SARSFIELDS OF GALWAY were one of the best hurling clubs around when they won back-to-back All-Irelands in 1993 and 1994.
But in 2015, they were without a manager and nobody was volunteering for the job. They had failed to emerge from the group stage of the 2014 senior championship, and players were losing hope. A few people were auditioned for the role of manager but none were the right fit.
Cathal Murray, a defender on the team, suddenly became a candidate for the job. His name came up during discussions among some his teammates and they decided to make an approach. Another defender, Eamon Cleary, was selected as their spokesman for the negotiations.
“I think Cathal knew the situation was coming,” Cleary continues.” And I think he nearly wanted us to go to him.”
Murray had been building a steady bank of coaching experience up to that point, having impressed at underage level in the club.
Cleary played on an U10 team that Murray was in charge of, and some of the core players from the 2015 senior outfit had won an U16 county title with him as manager. There was some continuity in the appointment.
“He was willing to take it up. And when you think back now to be a player-manager of a senior team, I don’t know how he did it. Unbelievable stuff really.”
Sarsfields players celebrating their 2015 county title victory. Mike Shaughnessy / INPHO
Mike Shaughnessy / INPHO / INPHO
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The start of Murray’s playing career coincided with those golden years for Sarsfields. After their ’93-’94 success, they returned to the final once more during that decade, where Murray made a substitute appearance. Offaly giants Birr denied them a third All-Ireland crown in 1998.
Murray was introduced in the first half of that 1-13 to 0-9 defeat, coming into a team that still contained some Galway greats including Joe Cooney and Michael ‘Hopper’ McGrath.
When Cleary joined the senior ranks of the club in the 2000s, he became close friends with Murray as well as teammates.
“We would have played a lot together and soldiered a lot.
“He would have played with probably nearly every great hurler that went through Sarsfield’s bar, the lads that played in the 1980s.
“And then the current cup of players we have now, like Kevin Cooney and Joseph Cooney, Cathal would have played with them as well. He had a massive career takeout. He was one of our top performers every day we went out.
“The length of his career says a lot about him, how good he was and how well he looked after himself.”
Galway great Joe Cooney playing for Sarsfields. INPHO
INPHO
Improvements didn’t immediately follow after Cathal took charge. It took time to rinse out the problems that were holding the team back. By Cleary’s recollection, winning games in insolation wasn’t their issue. Inconsistency was the plague upon their house.
“We weren’t able to put a string of results together,” he adds.
Murray’s remedy to the matter was to explore the depths of the Sarsfields squad. He blooded in young players, took chances and adopted a group-led approach to their championship campaign. He never relied on the same 17 or 18 players for results.
“How we analysed games, S&C, the whole team he put around him… He had lads doing stats of matches and all these things that we might have been explored in the past, but we had never really done it,” Cleary continues about the professionalism under Murray’s watch.
“As the year went on, the players probably started to see this. And that’s probably the one thing that he did that got everyone to roll in and say, ’Geez, this is a little bit different here now this year. And we’re a little more serious about what we’re doing.’”
Sarsfields ended the 2015 season as county champions after defeating Craughwell in a replay. Loughrea was the only team that defeated Sarsfields in the competition, clinching a 2-22 to 0-14 win in what was the last round of the group stage.
Sarsfields bounced back with a quarter-final victory over Pádraig Pearses before accounting for Gort to book their place in the final.
Murray started both games of the county final against Craughwell, lining out in the half-backline for the replay which ended 2-10 to 0-14 following goals from Joseph Cooney and Noel Kelly. It was Sarsfields’ first county title since 1997, and their seventh in all.
A backroom team which included Francis Madden and Pádraig Earls were Murray’s eyes and ears on the sideline while Athenry’s John Hardiman was also drafted in to help during the knockout stages.
“He has a brilliant ability of surrounding himself with really good people. He knows what it takes to win.
“He would have had different roles in Sarsfield down through the years with underage teams and with executive committees. And he would be very good at organising. When he commits to something, he commits to it.
“He has a great ability of looking as well into the future. He can see the end goal there.”
Cathal Murray celebrates with the Galway team after winning the 2021 All-Ireland. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Murry was still hurling at junior level for Sarsfields when he first became manager of the Galway camogie team in 2018. Success has followed him there too as he heads for a fifth senior All-Ireland final later today. Murray has already delivered two of Galway’s four senior All-Ireland titles in 2019 and 2021, and will aim for another O’Duffy Cup today to stop Cork’s three-in-a-row drive. And when the Tribeswomen were in the 2019 intermediate and senior All-Ireland finals, Murray patrolled the sidelines for both games back-to-back.
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That pattern of effective double-jobbing goes back to his 2015 appointment with the Sarsfields seniors.
“In 2015, no one would have touched us,” Cleary says. “And all of a sudden, we were able to compete.
“He’s a positive person. Cathal didn’t come in and say we’re going to win a county cup. Cathal came in and said, ‘we’re going to improve things, lads. We get out of the group and we go from there and we’ll keep the ball rolling and we’ll see where it takes us.’
“If the [Galway] camogie team is ever wondering about Cathal’s belief in them, the fact that he’s there, that says it.”
From leading his club to county glory as player-manager, to another All-Ireland tilt with Galway. Croke Park awaits this afternoon.
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The two-time senior All-Ireland-winning boss who led his club to Galway glory as player-manager
SARSFIELDS OF GALWAY were one of the best hurling clubs around when they won back-to-back All-Irelands in 1993 and 1994.
But in 2015, they were without a manager and nobody was volunteering for the job. They had failed to emerge from the group stage of the 2014 senior championship, and players were losing hope. A few people were auditioned for the role of manager but none were the right fit.
Cathal Murray, a defender on the team, suddenly became a candidate for the job. His name came up during discussions among some his teammates and they decided to make an approach. Another defender, Eamon Cleary, was selected as their spokesman for the negotiations.
“I think Cathal knew the situation was coming,” Cleary continues.” And I think he nearly wanted us to go to him.”
Murray had been building a steady bank of coaching experience up to that point, having impressed at underage level in the club.
Cleary played on an U10 team that Murray was in charge of, and some of the core players from the 2015 senior outfit had won an U16 county title with him as manager. There was some continuity in the appointment.
“He was willing to take it up. And when you think back now to be a player-manager of a senior team, I don’t know how he did it. Unbelievable stuff really.”
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The start of Murray’s playing career coincided with those golden years for Sarsfields. After their ’93-’94 success, they returned to the final once more during that decade, where Murray made a substitute appearance. Offaly giants Birr denied them a third All-Ireland crown in 1998.
Murray was introduced in the first half of that 1-13 to 0-9 defeat, coming into a team that still contained some Galway greats including Joe Cooney and Michael ‘Hopper’ McGrath.
When Cleary joined the senior ranks of the club in the 2000s, he became close friends with Murray as well as teammates.
“We would have played a lot together and soldiered a lot.
“He would have played with probably nearly every great hurler that went through Sarsfield’s bar, the lads that played in the 1980s.
“And then the current cup of players we have now, like Kevin Cooney and Joseph Cooney, Cathal would have played with them as well. He had a massive career takeout. He was one of our top performers every day we went out.
“The length of his career says a lot about him, how good he was and how well he looked after himself.”
Improvements didn’t immediately follow after Cathal took charge. It took time to rinse out the problems that were holding the team back. By Cleary’s recollection, winning games in insolation wasn’t their issue. Inconsistency was the plague upon their house.
“We weren’t able to put a string of results together,” he adds.
Murray’s remedy to the matter was to explore the depths of the Sarsfields squad. He blooded in young players, took chances and adopted a group-led approach to their championship campaign. He never relied on the same 17 or 18 players for results.
“How we analysed games, S&C, the whole team he put around him… He had lads doing stats of matches and all these things that we might have been explored in the past, but we had never really done it,” Cleary continues about the professionalism under Murray’s watch.
“As the year went on, the players probably started to see this. And that’s probably the one thing that he did that got everyone to roll in and say, ’Geez, this is a little bit different here now this year. And we’re a little more serious about what we’re doing.’”
Sarsfields ended the 2015 season as county champions after defeating Craughwell in a replay. Loughrea was the only team that defeated Sarsfields in the competition, clinching a 2-22 to 0-14 win in what was the last round of the group stage.
Sarsfields bounced back with a quarter-final victory over Pádraig Pearses before accounting for Gort to book their place in the final.
Murray started both games of the county final against Craughwell, lining out in the half-backline for the replay which ended 2-10 to 0-14 following goals from Joseph Cooney and Noel Kelly. It was Sarsfields’ first county title since 1997, and their seventh in all.
A backroom team which included Francis Madden and Pádraig Earls were Murray’s eyes and ears on the sideline while Athenry’s John Hardiman was also drafted in to help during the knockout stages.
“He has a brilliant ability of surrounding himself with really good people. He knows what it takes to win.
“He would have had different roles in Sarsfield down through the years with underage teams and with executive committees. And he would be very good at organising. When he commits to something, he commits to it.
“He has a great ability of looking as well into the future. He can see the end goal there.”
Murry was still hurling at junior level for Sarsfields when he first became manager of the Galway camogie team in 2018. Success has followed him there too as he heads for a fifth senior All-Ireland final later today. Murray has already delivered two of Galway’s four senior All-Ireland titles in 2019 and 2021, and will aim for another O’Duffy Cup today to stop Cork’s three-in-a-row drive. And when the Tribeswomen were in the 2019 intermediate and senior All-Ireland finals, Murray patrolled the sidelines for both games back-to-back.
That pattern of effective double-jobbing goes back to his 2015 appointment with the Sarsfields seniors.
“In 2015, no one would have touched us,” Cleary says. “And all of a sudden, we were able to compete.
“He’s a positive person. Cathal didn’t come in and say we’re going to win a county cup. Cathal came in and said, ‘we’re going to improve things, lads. We get out of the group and we go from there and we’ll keep the ball rolling and we’ll see where it takes us.’
“If the [Galway] camogie team is ever wondering about Cathal’s belief in them, the fact that he’s there, that says it.”
From leading his club to county glory as player-manager, to another All-Ireland tilt with Galway. Croke Park awaits this afternoon.
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