The old-world order seized the provincial silverware on a day the still-fledgling new route towards Gaelic football’s most valued prize became a little clearer.
Connor Gleeson was the hero in Salthill, his injury-time free earning Galway a record 50th Connacht SFC – and keeping their noses in front of Mayo on 48.
And Kerry never looked in any real peril of vacating ownership of their throne in Munster, with a 0-23 to 1-13 victory over Clare seeing the Kingdom land their 85th provincial title – a smidgen ahead of Cork on 37.
Cork (37), Tipperary (10), Clare (2), Limerick (1), Waterford (1) combined have garnered a total of 51 Munster titles. This was Jack O’Connor’s seventh as Kerry manager, leaving him fourth in the roll of honour, five ahead of Clare.
It was Kerry’s fourth title on the bounce in Munster, while Galway have now collected three-in-a-row in Connacht – though Pádraic Joyce greeted the final whistle at Pearse Stadium with the exuberance of a man who had just found a winning lotto ticket at the bottom of his gear bag.
“Great satisfaction,” beamed Joyce. “At the end of the day, a Connacht title is valued very highly up here.”
Gleeson’s nerve to send his late match-winning free sailing over the crossbar epitomised the character and resilience of a Galway team which had dangled on the edge of defeat as they trailed by two approaching the end of normal time.
With the clock in the 76th minute and the sides level, the Galway goalkeeper stood over a free – just outside the 45m line but directly in front of the posts – took several steps back, eyed the posts, moved forward and struck the ball sweetly with his right foot.
By the time the maroon and white flags had started to punch the salty sky behind the goal, Gleeson had already spun on his heels, keen to get back down the field to mind the house, having just brought it down.
“I’m delighted for Connor Gleeson with that winner because he has sometimes been ridiculed and laughed at here in Galway over the last couple of years, for some reason,” added Joyce.
“But by God did he stand up today and become a man.”
And yet there were suggestions from outside both the Galway and Mayo camps in the build-up to the game that the prize for the victor in Salthill was to get tossed in to a box of vipers.
Galway’s reward is an All-Ireland round-robin group involving Derry, Westmeath and the beaten Ulster finalists (Donegal or Armagh). First up is a home tie against Mickey Harte’s Derry, undoubtedly the toughest of the third seeds in the Sam Maguire series.
“We all know stuff is written by different people that pressure was on us, pressure was on me as well,” added Joyce. “It’s great to win it, it puts us into a group in two weeks with Derry at home. We’ll celebrate tonight and do all that but looking forward to the game.”
Mayo’s round-robin medicine might help ease the pain of this defeat, given Kevin McStay’s men appear to have a more manageable pathway to the knockout stages of the All-Ireland as they will be in a group alongside Roscommon, Cavan and the eventual Leinster champions (Dublin or Louth).
But Kevin McStay rubbished the notion either team were looking beyond the Connacht final.
“We were mad to win it, I hope ye all understand now there was no one lining up easy groups or difficult groups when you see the stuff that was going on there,” said the Mayo manager.
“Both teams were committed to winning the Nestor Cup but it has eluded us now.
“I felt a little bit sorry for the Connacht championship that the draw was made. You guys [in the media] were all writing about the different groups you might be thinking of putting yourself into.”
Kerry’s victory sees them progress to a group in the All-Ireland which will include Monaghan, Meath and the eventual beaten Leinster finalists. Kerry’s next outing will be a home fixture against Monaghan, though O’Connor was also critical of the GAA’s decision to hold the Sam Maguire draw last Tuesday.
“I can’t get my head around why they make the draw before [the provincial final],” he said before leaving Ennis on Sunday. “What’s wrong with making the draw this evening? You still have two weeks to promote the thing. I can’t see the benefit of it, it’s a distraction.”
But the championship’s distractions are all nearly done away with now, the fluff around the edges almost fully trimmed. The remaining two provincial football finals will be decided next weekend and then, well, 16 teams will take their place on the start line in the race for Sam.
“Peaking is as much psychological as it is physical,” continued O’Connor. “The real championship starts now, like.
“You’d be thinking from here on in that fellas would be coming into their peak mentally as well as physically. You just need to get your house in order now going into the group stages and try and hit the ground running then in the quarter-finals.”
So, more provincial silverware for the old-world order, two of the game’s aristocrats journey onwards towards Croke Park, but Kerry and Galway face very different routes to take them there.
