Fintan Burke had to sit through the second half of this year’s Leinster final and watch as, for the third time in four seasons, Galway lost a provincial decider to Kilkenny.
Burke entered the game with a slight knee injury and, during the warm-up, he aggravated the problem. He tried to “run it off” in the opening stages of the contest but came ashore just before half-time “before any more damage was done”.
But what damage has been done to Galway’s Liam MacCarthy ambitions because of that loss remains to be seen. They must pick up the pieces of that 3-22 to 1-20 defeat and deliver a performance against Tipperary in Saturday’s All-Ireland SHC quarter-final in Limerick (6.15pm).
Galway have won the last three championship meetings between the sides, with Tipp’s most recent SHC triumph over the Tribesmen coming in 2016.
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“The most disappointing thing for us and for the group is that we didn’t hurl how we want to hurl,” said Burke of Galway’s Leinster final display.
“We didn’t express the brand of hurling that we’re trying to express, which we kind of played on Kilkenny’s terms, which is disappointing.”
The Tribesmen did string together a revival late in the second half, reducing a 13-point deficit to four twice in the closing stages. But that surge left as many questions as answers. Where was that intensity earlier in the contest?
This is the first season of Micheál Donoghue’s second term as Galway senior hurling manager. During his first spell, he led the Tribesmen to All-Ireland glory in 2017.
“As I said a few times, it’s frustration and disappointment at our performance more than anything [in the Leinster final] and like we know it’s not going to be an overnight thing, Micheál coming in and winning All-Irelands.
“It’s going to take a year or two for lads to kind of knit in, the younger lads to get used to the older lads and vice versa. But still at the same time, we want to be successful now, there are a few of us pushing on a small bit like and you don’t want to be waiting three or four years to be getting successful.”
If they are to get over the line against Tipperary and set up an All-Ireland semi-final against Cork, chances are Galway will need Cathal Mannion to the fore.
Mannion has been in exceptional form this season and for large parts of the Leinster final he alone carried the Galway fight to Kilkenny, finishing the game with 0-11 of their total.
“I suppose he was probably carrying a knock over the last year or two, and in fairness, he got that sorted over the winter.
“People outside the county probably would have forgotten the level of hurler he is. In fairness to us in the group, when you see him day in, day out and week in, week out doing it in training, you’re not really surprised, to be honest. In my opinion, I’d have him up there as one of the best ever that’s come out of Galway, to be honest.”
Whether other analysts of hurling agree with Burke or not, he can’t be sure because listening to critics wouldn’t be his thing. Burke watched the Munster final the night before Galway’s Leinster decider, but stepped away from the screen at the interval.
“I wouldn’t watch the analysis, I’d leave the analysis and go have a cup of tea or something. There’s a lot of talk there that I wouldn’t agree with at half-time.
“I think sometimes a lot of what is said at half-time is just to fill in the 15-minute gap, it has no relevance to how the game is going or how the result is going.”
As for the debate on the difference between the Leinster and Munster hurling championships, Burke sees no point in pouring fuel on that particular fire.
“It doesn’t bother me and I don’t think it bothers anybody on the team. I just think comparisons sometimes it takes away the joy, why not sit back and watch the Munster final and just be like, ‘what a class game’.
“And go and watch the Leinster final and if you feel personally that it wasn’t at the same standard, well what about it. If every game of hurling was to that standard ... it’s not going to work like that.
“So, I just think personally go enjoy whatever you enjoy, you don’t need to compare.”
