Corofin have pedigree to claim a third All-Ireland title and add to Galway football’s feel-good factor
HISTORY and tradition matter in Corofin, as it does in every club. When Gary Sice lifted the Andy Merrigan Cup three years ago, he cast his mind back to their first All-Ireland title back in 1998 when as a 12-year-old, he watched his uncle Eddie help take the club to the promised land. ‘The emotion and everything was massive,’ Sice recalled in his moment of glory. ‘It bred the group that played in this final and it made it easy for coaches at the club to tell players that this is the ultimate goal.’ As Corofin go in search of their third All-Ireland today, against Nemo Rangers, it will be natural for many to cast their minds back 20 years when the north Galway club won its first title. Ray Silke will be among those feeling nostalgic as he brings his kids to Croke Park this afternoon. Silke lifted the silverware for his club on St Patrick’s Day in 1998. And a few months later, he raised Sam Maguire as Galway bridged the 32-year-gap to their previous All-Ireland title [by coincidence the Tribesmen played Kildare in a challenge game that Paddy’s Day morning five months before they met in the final]. He believes the club’s five-point win over Erin’s Isle was just one of many factors that created that wonderful Galway side. ‘It was part of the jigsaw,’ Silke said. ‘But it was only one part of a pretty big jigsaw. We had a lot of talented younger players coming through in Galway at the time, the likes of Pádraic Joyce, Derek Savage, Michael Donnellan. We had seen Mayo go so close in 1996 and ’97, and we felt that we were as good as them. ‘But Corofin winning certainly didn’t do any harm. I remember Declan Meehan saying to me once that he thought if Corofin can win the club AllIreland, why can’t Galway go on and win the AllIreland? And I do think when players from other clubs see a club from their own county win, it breeds a certain level of confidence within the county itself. I know I took a fair degree of confidence from it. If we can do this in March, why can’t we do in September?’ That All-Ireland final was the culmination of a long and winding road. Corofin had lost two All-Ireland semi-finals, to Dr Crokes in 1992 and Laune Rangers in 1996, with both going on to ultimate glory. ‘We lost to Laune Rangers
to win the All-Ireland as Crokes did before them. At the time, it looked like everyone who was beating us was going on to win the title, so why can’t we just win the thing?’ added Silke. Twenty years on and Corofin are back in Croke Park just as Galway football seems to be rising again. Kevin Walsh’s side have been the surprise package of this year’s Allianz League, with a 100 per cent record from five games as they welcome Dublin to Salthill tomorrow. It’s a little early to draw parallels between then and now, but a Corofin win this afternoon will give Galway football a similar lift. And Silke feels the current crop can bring the silverware back to north Galway. ‘I would be confident that Corofin would win. We have a good set of forwards, Ian Burke, who showed well for Galway last year, Martin Farragher, Micheal Lundy and Gary Sice. And Jason Leonard is a very good free-taker.’ The bloodlines are strong in Corofin. Silke will have two nephews playing in Croker — Liam and Darragh Silke. Daithí Burke, the powerful midfielder who won a Celtic Cross with Galway hurlers at full-back, is a son of Gerry, who famously won an All-Ireland at 39 with Corofin back in 1998. The Farraghers and Sice, as mentioned, had uncles on that 1998 team. Those connections keep a rural club going. And having won two Celtic Crosses with Galway, Silke still thinks there is something even more special about winning a club All-Ireland. ‘Look at Kieran Fitzgerald, still going strong at 37, despite winning 12 county titles in Galway. Or Tomás Ó Sé coming back at nearly 40, to play for Nemo and getting to play in Croke Park again. ‘There is something really special about the club, and club football that is a world away from the darkness, at times, of the inter-county scene. If you were to ask me, or indeed most Corofin supporters today, would they rather go to Croke Park to watch CorofinNemo or Pearse Stadium tomorrow to watch Galway-Dublin, everyone would say Corofin-Nemo.’