How a phone screensaver helped Galway end 29 year All-Ireland drought

Stuff dreams are made of.

Winning the All-Ireland is a remarkable achievement for an individual.

It’s also impressive when you’ve followed in the footsteps of your father to do it too.

That’s what Gearoid McInerney did and he was Player of the Month for September too.

It was a great year for the Galway man by all accounts as he is a near certainty to pick up an All-Star award with many feeling that the Ornamore-Maree club man was hard done by in not receiving a Player of the Year nomination for his performances this year.

Speaking when picking up his award the Galway centre-back revealed that he set out goals for himself at the start of the year as well as changing his phone’s screensaver to provide a little bit of motivation:

“There are benchmarks you set for yourself even for next year,” he told reporters.

“Sometimes I do (write goals out at the start of the year) not all the time, I like to set benchmarks alright.

“I did this year, I set goals for myself this year around January/February time I’d changed the picture on my phone as well just as something for motivation, something kind of close to me that kind of helped me.

“The goals were obviously set down, they started a bit low like make number six my own position and right up to winning the All-Ireland and a few personal goals along the way and the picture was Liam McCarthy Cup.

“I only changed there the last day, I even forgot it was there.

“It’s nice being able to tick them boxes, it could easily go the other way. It’s worked out in my favour it’s nice.”

There you have it, sometimes the little things are what is needed to help reclaim Liam McCarthy.

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