Sometimes, it’s just meant to be.
Galway hurling followers have endured 29 tough years since Liam MacCarthy was last in the west in 1988.
The Tribesmen were, for years, haunted by this famine, by their hoodoo, but they looked back on that great 1988 team, and were surely inspired by the wondrous achievements of those that went before them.
And it was hurt. It was hurt that endured, hurt that grew, hurt that gnawed at them, that frustrated them that they didn’t want to define them.
Those 1988 achievements were spearheaded by a number of great men, and perhaps the greatest of them all was that September’s man-of-the-match, that big-game player, that big character, that man Tony Keady.
The Killimordaly club man sadly passed away recently, but his spirit extended to this September Sunday, and his charismatic personality inspired, and infiltrated the troops of Galway as they finally raised the coveted trophy.
When it was all over, there were scenes of jubilation, scenes that were followed by the poignant presence of the great man, because he was surely looking down from heaven, and he was smiling, beaming with pride at what the men in maroon had done.
As David Burke nailed the emotions of a whole county with his powerful speech, the cameras turned to Keady’s wife Margaret, to his daughter Shannon, who bravely spoke on Up for the Match on Saturday night, about attempting to follow his legacy with the Galway underage camogie team who won an All-Ireland.
His courageous sons were also, undoubtedly, looking on with pride, just like they were on RTÉ on Saturday night.
While Sunday’s triumph won’t lessen the grief, what it will do is give them respite, as they know that the great man was enjoying it all from above.
The men of Galway honoured him, the fans of Galway honoured him and it was great to see.
Each and every spectator stood up in the sixth minute of the game to honour him, and when it was over the Galway fans, each man to another, were honouring him.
https://twitter.com/NiallMcintyre/status/904407054785372161
Captain's speech doing justice to Galway's achievement. Joe Canning something else. Thoughts with Keady family. pic.twitter.com/ER2mvPBYru
— Barry McElduff (@BarryMcElduff) September 3, 2017
The truth was that while Galway mightn’t have done themselves justice over their barren years, more than anything, they were up against the greatest team the GAA has ever witnessed, in Kilkenny.
They realised their destiny on Sunday, and fair play to them for that.
Tony Keady was smiling down on them from heaven.
