GALWAY AND TIPPERARY are preparing for their third successive All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final – and they’ll battle it out for 3 September final place at Croke Park.
The rivalry between the counties has been fierce, particularly since the late 1980s when familiarity bred a distinct contempt.
The spice has reignited in recent years, particularly across the course of the last two All-Ireland semi-finals.
From the ‘Tony Keady affair’ in 1989, to Pádraic Maher’s big hit on Joe Canning last August, we’ve picked out the best moments from senior summer games when the Tribesmen crossed swords with the Premier County….
1. The Tony Keady affair
The rivalry between Galway and Tipp was already a bubbling pot before the sides met in the 1989 All-Ireland semi-final.
Galway had won the 1987 semi-final and a 1988 decider, with Noel Lane proving to be the scourge of Tipperary on both occasions.
But the build-up to the 1989 semi-final was dominated by what would become known as the ’Tony Keady affair.’
Keady, a magnificent central figure in one of the best half-back lines of all-time, flanked by Pete Finnerty and Gerry McInerney, was banned for 12 months for playing illegally in New York.
That massive suspension ruled him out of a toxic clash, which Tipperary won to set up a one-side final meeting with Antrim.
2. John Denton’s 1989 refereeing display
The ‘Tony Keady affair’ leads us nicely on to the game itself.
Tipp won a cracking contest by 1-17 to 2-11, Nicky English scoring 0-8 for the winners, as Éanna Ryan collected 2-1 for Galway.
The main drama was reserved for the second half, when referee John Denton sent off Sylvie Linnane for an off-the-ball incident with English, before dismissing Michael ‘Hopper’ McGrath for a late hit on Tipp full-back Conor O’Donovan.
It would emerge that Tipp’s Paul Delaney had also committed the same ‘offence’ as Keady, but played in that semi-final.
Tipp opted against picking the Roscrea man for the final clash with Antrim, on the back of huge publicity surrounding the Keady saga.
3. Kevin Broderick’s 2001 All-Ireland final performance
Tipp edged out Galway in the 2001 All-Ireland final, with Mark O’Leary registering two goals for the Premier County.
But what shouldn’t be forgotten was Kevin Broderick’s performance for Galway, as he chipped in with five points.
In that year’s semi-final, Broderick scored one of the finest individual points of all time against Kilkenny:
Broderick carried the fight to Tipp in the September showpiece – and was unlucky to find himself on the losing side.
In full flight, the Tynagh-Abbey/Duniry player was one of the finest forwards of his generation.
4. Damien Hayes wonder-goal
With the 2005 All-Ireland quarter-final between Galway and Tipp evenly-poised, Damien Hayes took matters into his own hands.
The Portumna forward scored a stunning goal to turn the tide firmly in Galway’s favour, helping to inspire a winning comeback from five points down at the time.
Latching onto Ger Farragher’s low ball, Hayes beat Tipp defender Hugh Maloney to the initial possession.
There was still plenty of work to do but Hayes threw his opponent to the floor like a rag-doll, before crashing an unstoppable shot past Brendan Cummins.
5. Tipp’s 2010 late, late show
In a frantic finish, Tipp came from two points down in the 2010 All-Ireland quarter-final, to win by one.
Galway suffered a blow when they lost key corner back Ollie Canning to injury, following an incident with Eoin Kelly, before the Premier County launched their comeback.
In the 68th minute, John O’Brien caught a Brendan Cummins puck-out before narrowing the gap to a single point.
Pa Bourke made a big contribution off the bench, providing the assist for Gearóid Ryan’s 69th minute equaliser, and then setting up Thurles Sarsfields club-mate Lar Corbett for the winning point in the first minute of stoppage time:
6. Callanan to the fore as Tipp blitz Galway late on in 2014
In a remarkable 2014 qualifier in Thurles, Eamon O’Shea claimed his first championship victory as Tipperary boss.
In his first season at the helm, Tipp suffered a Munster championship defeat to Limerick, before bowing out to Kilkenny in a titanic Nowlan Park qualifier.
Limerick had Tipp’s measure again in Munster in 2014, but Tipp would regroup through the back door to reach the All-Ireland final.
In July, however, they were in big trouble, trailing by 1-15 to 4-12 (six points) against Jonathan Glynn-inspired Galway with less than 20 minutes remaining.
Down the home straight, however, Tipp opened up and outscored Galway by 2-10 to 0-1.
Seamus Callanan scored both of those goals – and finished with an individual haul of 3-8:
There were also big displays from John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer and Noel McGrath, who chipped in with 0-11 from play between them.
James Barry’s move to full-back helped to put the shackles on Glynn, who had wreaked havoc on Pádraic Maher.
7. Shane Moloney’s winner
Moloney came off the bench to score Galway’s late, late winner in the 2015 All-Ireland semi-final.
Joe Canning was the creator with a diagonal ball from a deep position, and Moloney did the rest.
Moloney, who was 22 at the time, gave Cathal Barrett the slip before firing over the decisive score at the Hill 16 end:
In the third of three minutes of stoppage time, there was no time for Tipp to recover.
8. Callanan’s one-man show
Tipp hit-man Seamus Callanan hit 3-8 in the aforementioned 2014 qualifier against Galway, and went a point better a year later at the penultimate stage of the competition.
It’s incredible to think that one player could register an individual haul of 3-9, and yet still end up on the losing side:
But that’s the fate that befell Callanan at Croke Park, as Tipp lost out by a point.
Galway were well versed on Callanan’s ability to wreak havoc in those aforementioned games, as he racked up 6-17, and deployed Daithí Burke in a man-marking role in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final.
It’s a duel that hurling fans are looking forward to again next Sunday.
9. Paudie Maher’s shoulder
This is one of the abiding memories of Tipperary’s 2016 odyssey.
In the first half, under the Hogan Stand, Pádraic Maher met Joe Canning with a thunderous hit, delivering a real statement of intent from the Premier County.
Canning went off at half-time with a hamstring injury and, coupled with Adrian Tuohy’s loss, the Tribesmen suffered a major double-whammy.
Tipp would emerge narrow one-point winners, as John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer came off the bench to claim a match-turning goal:
What have we missed from this collection? Have you any stand-out memories from the recent Tipp-Galway rivalry? Leave your feedback in the comments section below…
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