GALWAY FORWARD AILISH O’Reilly says the pre-match discussion around Cork’s All-Ireland three-in-a-row bid was a motivating factor in their victory today.
O’Reilly hit three points as the Tribeswomen denied the Rebelettes the elusive three-peat which their county has not achieved since their four-in-a-row in the 1970s.
In what was a frantic finish in Croke Park, Orlaith Cahalane scored an equalising goal for Cork before Carrie Dolan scored her seventh free of the day to see Galway crowned as champions.
“This is sweet,” O’Reilly told the Sunday Game after their 1-14 to 1-13 victory.
“When they got the goal, and to respond the way Carrie did shows a lot about this team after we were written off so much.
“All we heard all week was the three-in-a-row. We were there to take it off them. And I think we proved a lot of people wrong.
“It suited us down to the ground, all the talk was about Cork. It felt like we were just going to show up and they were going to hand them the trophy. We were so riled up.”
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Galway manager Cathal Murray — who has now managed the Tribeswomen to three senior All-Ireland titles — echoed her sentiments when he spoke to the media after the game, saying:
“We were given no chance at all.”
Galway full-forward Ailish O'Reilly speaks to Valerie as the Tribeswomen celebrate their All-Ireland triumph
Galway have a history of being the county that prevents Cork from earning that record having derailed them in 2010 and 2019 at the All-Ireland semi-final stage.
However, Murray insists that the three-in-a-row aspect was never the focus, and that they were driven by the hurt of last year when they were on the other side of an All-Ireland final result at the hands of Cork.
“It’s not that we wanted to stop the three-in-a-row. We wanted to win this for us.
“That heartbreak that was there last year, we had to put that to bed. We knew we were good enough, it was a matter of delivering in the big moments, and thank God we did.”
Murray said he considered stepping down last year after that defeat. He was first appointed as Galway boss in 2018, going on to deliver All-Ireland successes in 2019 and 2021. But last year’s loss to Cork was a “gutting” result according to the Sarsfields man, prompting him to contemplate his future with the team.
He relented from following through with that decision, before leading Galway back to the All-Ireland final where they overturned last year’s result today.
“Maybe unfinished business,” Murray responded when asked about why he decided to reconsider.
“When we look back on it, as management, we felt we got an awful lot right. The players, they just performed unbelievable, and there’s always just that regret that it just wasn’t the right time to walk away.”
“Obviously, we’re proved right now.”
Doubts resurfaced after Galway suffered a 0-21 0-10 beating at the hands of Cork in the Division 1A final, signalling back-to-back losses in major deciders.
“Management-wise, we were terrible in the league final. We were shocking. And we weren’t much better on the field either.
“But, you know, it wasn’t a typical Galway performance, to be honest with you, and in fairness, for us, I think the best thing we did is we drew a line through it. We didn’t even look back on it.”
When asked what his thoughts are for the 2026 season, Murray said that “it’s a bit too early” to make any firm decisions about his status as manager. But he did stress that he has a young family at home which he will factor into his thinking before making any commitments.
“I know this is the biggest, best job I’ll ever have, simple as that. I’ll never have a job like this again, where I’m dealing with these sort of girls, week in, week out, year in, year out. They’re an absolutely incredible bunch.
“But it is hard on the family as well, and as I said, I owe a huge amount to my wife.”
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Murray said he didn’t see the incident that led to Hannah Looney’s red card and declined to offer a comment about Ger Manley’s criticism of the decision.
He added that it was a physical contest and commended camogie referees for allowing the game to flow in comparison with previous years. But he feels that improvements could still be applied to the officiating standards in the sport.
“The referees have been really good over the last number of years for facilitating that, I think there was probably three different things in the game where people got a free for someone standing up in front of them and running.
“It happened in last year’s All-Ireland final as well and that rule, and I’m saying this now as a winning manager, that rule has to change. It’s absolutely crazy. You go to a club match in Galway and someone is soloing with a ball and someone stands up in front of them and takes a hit, it’s a yellow card and it’s a free and that rule has to change.”
Murray also highlighted the input of the Galway bench today. Niamh Kilkenny, Niamh Hanniffy, Niamh McPeake and Áine Keane all started last year’s All-Ireland final but were unavailable for today’s Croke Park battle with Cork.
“Listen, we knew we’d have to battle. We knew we’d have to run ourselves into the ground and we did.
“That was the moment, Carrie’s free and I’m delighted for her. She is our leader for a reason, she is captain for a reason, she is a leader. It’s moments like that we value her so much.”
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'All we heard all week was the three-in-a-row. We were there to take it off them'
GALWAY FORWARD AILISH O’Reilly says the pre-match discussion around Cork’s All-Ireland three-in-a-row bid was a motivating factor in their victory today.
O’Reilly hit three points as the Tribeswomen denied the Rebelettes the elusive three-peat which their county has not achieved since their four-in-a-row in the 1970s.
In what was a frantic finish in Croke Park, Orlaith Cahalane scored an equalising goal for Cork before Carrie Dolan scored her seventh free of the day to see Galway crowned as champions.
“This is sweet,” O’Reilly told the Sunday Game after their 1-14 to 1-13 victory.
“When they got the goal, and to respond the way Carrie did shows a lot about this team after we were written off so much.
“All we heard all week was the three-in-a-row. We were there to take it off them. And I think we proved a lot of people wrong.
“It suited us down to the ground, all the talk was about Cork. It felt like we were just going to show up and they were going to hand them the trophy. We were so riled up.”
Galway manager Cathal Murray — who has now managed the Tribeswomen to three senior All-Ireland titles — echoed her sentiments when he spoke to the media after the game, saying:
“We were given no chance at all.”
Galway have a history of being the county that prevents Cork from earning that record having derailed them in 2010 and 2019 at the All-Ireland semi-final stage.
However, Murray insists that the three-in-a-row aspect was never the focus, and that they were driven by the hurt of last year when they were on the other side of an All-Ireland final result at the hands of Cork.
“It’s not that we wanted to stop the three-in-a-row. We wanted to win this for us.
“That heartbreak that was there last year, we had to put that to bed. We knew we were good enough, it was a matter of delivering in the big moments, and thank God we did.”
Murray said he considered stepping down last year after that defeat. He was first appointed as Galway boss in 2018, going on to deliver All-Ireland successes in 2019 and 2021. But last year’s loss to Cork was a “gutting” result according to the Sarsfields man, prompting him to contemplate his future with the team.
He relented from following through with that decision, before leading Galway back to the All-Ireland final where they overturned last year’s result today.
“Maybe unfinished business,” Murray responded when asked about why he decided to reconsider.
“When we look back on it, as management, we felt we got an awful lot right. The players, they just performed unbelievable, and there’s always just that regret that it just wasn’t the right time to walk away.”
“Obviously, we’re proved right now.”
Doubts resurfaced after Galway suffered a 0-21 0-10 beating at the hands of Cork in the Division 1A final, signalling back-to-back losses in major deciders.
“Management-wise, we were terrible in the league final. We were shocking. And we weren’t much better on the field either.
“But, you know, it wasn’t a typical Galway performance, to be honest with you, and in fairness, for us, I think the best thing we did is we drew a line through it. We didn’t even look back on it.”
When asked what his thoughts are for the 2026 season, Murray said that “it’s a bit too early” to make any firm decisions about his status as manager. But he did stress that he has a young family at home which he will factor into his thinking before making any commitments.
“I know this is the biggest, best job I’ll ever have, simple as that. I’ll never have a job like this again, where I’m dealing with these sort of girls, week in, week out, year in, year out. They’re an absolutely incredible bunch.
“But it is hard on the family as well, and as I said, I owe a huge amount to my wife.”
Murray said he didn’t see the incident that led to Hannah Looney’s red card and declined to offer a comment about Ger Manley’s criticism of the decision.
He added that it was a physical contest and commended camogie referees for allowing the game to flow in comparison with previous years. But he feels that improvements could still be applied to the officiating standards in the sport.
“The referees have been really good over the last number of years for facilitating that, I think there was probably three different things in the game where people got a free for someone standing up in front of them and running.
“It happened in last year’s All-Ireland final as well and that rule, and I’m saying this now as a winning manager, that rule has to change. It’s absolutely crazy. You go to a club match in Galway and someone is soloing with a ball and someone stands up in front of them and takes a hit, it’s a yellow card and it’s a free and that rule has to change.”
Murray also highlighted the input of the Galway bench today. Niamh Kilkenny, Niamh Hanniffy, Niamh McPeake and Áine Keane all started last year’s All-Ireland final but were unavailable for today’s Croke Park battle with Cork.
“Listen, we knew we’d have to battle. We knew we’d have to run ourselves into the ground and we did.
“That was the moment, Carrie’s free and I’m delighted for her. She is our leader for a reason, she is captain for a reason, she is a leader. It’s moments like that we value her so much.”
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