'She had such a tough year... I don't know how she did it': Galway boss' special praise for Eva Noone

Eva Noone of Galway celebrates after scoring what proved to be the winning point. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

After a year that would have “crumbled” others, Galway manager Daniel Moynihan paid tribute to All-Ireland match-winner Eva Noone for the mental strength she displayed away from the football field.

Arising from allegations of racial abuse towards a Westport opponent when lining out for Kilkerrin-Clonberne in last November’s Connacht club semi-final, Noone was slapped with a six-month suspension by Connacht LGFA's Complaints, Objections, Disciplinary, and Appeals body in February.

The Central Appeals Committee subsequently reduced Noone’s suspension to 16 weeks, as well as imposing a €200 fine for “engaging in insulting behaviour”, before the Disputes Resolution Authority quashed both the ban and the fine.

An ordeal and a year that challenged Noone’s wellbeing, mental health, and professional reputation ended in personal triumph on the Croke Park stage.

The Galway corner-forward won the turnover and laid on the assist for Leanne Coen’s opening goal. And it was Noone, supplied by older sister Hannah, who delivered the match-winning point two-and-a-half minutes from the finish.

When asked by the Irish Examiner about Noone’s year, Moynihan marveled at how the 23-year-old managed to get herself through a period that would have “crumbled” most people.

“Back when that happened, some of the narrative was really disappointing. And that is nothing in relation to the other person involved. I felt it was, at times, quite nasty,” said the Galway boss.

“Eva had a tough time mentally, and yet she still managed to come out on the football field and train with this hanging over her head. It is not just football, it is private life, it is professionally as she is trying to become a teacher. That took on a huge level of stress.

“At times, I don't think the media looked at both sides of it. The media just chased the one side of it. You have to be a little more balanced about it.

“She had such a tough year. She worked so hard. I don't know how she did it. I really don't, because other people would have crumbled. And so from that perspective, I am really proud of her.

“She is a great individual, she is tigerish. She works so, so hard on the football field. She is a genuine, good person, and we are delighted that she was a part of this team today and that she got her just reward, which was an All-Ireland title.” 

Noone’s match-winner very nearly wasn’t the match-winner.

Síofra O’Shea’s levelling point was chalked off as referee Maggie Farrelly had already called back the play for a two-point free. That final-minute outside-the-arc effort, also from the boot of O’Shea, wound up in the net, but was again chalked off as Farrelly signaled for a square ball.

“It made sure that everyone felt that they paid a good price for tickets,” Moynihan remarked of the late, late drama.

“Initially disappointed with the free, I thought maybe it wasn't a free as it happened, obviously I haven't watched it back. But then it was a case of will she put this over for a two-pointer, and then it's going to go with the buzzer.

“That was the initial thought that possibly she has the legs because she's such a fantastic footballer. But as that ball went into the net, I could see so many bodies in there that I felt myself it was a square ball. I could see Maggie putting her hands up straight away as well.

“So great relief is the thing for me. It's quite a way to win a game of football, but also, on the other side, to lose a game of football. This team has been through so much, has had such bad luck over the years as well. It was nice to get a bit of the rub of the green as well.” 

Having correctly predicted in his job interview for the Tribes post, in October 2023, that Galway would lift Brendan Martin for only the second time in the county’s history in year three of his term, Moynihan is now confidently forecasting that further glory will follow the end of this 22-year-wait.

“It was a joy for me to get the job in the first place. I don't know was it cocky or was it just seeing faith, but I said in the interview that in year three we'll win the All-Ireland. And I said if we don't win the All-Ireland, I've failed. That probably put a little bit of pressure on myself.

“I don't think the expectation in year one was that we were going to win it at the start, but all of a sudden, we found ourselves in a final, which was fantastic. But I think it just led us down this road again. Sometimes defeats have meaning behind them, and it took that time to get to it. We got there and I think that there's more in this team.

“They're capable of doing more. They're capable of pushing on from here, if they want to do it. And if they do, fantastic.”