poor semi-final and Rabbitte’s latest grabbing act. Untouchable for Young Hurler of the Year. Mike Casey and Damien Cahalane would agree.

“They've been brilliant all year. It's going to be a bitter pill to swallow, but I think the experience they'll have gained from this year, hopefully will stand them in good stead,” said Donoghue of the kids.

“Jason has been really good, he's probably our standout early on. But yeah, I'm still immensely proud of them and today is going to be hard and the next few days are going to be hard, but I think when we still reflect back on the year we've had and the progress we've made, we'll take some positives out of it.” 

Ryan, Trayers, Neary, Niland, and Rabbitte. Kids to build around. Mind you, reference to them as kids should quickly start to thin out after Sunday's standing up. Cian Daniels impressed off the bench. He will reclaim first-team status in 2027.

Gavin Lee was mired amid Cian Lynch’s most creative brilliance. The 23-year-old is a central pillar in Galway’s future. His response to this chastening episode must reflect that reality and expectation.

Rory Burke and Kieran Hanrahan were denied by injury. They are two more to put centre stage. Or put back centre stage in the case of Burke. Hanrahan’s Loughrea clubmate and Galway U20 midfielder Cullen Killeen will be his given opportunity.

Donoghue was incredibly bold and brave with his leaning on youth this year. He wasn’t rewarded with the ultimate prize, but he was certainly vindicated. Sunday will have encouraged him to spend another off-season investigating those in this pool still unplucked.

“I think there's definitely three or four more lads. The U20s had a positive year, so we'll review that over the coming months, but there's a good cohort of young players there that are mad to get going. We've seen this year the impact some of them have made, and I think there's lads of equal quality still to get the opportunity.” 

 The future are to be most trusted. The present has confirmed such.