The welcome that the Galway senior footballers received on their arrival home from their All-Ireland final appearance was akin what you’d expect for a winning team – such were the crowds that turned out along the route.

So it was no surprise that the time schedule laid out for their arrival was thrown out of kilter because of the huge numbers that welcomed them home on Monday afternoon and evening.

It compensated somewhat for the disappointing result as Galway put it up to Kerry for most of the match which proved to be something of a thriller but the Kingdom proved stronger in the end with their subs bench proving crucial.

This was a double homecoming as the All-Ireland winning minor team who defeated Mayo in the decider earlier this month were also feted by the crowds along the way as they travelled around an hour ahead of the defeated seniors.

But the outcome on Sunday last certainly did not dissuade the Galway supporters from welcoming home their heroes on Monday afternoon as they stopped off in Ballinasloe where they were greeted by a crowd of around 1,500 in the Fairgreen.

They were addressed by team manager Padraic Joyce along with Micheal Geraghty, Galway Football Chairman and Paul Madden, Chairman of Ballinasloe GAA while the team members were congratulated individually by many of those present.

Get the full story over twelve pages of All-Ireland Final coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.