Galway 'have learned the hard way'
Second All-Ireland final in three years under Daniel Moynihan
By Oisín Noone
TWO years ago, Daniel Moynihan guided Galway to an All-Ireland senior final in his first season in charge. Fresh from leading the county’s minors to All-Ireland glory in 2023, the Ballinasloe clubman steered the Tribeswomen to their first championship decider in five years.
But a 12-point defeat to roll of honour leaders Kerry exposed how far Galway still had to travel and underlined the task facing Moynihan’s side. Last year’s heartbreaking semi-final exit to Dublin after extra-time, followed by this year’s Division 1 League final defeat to Cork, brought further disappointment for the group.
Moynihan, however, believes those setbacks have hardened his squad and prepared them to take the final step against the Kingdom this weekend.
“We haven’t been the finished article as of yet and we know we need to up ourselves another 10 per cent if we want to get past Kerry in the final,” said Moynihan.
The Galway manager believes the biggest difference between the side that fell short in Croke Park two years ago and the one preparing for Sunday’s decider is the experience gained from difficult moments.
“I think from the mental side of things, going into an All-Ireland final like we did where quite a few players had been in Croke Park or have had difficult experiences up there, it’s important that you learn from the good days and the bad days.
“If you look at it two years ago it wasn’t a good day for us. We didn’t come away with a win, we didn’t perform as well as we felt that we could, but I think mentally and physically we’re in a much better position now than we were two years ago.”
That defeat to Kerry was a first taste of the biggest occasion in ladies football for many of Moynihan’s players, but reaching the final again has brought a different feeling around the group.
“I think the players themselves are motivated to get there whereas I think two years ago it was nearly a bonus to reach the final.
“Now this is where we’re supposed to be and we just have one final step to get where we know we can.
“We’ve had good days and bad days, getting to an All-Ireland final, getting to a Division 1 League final as well.
“We’ve been coming to the latter stages of the season every time which is the positive, just getting over that line is where we want to get to.”
Galway’s progress has been evident recently. They have hit 8-82 across their last four championship outings, underlining the attacking threat within Moynihan’s side and the variety of scoring options now available to them.
The Galway boss has been keen to stress that their success cannot be built around one or two individuals, with contributions coming from throughout the team.
“I think it’s important. I think if you rely on one or two players to get you over the line you’re always going to be in trouble.
“With us we’ve had a nice spread of scores whether it’s through the forwards, midfielders, half-backs and subs as well that have always thrown in a point or two here or there.”
Impressively, 10 Galway players registered scores in their semi-final victory against Armagh. Olivia Divilly, Leanne Coen, Eva Noone, Niamh Divilly and Róisín Leonard accounted for the bulk of their return, while Shauna Hynes impressed off the bench with four points from play.
“Players are putting their hands up whether it’s to push on to the starting 15 or also be one of the players coming off the bench,” he said.
“From the bench we’ve brought in different players over the last couple of games which has been good. It hasn’t been the same three or four players that have come in.
“It all just shows the strength that we have and that’s a headache unfortunately that I have, but we need to get the headaches.”
That depth will be crucial against Kerry, who beat Dublin comprehensively in their semi-final encounter. Galway edged their March league meeting in Tralee by two points, and will be under no illusions about the standard required, with the 12-time All-Ireland winners capable of punishing even the smallest lapse in concentration.
“We know that we have to perform for not only 20-minute, 30-minute periods. There’s 60 minutes in the game and if we switch off against anyone we’re going to get caught.
“If we don’t perform for 60 minutes and we just perform for 50, Kerry might just absolutely annihilate us in 10 minutes and the game could be gone.”
Despite their progress, Moynihan knows Sunday’s challenge will require Galway to produce their best performance.
“We’ve learned the hard way that we need to get over the line, we need to work hard for 60 minutes and if we do, we’re capable of beating any team in the country.”
After reaching the final two years ago as a team finding their feet, Galway return to Croke Park with a different mindset. The scars of previous defeats remain, but so does the belief that those experiences have brought them closer to finally delivering on their potential.