Ian O'Riordantalks to Galway's captain, whose appetite for another championship campaign is as keen as ever
AT FIRST glance, Pádraic Joyce's inclusion in the Galway team for Sunday's Connacht SFC quarter-final would appear a formality. On closer inspection it defies some expectations given both his longevity and apparent decline of recent seasons.
Joyce will start at centre forward for Sunday's game against Roscommon as the only survivor of the Galway team that started in their successful All-Ireland final of 10 years ago. Declan Meehan, who starts at wing back on Sunday, was also part of the Galway panel in 1998, but didn't feature in that final.
While Joyce had been present in the Galway team ever since, last summer's championship suggested the curtain was finally coming down on the two-time All-Ireland winner. Galway were stunned by Sligo in the Connacht final, and then Joyce was dropped for the first time in his career for the subsequent qualifier match against Meath - which Galway also lost.
When Liam Sammon then succeeded Peter Ford as Galway manager it seemed increasingly likely youth would mark the way forward, and Joyce - who turned 31 in April - would be surplus to requirements.
Instead, Sammon's appointment has helped reinvigorate Joyce. There were already signs of that when he recovered his best form to help Killererin reclaim the Galway club title, and as a result of that he'll wear the captaincy armband for the summer.
"I was always going to come back this year," says Joyce. "I had made up my own mind, even before last year finished, that I was going to give it another year. Although some people in and outside of Galway seemed to write me off. I mean barring injury you'd always hope to play on for as long as you can. And I'm just gone 31, although you'd swear I was 41 the way some people are talking."
Yet he is the elder statesman of this Galway team, and no harm: "Look at the teams that have won the All-Irelands over the years. We had the likes of Kevin Walsh before. Tyrone had Peter Canavan. While I know myself I mightn't be the quickest in the world, you can still offer the team something. When the day comes when you can't offer something you won't be on the team, and the manager knows that."
He credits Sammon with putting some spark back into his own football, and also that of the entire Galway team. After leading Division One for most of the league, Galway just missed out on the final after losing their last match to Kerry, but the progress was clearly satisfying.
"The lesson there really was that we're still a good bit away from Kerry. Overall, we had a decent-enough campaign in the league, winning five games out of seven. But a new manager can do that, when he comes in for his first year. Fresh ideas, and that kind of stuff. People embrace him and whatever he says to do you're inclined to do. When a fella is there for three or four years you get used to him, and start thinking your own thing. But Liam's training has been great. It's all with the ball, and I'm certainly enjoying it anyway.
"Liam has also put a good belief back in the team, and gone back to Galway's old style of play, of just moving the ball forward into the danger zone as quick as we can. Traditionally, Galway has always produced good forwards. We might have given away 1-9 or 1-10, but we were always capable of scoring 1-12 or 1-13. That's the style we play."
Galway are playing a simple game these days, directing quick ball into their main target man, Michael Meehan, who also enjoyed an excellent league. With home advantage on Sunday, they'll start as clear favourites, especially after Roscommon's painful league experience - but Joyce has been around too long to take anything for granted.
"I guarantee you that Roscommon are always capable of beating Galway, or Sligo beating Mayo. It's been proven in the past. So while Roscommon have had their troubles so far this year with managers, and had a very poor league campaign, they won their last game against Cavan, and probably are on the upward curve again. We know that kind of turmoil in the camp can actually pull people closer together.
"They'll give us enough to do; we've suffered enough defeats from them over the years to take nothing for granted."
Their last defeat to Roscommon was the 2001 Connacht semi-final, when the visitors upset equally daunting odds, although Galway did recover to win the first back-door All-Ireland football title.
"That's our aspiration again," he adds, "to get back up to Croke Park. We haven't even won a quarter-final up here since we last won the final. And we lost a league final here as well. That's the aspiration now, to win the Connacht title, and go on to Croke Park and do as well as you can."
