Search Results for 'Cathal Mannion'

The journey home typically follows a familiar cycle of grief. First, frustration with the players. Then the management, who inevitably get dissected in post-mortems. By Enfield, the County Board is often next in line. Everyone has something to get off their chest, and the bus or car becomes a mobile therapy session.

Successive wins over Offaly, Wexford, Antrim, and Dublin have put Galway exactly where they would have wanted to be at the start of the campaign, with a guaranteed place in an All-Ireland quarter final and a chance to annex the Bob O’Keeffe Cup back to the west for only the fourth time.

Micheál Donoghue’s return as Galway senior hurling manager can already be graded a solid B grade on a report card, regardless of what happens from this point forward. Given where the team stood last year to where they are now, Donoghue Part Deux has already been a clear success.

There are plenty of talking points to digest ahead of the Galway senior hurlers' eagerly anticipated clash with Dublin this Sunday in Parnell Park (throw-in 2pm), but the fact that it is a Leinster championship semi-final in all but name will make this contest compelling viewing.

The manner in which the Galway senior hurlers have responded to their dismal championship opener against Kilkenny has stirred some optimism across the county. A professional demolition of Offaly helped steady the ship, but it is the fixtures in May - now the defining month in the provincial hurling calendar - that truly serve as the barometer for real progress.

With their Leinster Championship destiny very much in their own hands after a workmanlike victory over Wexford last weekend, the Galway senior hurlers welcome Antrim to Pearse Stadium this Saturday afternoon (throw-in: 1.30pm) with a chance to cement their place in the top three.

If you happen to be mingling with Mayo folk in advance of Sunday’s Connacht Senior Football Championship final and they’re bowling you over with gushing praise for the quality of this Galway team - while also at the same time talking down their own prospects - my advice would be to smile, nod, and say the bare minimum.

Since his return to the helm as Galway senior hurling manager, Micheál Donoghue has been on the receiving end of four 12-point losses in just seven competitive outings - a statistic that provides an accurate summation of where his team lie in the current Liam MacCarthy food chain.

After falling to defeat for the first time to Kilkenny in the group stages of the Leinster senior hurling championship last Saturday afternoon, manager Micheál Donoghue admitted his displeasure with what was a very disappointing performance in the aftermath of a twelve-point loss in Nowlan Park.

The Galway senior hurlers are on the road yet again this weekend as they travel south to take on a free-scoring Cork side on Saturday night in the final round of the national league (throw-in 7.30pm), with a place in the final up for grabs if Micheál Donoghue’s side can come away with a win.