When Henry Shefflin was driving his native county to an All-Ireland title in 2012 at Galway’s expense, turning the tide of the drawn game almost singlehandedly, it would have taken a brave prophet to predict the Ballyhale Shamrocks man would be the Tribesmen’s commander-in-chief on the sideline within a decade.
Yet here we are, with an intriguing 2022 intercounty season about to get underway that, barring any Covid interruptions, will have crowned an All-Ireland hurling champion before the Galway Races Summer Festival even begins. Strange times indeed.
Shefflin’s first official assignment as Galway manager sees him oversee a Walsh Cup fixture against Offaly, managed by former Kilkenny teammate Michael Fennelly, this Sunday in Duggan Park, Ballinasloe. Despite capacity limitations, a large home support is expected for a 2pm throw-in.
Fennelly is embarking on year three of a rebuilding process with Offaly, who will be striving to get back into the Leinster championship via the Joe McDonagh Cup, having comfortably won the Christy Ring last year. Promotion to division one of the National League means the counties will also clash in the first round of that competition in February in Salthill, while the addition of former Galway full back and renowned sports psychologist Tony Óg Regan to Fennelly’s backroom team is a notable one.
It will be very interesting to see how many new faces Shefflin incorporates into the squad for the early portion of the season.
With so little time between the end of the league and start of the Leinster championship campaign, any experimenting may have to be confined to January and February to allow Shefflin’s idea of his best 15 get used to playing together.
No time to lose
The absence of the St Thomas’ contingent for the time being will perhaps make that an easier process, but with Galway having to quickly adjust to their first season without the remotest chance of Joe Canning being involved since 2008, there is little time to lose.
Shefflin was spotted at plenty of club championship knockout games since his unveiling, and with Kevin Lally and Damien Joyce working alongside, he will have the inside track on the local scene and who may be worth looking at.
Having guided Ballyhale to two All-Ireland club titles in as many years, Shefflin will want to hit the ground running. Galway will need Shefflin and co to get the very best out of stalwarts such as Daithí Burke, Cathal Mannion, Padraig Mannion, Joseph Cooney, and Cathal Whelan. Perhaps the most pressing positional decision revolves around whether to stick with Burke at number six or return him to the edge of the square.
Galway supporters will really just be looking for any signs of positivity after a very disappointing end to the 2021 season.
Galway have won the Walsh Cup just three times in 12 attempts since their Leinster debut in 2009 and have lost three finals to Kilkenny in that time.
