Corofin 2-9

Maigh Cuilinn 0-9

By John Fallon at Tuam Stadium

THIRTY years ago Tuam Stars dethroned Corofin by a point in the county final to extend their lead at the top of the roll of honour to 24 titles. At the time Corofin had five titles, two of them won in the previous three years. On Sunday they won their 23rd, an astonishing run of success since that day in 1994 and it would seem only a matter of time before they go top of the pile.

Tuam Stars haven’t won a county title since that day 30 years ago when football board chairman Pat Egan, a proud Corofin stalwart, handed over the Frank Fox Cup to captain Cathal McGinn.

On Sunday his grandson, Patrick Egan, was outstanding as Corofin again saw off the challenge of Maigh Cuilinn in very difficult conditions at Tuam Stadium. Corofin are living through the generations, rebuilding and re-energising as they go along.

Seven teams have captured the county title other than Corofin since that day in ’94. On Sunday two of them, Killererin and An Cheathru Rua, slugged it out in the junior final curtain-raiser at Tuam Stadium trying to climb back up after falling on lean times. This weekend another of them, Caltra, will contest the intermediate final.

Other than that, Salthill-Knocknacarra (twice), Annaghdown, Mountbellew-Moylough and Sunday’s opponents Maigh Cuilinn (twice) are the only clubs to taste success, but it’s 45 years since a team other than Corofin has retained the title.

Sunday’s miserable conditions, wet underfoot with persistent rain and wind, made it testing on both sides and robbed the occasion of any chance of a spectacle.

The weather — hardly unexpected for a final being played just after winter time came in — was very unfortunate as a huge effort had gone in for the first final back in Tuam Stadium since 2019, which also marked the official opening of the new Joe O’Toole Stand at the venue.

It was Maigh Cuilinn’s fourth final in five years, a golden period for a club which had only ever reached one before back in 1977. But while they won in 2020 against Mountbellew-Moylough and again two years later against Salthill-Knocknacarra, they have now lost two in a row and never really fired a shot on Sunday. It’s also the third county final they have lost to Corofin.

History has shown that to beat Corofin in a final a team has to score goals. Of the 23 finals Corofin have won, not including drawn matches, they have not conceded a goal in 19 of them. Of the eleven finals they have lost, they have conceded a goal in seven of them.

Chances have to be taken and Maigh Cuilinn were gifted one just five minutes in when Kieran Molloy misplaced a sideline backwards and kicked it straight to Dessie Conneely who had a clear run on goal. Conneely has had injury difficulties this season and you suspect that in other years he would have raced away and buried it but, on this occasion, he was caught by Cathal Silke and the goal chance was lost.

He got a free out of it and pointed it but on a day when chances were going to be scarce, they needed to be taken and that’s exactly what Corofin did when they got the openings.

Pictured: Neil Ó Maolchartaigh, Maigh Cuilinn and Liam Silke and Jack McCabe, Corofin