Search Results for 'Sam Maguire'

In May, 1924, Galway County Council resolved, ‘… the adoption of the Carnegie Rural Libraries Scheme in County Galway, and we, the members, undertake, individually and collectively, to press for the maintenance of the scheme of a County Library rate at the end of the two years during which it has been maintained by the Carnegie Trust’.

Ahead of last weekend’s All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final between Galway and Meath, my mind kept drifting — not to the famous 2001 final where Padraic Joyce’s shooting masterclass sealed victory — but to a far less memorable clash between the sides in a rain-soaked Pearse Stadium just three years ago.

The journey home typically follows a familiar cycle of grief. First, frustration with the players. Then the management, who inevitably get dissected in post-mortems. By Enfield, the County Board is often next in line. Everyone has something to get off their chest, and the bus or car becomes a mobile therapy session.

On the balance of play, Padraic Joyce’s men probably should have lost. Somehow, they also could have won, with Derry needing a last-gasp point from Conor Doherty to keep their own season alive.

The manner in which the Galway senior hurlers have responded to their dismal championship opener against Kilkenny has stirred some optimism across the county. A professional demolition of Offaly helped steady the ship, but it is the fixtures in May - now the defining month in the provincial hurling calendar - that truly serve as the barometer for real progress.

Agony and ecstasy. That well-worn sporting cliché. But sometimes, the classics are all we have to do justice to the emotions on either side of the divide. Oldies are goldies, after all.

Galway take on Mayo in the Connacht Senior Football Championship this Sunday at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.

If you happen to be mingling with Mayo folk in advance of Sunday’s Connacht Senior Football Championship final and they’re bowling you over with gushing praise for the quality of this Galway team - while also at the same time talking down their own prospects - my advice would be to smile, nod, and say the bare minimum.

The passing of Kerry legend Mick O’Dwyer earlier this month touched every corner of the country. A larger-than-life character, astute businessman, and extraordinary footballer and manager, 'Micko' was truly an icon of the GAA. You didn't have to follow sport to appreciate the impact this man had on modern Irish life.