A big weekend in Galway club football kicks off on Saturday with the two intermediate semi-finals and concludes with the eagerly anticipated senior championship final on Sunday.
Intermediate Championship
The intermediate semi-finals will be played as a doubleheader in Duggan Park. First up is Oranmore/Maree vs St. Michael’s. Both teams easily dispatched their challengers in their respective quarter-finals two weeks ago.
These two teams came across each other in a thrilling opening game of their groups and have both kicked on from there. Oranmore won on the day in a free flowing 2-16 to 0-19 game. With so much talent coming through, Oranmore/Maree look to be mounting a serious challenge to play senior football in 2025.
After their opening weekend loss, St. Michael’s have won all their games but not always convincingly. But their huge quarter-final win over St. Gabriel’s was maybe the first time this campaign that they seriously looked like they could make the quick return to senior level. On the day they looked a cut above the rest and this opening semi-final could easily be the game of the weekend.
The second game in Duggan Park sees the in-form Caltra face up against Glenamaddy who are in their first semi-final since their promotion from the junior ranks despite reaching the quarter-final stage for the last four years. This game will also involve the two top scorers of this year’s championship, Alan Naughton (1-28 ) of Caltra and Ryan Duffy (1-26 ) for Glenamaddy.
Niall Coyne has his Caltra side playing free-flowing football, winning their games convincingly. Only against Killkerrin/Clonberne in their final group game did they fail to score at least two goals, still finishing with a total of 0-18.
Glenamaddy have had to dig deep to get this far. Having won their opening game of the group against Menlough, they suffered defeats to both Oranmore/Maree and St. Michael’s. A tough victory over An Spidéal in the preliminary quarter-final was followed up two weeks later with a penalty shootout win over Clifden.
A tough battle is sure to be in store for all four sides this weekend, but only two can make it through to the final in two weeks time.
Senior Championship
In a repeat of the 2023 final, reigning champions Corofin face off against Maigh Cuilinn in Tuam Stadium this Sunday at 2.15pm. Thankfully for anyone unable to travel, TG4 will be showing the game live, continuing their fine work in showing as many local GAA games as possible.
In the 2023 final, Corofin got pretty much all of the matchups right but the competitive nature of Galway club football meant that it was still a tight game, finishing 1-11 to 1-09.
For either side to come out with the win this weekend there are a number of key battles that must be won.
In the 2023 final, Liam Silke picked up Dessie Conneely, keeping him scoreless from play while also picking up two points and assisting Tony Gill's goal himself. However, Maigh Cuilinn have a much better split in the scoring this year.
Niall Walsh has been Maigh Cuilinn’s top scorer this campaign and is sure to cause damage if fit. Peter Cooke, Paul Kelly and Owen Gallagher along with the defence have all been chipping in with scores every game, highlighting the variety in the Maigh Cuilinn attack.
Maigh Cuilinn’s greater spread of scorers will make it much more difficult for Corofin’s defence to contain the attacking threat. Corofin pride themselves on their defence though, adding to the intrigue of the battle.
At the opposite end of the field, Maigh Cuilinn, will have to deal with the constant Corofin press. When Corofin have the ball, they push everyone forward and only leave back whatever the opposition leave up. This can be very risky, especially at county final stage or further as they were caught a number of times in last year’s Connacht final.
Corofin however, must be weary of Seán Kelly’s driving runs from deep and David Wynne’s use of possession. Wynne's importance has grown in this Maigh Cuilinn team, by developing into a player that is driving forward and continuously making the right decision on the ball, as well as being extremely accurate with both his passing and shooting. Curtailing Wynne’s influence could be the task that Corofin's Dylan Wall picks up on Sunday.
Corofin won the midfield battle in 2023 with Ciarán Brady having a fantastic game, disrupting everything that came down the middle from the Maigh Cuilinn side. His ariel ability has never been in doubt but his overall match play has improved no end over the last two years. Despite Brady not starting in the semi-final, Patrick Egan and Michael Farragher made up for his absence with exceptional performances.
Corofin may well start with all three this Sunday to contest with the size of the Maigh Cuilinn players. Maigh Cuilinn have big physical players all over the pitch. James McLaughlin, Ger Davoren, Johnny Moloney and Tom Clarke are just some examples of Maigh Cuilinn players that can dominate around the middle.
Referee Austin O’Connell will be hoping for an easy game to be in charge of in the first county final to take place in Tuam since 2019. All travelling supporters will be hopeful of seeing an entertaining game of football. If ever there were two teams that could go out and play football, then this weekend is the best chance for it to happen.
Junior Championship
Tuam Stars and Salthill/Knocknacarra will clash in a repeat of the primary junior 2 final on Saturday afternoon. Having lost the final last year, Salthill/Knocknacarra will be out for revenge with the winners getting a place in the junior promotion final two weeks later.
On Sunday morning, Killererin will play An Ceathru Rua in the junior primary final in Tuam Stadium. The game throws in at 11.45am with both sides looking to make the quick return to intermediate football.
Fixtures:
Saturday:
St. Michael’s v Oranmore/Maree, Duggan Park, 2.15pm
Glenamaddy v Caltra, Duggan Park, 4pm
Tuam Stars v Salthill/Knocknacarra, Monivea, 3.30pm
Sunday:
Killererin v An Ceathru Rua, Tuam Stadium, 11.45am
Corofin vs Maigh Cuilinn, Tuam Stadium, 2.15pm
