Walk into St Jarlath's College in Tuam this Sunday and chances are you will have free run of the place. Staff and pupils of the venerable football and academic institution (not necessarily in that order, but . . .) understandably believe that they have contributed significantly to the development of the current Galway senior team as no less than 13 of the panel schooled in Tuam.

Eight of the former pupils - Martin McNamara, Tomas Meehan, Ray Silke, Sean Og de Paor, John Divilly, Michael Donnellan, Padraic Joyce and Jarlath Fallon - will feature in the starting line-up on Sunday. Of those starters, three are former St Jarlath's senior football captains: de Paor (1988), Joyce (1994) and Donellan (1995).

And the links continue. Fr Michael Mannion, Dean in St Jarlath's, is brother of corner back Tomas. John Joe Silke, father of Galway captain Ray and panel member Brian, teaches Business and Irish at the school. St Jarlath's can also lay claim to the entire Galway half-back line of Silke, Divilly and de Paor. The other Jarlath's representatives are Kevin Fallon, Michael Cloherty, Declan Meehan and Tommy Joyce.

Not since the 1960s has the St Jarlath's influence been so pronounced in the Galway senior set-up. Back then, Jarlath's graduates Johnny Geraghty, Pat Donnellan, Jimmy Duggan, Colie McDonagh, Enda Colleran, Christy Tyrell and John Donnellan won places on a team which famously went on to win three All-Irelands in a row.