And just like that, the curtain closed on another enthralling club season, with Ballygunner of Waterford and Kerry’s Dingle crowned All-Ireland senior champions in hurling and football respectively.
Galway’s Loughrea were the final obstacle in Ballygunner’s quest for a second Tommy Moore Cup. Coming into the decider as significant outsiders, a glance at the final scoreline might suggest the seven-point victory followed the expected script. In truth, however, that margin only tells part of the story.
For long stretches of the contest, Loughrea were very much in the game and, on balance, should have at least gone in ahead at half-time. Eight first-half wides and a few missed goal opportunities ultimately proved ruinously expensive for Tommy Kelly’s men. As the Loughrea manager reflected afterwards, the complexion of the game might have been very different had they managed to take their chances before the break.
However, that inefficiency was not entirely new. In the Galway county final against St Thomas’, Loughrea flirted with danger, almost surrendering control late on before just about holding firm. Ahead of this All-Ireland decider, the consensus was clear: if Loughrea were to cause an upset, they would need to be ruthlessly clinical when opportunities arose.
Gunners are different class
Against a side as organised, experienced and simply as accomplished as Ballygunner, anything less was always going to be punished. And so it proved.
That lack of ruthlessness was something Ballygunner were only too happy to exploit on the restart. The Waterford champions began to assert their authority, winning the key battles around the middle third and gradually forcing Loughrea further from goal.
Pockets of space available for Loughrea in the first half were no longer there. Once Ballygunner built up a buffer, they moved efficiently into game-management mode, tightening up defensively and expertly shutting down any realistic prospect of a Loughrea comeback.
In the end, the seven-point margin felt a fair reflection of Ballygunner’s second-half dominance rather than a true measure of Loughrea’s overall performance, which was impressive for long periods.
Ultimately, Ballygunner’s class in the forward line told. Despite Shane Morgan doing an outstanding job to limit the usually lethal Dessie Hutchinson to a single point, the Déise side simply possess too many scoring threats. Pauric, Kevin and Mikey Mahony did the bulk of the damage this time, underlining Ballygunner’s depth and attacking quality.
For Loughrea, this was a campaign that will be remembered with pride, albeit tinged with a sense of what might have been. They proved they belong at this level; the next step is learning how to win against the crème de la crème.
The growing maturity of Loughrea’s performances was evident throughout the year, and it feels like they are now a more complete team than the one that won the county title in 2024 before falling to Na Fianna in the All-Ireland semi-final. Experiences like last Sunday, painful as they are, are often the making of a team.
Getting back to this stage will not be easy, given the shark-infested waters of the Galway championship. But with the players they have, allied to an emerging crop of talent coming through, it would be a surprise if Loughrea are not back contesting an All-Ireland final in the near future.
Silverware on the double
Though it may count for little in the grand scheme of things, it was encouraging to see both the Galway footballers and hurlers claim early-season silverware with FBD League and Walsh Cup successes. Experimentation has been the name of the game for Padraic Joyce and Micheál Donoghue so far, but winning is a habit worth cultivating.
From here on, the inter-county season begins to ramp up. This weekend sees Galway face both their fiercest rivals, Mayo and Tipperary, and it will be fascinating to see the starting XVs both management teams opt for.
For Joyce, the focus is likely to be on introducing one or two new faces to bolster squad depth and keep competition high, particularly with Matthew Thompson in the US until after the Connacht championship and Johnny Heaney, Cathal Sweeney and Tomo Culhane not involved in 2026.
In hurling, Donoghue has a more substantial rebuild on his hands. The need for fresh faces is now non-negotiable. The changing of the guard was signalled by the appointment of Darren Morrissey as captain, and the expectation is that a much-changed team will take shape over the coming weeks.
While it is not imperative, both teams should be targeting strong league campaigns. Momentum will be crucial after underwhelming 2025 seasons. Still, after a long layoff without meaningful competitive action, there is a certain giddy excitement building among supporters once again.
