While the men in maroon have won four of the five previous meetings at this juncture of the championship they enter this encounter as underdogs, which may well suit Micheál Donoghue and his team.
Coincidentally, Galway’s last two quarter-final wins over the Premier County have occurred at the same venue and by the same winning margin of two points. In November 2020, no supporters were present as Aidan Harte’s late goal proved the difference, while in 2023 Conor Whelan hit 1-4 when Galway should have won by more.
Tipperary manager Liam Cahill suffered that day but is now in his third year in charge and his team are arguably the story of the campaign to date, with few observers predicting they would emerge from the bear pit that is the Munster championship. They deservedly did so by virtue of an opening day draw with Limerick (home ) before victories over Clare (away ) and Waterford (home ).
Cahill has benefitted from the upsurge in fortunes for the county's underage teams, with minor wins in 2022 and 2024 leading into the recent impressive U20 title win over Kilkenny. Sam O’Farrell, Darragh McCarthy, and Oisín O’Donoghue from that squad have already made an impact with their seniors, with all three scoring in their facile 3-32 to 0-18 preliminary quarter-final win over Laois last weekend.
The mood is overwhelmingly positive in Tipperary and they will bring a vocal crowd to Limerick as they seek to end a run of three consecutive championship losses to the Tribesmen. In all but one of their last twelve championship matches dating back to 1993 there has been three points or fewer between the counties, but they have surprisingly never finished level in any of their 31 previous senior championship battles.
It is hard to say with any degree of confidence what level of performance Galway will bring to the table after their Leinster final defeat to Kilkenny. A stirring second half comeback sparked by a Brian Concannon goal may well be papering over the cracks that appeared when Kilkenny turned the screw in third quarter, outscoring Galway by 1-10 to 0-4.
Donoghue had four substitutions made before the tide turned and Galway supporters made some noise, but Kilkenny had switched off to a degree. By that stage Eanna Murphy and Fintan Burke had both been forced off by injury while David Burke and John Fleming were also withdrawn.
Kilkenny were sharper all over the field when it mattered most and Galway will have to find new levels if they are to pass this particular test, with Munster champions Cork lying in wait for a potential All-Ireland semi-final in early July.
Can Galway match Tipperary’s energy levels in the middle third? Will Galway be able to impose their style of play on the opposition rather than the other way around? These questions will be answered and Galway fans do still have reasons to be hopeful their season will be extended.
