Inside Track with John McIntyre

GETTING to All-Ireland finals has never been a big problem for Galway’s four senior teams, but winning them is an altogether different proposition as the events at Croke Park over recent weeks have underlined.

In the space of 15 days, Galway have come up short in three All-Ireland finals as the county’s Gaelic footballers, the ladies’ footballers and now the camogie team were defeated in their respective ultimate championship battles.

These losses only compound Galway’s wretched record in All-Ireland finals. Of 79 appearances between the four codes, there have been 57 defeats, only 19 championship triumphs and three draws.

Camogie teams have fared worst of all. In 21 final appearances, they have been beaten in 17 finals, while their Galway hurling counterparts haven’t fared much better down through the decades – only five victories from 25 attempts.

In Gaelic football finals, Galway haven’t done too badly in comparison, bringing home Sam Maguire on nine occasions from 25 appearances, but the county’s ladies’ footballers have come up trumps just once from the five times they have reached the All-Ireland decider.

These are grim statistics and the events of the last three weeks have only reinforced the view that Galway struggle to cope with the pressures of All-Ireland Final day. Sure, there were many occasions when teams wearing maroon jerseys weren’t good enough, but how many times has the self-destruct button being pressed?

Only once before – Cork in 1956 – has a county lost three senior All-Ireland finals in the same year, which puts Galway’s misfortunes at Croke Park over three consecutive Sundays into perspective. Granted, the ladies’ footballers were well off the pace against Kerry, but it wouldn’t have taken much for the camogie team or Padraic Joyce’s footballers to have got over the line.

The unfortunate thing is that Galway teams have long since developed a reputation for falling at the final hurdle and, to think, some supporters glory in the continued hardship experienced by Mayo footballers. Is it a big-day phycological weakness, as we can’t keep writing off some of these failures as just down to bad luck?

Pictured: Galway’s Ciara Hickey is challenged by Aoife Healy of Cork during Sunday’s All-Ireland Senior Camogie Final at Croke Park. Photo: INPHO/Tom Maher.