HISTORY BECKONS IN the Galway senior hurling final tomorrow afternoon.

Either Loughrea or Cappataggle will break new ground to officially mark the end of St Thomas’ run of dominance. And what a reign the Peterswell side has had: six consecutive county titles, and eight in total since 2012. A second All-Ireland titles from earlier this year, along with their 2013 success, further underpins the extent of their influence on club hurling over the last decade.

Their exit means a new power will ascend to the throne in Galway for the first time since 2017.

Loughrea are familiar with this stage, having contested the 2022 final which went to a replay against St Thomas’. They’ve reached 12 finals in their history, with a return of just two victories. Their most recent was in 2006. For Cappataggle, this is their first-ever senior final, making this a novel showpiece event.

A significant factor of this year’s final is that it will be held in Athenry’s Kenny Park while redevelopment work is being carried out in Pearse Stadium. 

“It’s the home of hurling in Galway,” says Seán Walsh of Galway Bay FM.

“It’s a cauldron and the crowd is on top of you. You get the impression that they’re playing the game with you. The pitch was closed this time last year for drainage work which has worked very well.

“If you asked the players where they’d want to play on Sunday, they would say Athenry. The last time a final was played in Kenny Park was 2020 and 2015 before that so it’s nearly a novelty having the final in Kenny Park.”

Looking more closely at Loughrea, their poor records in finals must be the first order of business. They have the highest number of senior championship final defeats in Galway. After winning their first title in 1941, two losses followed in 1949 and 1951. But it’s the stretch between 2003 and 2013 that really makes for grim reading: one win from seven final appearances. Eight if you include their 2010 encounter with Clarinbridge that went to a replay and extra-time.

They also came up against Portumna on five occasions during that decade. The 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2013 meetings were all awarded to a Portumna outfit who finished that period with four All-Ireland titles. Loughrea prevailed in their ’06 clash as they stormed back from eight points down to win by just one after Johnny Maher converted an injury-time free.

But their first Galway senior title in 65 years was marred by controversy due to the bruising physical nature of the game. There was also a serious incident involving a young Joe Canning, as images emerged of a boot above his face while he lay prone on the ground.

Loughrea met another dynasty in the 2022 final when they came up against a St Thomas’ side that was chasing a five-in-a-row. Galway forward Tiernan Kileen sent the game to a replay with an injury-time equaliser for Loughrea. The second act was another tense encounter but two late Conor Cooney frees and another score from Éanna Burke ultimately pushed St Thomas’ into the winner’s circle.

That unfortunate history around finals aside, Loughrea carry some big positives into this final. They topped Group 2 of this year’s championship with three wins from three, which included a win over Clarinbridge who they also overcame in the semi-final. Loughrea racked up a scoring difference of 3-54 in the group stage, and have outscored Cappataggle by 10 goals to five across the entire championship.

Key forward Martin McManus is a major loss to an ACL injury, but they have recently been boosted by the return of Jamie Ryan and Dylan Shaughnessy.

“This is Loughrea’s ninth final in 22 years so there’s an expectancy in Loughrea and a pressure in Loughrea to say, ‘We now need to get over the line,” says Walsh.

“These players were there for the finals two years ago but not the other eight. It’s not their history as such. For them, they’re as big a story. They’re a proud hurling area, their record is phenomenal. They’ve been in the knockout stages for 21 of the last 23 years.”

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St Thomas' six years as Galway Champions is over, they almost levelled it with the last play!

| @TheBrooks_Group SHC Semi Final @StThomassHC 0-15 @cappataggle 1-15

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— StreamSport.ie (@StreamsportI) October 26, 2024

Qualifying for a senior county final is new territory for Cappataggle. And they did so by outlasting the reigning champions St Thomas’ in the semi-final. Trailing by three points coming into the final 10 minutes, Cappataggle outscored the holders by 1-4 to 0-1 to advance.

Dethroning a team of that stature strengthens their claim for the title, but it brings a health warning too. Managing the emotion of that victory is a delicate challenge for Tommy Kelly’s management team. How they guide the players through the aftermath of that win will be a major factor in dictating how the final unravels. Being the team to defeat the champions before the final can sometimes be detrimental. There have been some high profile cases of such a downfall. In 2021, the Mayo footballers defeated the then-All-Ireland champions Dublin in the semi-final only to lose the final to Tyrone.

The Cork hurlers were burned this year too when they took down Limerick but were then overturned by Clare in the All-Ireland final.

That Cappataggle are in a county final is a testament to their resolve. They’ve been a contender for the last few seasons, but the fear was that their chance at success had eluded them. They lost four semi-finals in a row between 2017 and 2020, all by narrow margins. The 2017, 2018 and 2020 games were one-point heartbreaks while Liam Mellows held them out by 2-21 to 1-21 in 2019. For the last three seasons, they have fallen at the quarter-final mark.

“Cappataggle have evolved,” says Walsh about their journey to this breakthrough.

“They lost the 2020 semi-final to St Thomas’ by one point but I think there’s still 11 from that team [still involved]. They’ve kept the core of the team and added in a few younger guys. They won an U20 Galway championship two years ago and from that team, guys like Liam Collins had enormous potential. Lewis Coughlan and Donnacha Campbell who played with the Galway minors. So, they’ve added a bit of new life to the team.

“You’d have to admire their resilience. To reach the final was a huge for them to do but to beat the reigning All-Ireland club champions was a double whammy. There was huge emotion and it’s going to be a huge occasion.”

A famine will end for someone in Kenny Park on Sunday. There’s a deep hunger in both camps. All-Ireland winners can be located on either side too. James Skehill, the Cappataggle goalkeeper, and Loughrea full-back Johnny Coen were both part of the 2017 Galway side who lifted the Liam MacCarthy cup. Loughrea’s Tiernan Kileen is in red hot form with 2-24 to his credit so far while Liam Collins has 2-11 banked with Cappataggle. 

Someone’s wait has to end.