Inside Track with John McIntyre

JUDGING by the number of individual awards bestowed on Galway players last week, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the county had won the All-Ireland Gaelic football, camogie and ladies’ football senior titles instead of losing all three finals withing the space of 15 days.

That succession of big-day defeats may have made unwanted history for Galway, but at least the individual heroics of players in maroon jerseys have been recognised. Dervla Higgins and Aoife Donohue were instrumental in the Tribeswomen coming so close to All-Ireland camogie glory, while only for Nicola Ward, Galway wouldn’t have reached the ladies football decider.

All three were honoured in the latest round of the GAA/GPA Player of the Month awards, with Galway midfielder Paul Conroy deservedly picking up the Gaelic football accolade. Now 35, the St James’ clubman enjoyed a terrific campaign with his capacity for picking off inspirational long-range points undiminished by the passage of time.

Not alone did Conroy end up as Galway’s top scorer from play in the championship with a haul of 2-16, but he finished joint second along with Armagh’s Conor Turbitt (3-13) in the overall standings, behind Con O’Callaghan of Dublin who amassed 4-16 for the defending All-Ireland champions.

Perharps, if Rob Finnerty (1-18) hadn’t been forced to retire early in the final against Armagh, he might have taken the Galway top scorer from play accolade from Conroy, but either way what an impressive return for the long-serving midfielder who consistently gets on with his job minus fuss or fanfare.

Having captained Galway to the 2007 All-Ireland minor title, Conroy has gone on to become a lynchpin of the senior team for over 15 years. He has now made 66 championship appearances for the county during which time he has amassed a total of 4-93.

The big question now is will Conroy be chosen as the Gaelic Footballer of the Year? Up to the final, Armagh’s Conor Turbitt and Galway’s Dylan McHugh, who operated at a high level for Galway throughout the championship, were perceived as the front-runners for this award.

Pictured: Galway footballer Paul Conroy who was honoured with thePwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month award for July. Photo: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.