Jubilant crowd welcomes Galway camogie heroes – ‘The heart they show is just unbelievable'

Irish Independent

4 hours ago

Well over 1,000 Galway supporters gathered on the pitch to greet their heroes, who celebrated with the O'Duffy Cup and posed with fans under the Galway evening sunshine.
All 39 members of the squad were given a raucous reception from the sea of maroon as they entered the main stage, with signs and flags scattered across the homecoming crowd heightening the festival-like atmosphere.
Among those who gathered at Duggan Park were Kai, Lucy, Chloe, Siofra, Mia, Saoirse, Ruairi, who had attended the match in Croke Park with their families and even managed to luckily touch the trophy as it was presented to the players in the Hogan Stand.
They added: 'There were more Cork fans but even though there were less people there was more loudness from Galway.'
The group were in Ballinasloe to support the team even further as they proudly showed their hand painted sign reading 'Congrats girls, we are so proud!'
'We made [our sign] 15 minutes before we came, the paint just dried,' Mia said.
And the young fans are already looking forward to next year as when asked to give the winners a message, they said: 'You got this next year, you're gonna make it and win as well.'
Niamh, Ruairi, Rod, Aoife, Niamh, Eanna and Aoibhinn were also at Duggan Park to support the Galway team who, they said, are their local heroes and role models.
Rod said: 'We just want to support our local heroes, especially two local girls, Ciara Hickey and Katie Anna Porter. We just want to show our support to the girls and say well done.
'And it's great for the children here to see great heroes and role models to look up to, they might emulate them in the years to come.'
Niamh proudly added: 'They did absolutely brilliant yesterday, they brought it to Cork in the first half in particular. They stuck with it in the second half, and then we just got it over the line. So fair play to them, they gave it everything they had to give.'
The squad was represented by players from all corners of the county, with each player's name being greeted by a wave of cheers from the crowd.
The last player to be presented was Galway captain Carrie Dolan, who received a rapturous cheer from the crowd when her named was announced, having scored seven points in the final.
Addressing the spectators, she said it was an 'absolute honour' to captain the side and praised her teammates for their dedication and ability to recover from last year's All-Ireland final defeat to Cork.
'We have two mothers in the team; we have girls that are 18 years of age and the heart they show is just unbelievable. Twelve months ago, we lost the All-Ireland in Croke Park and sometimes you don't get those days back. Only the good teams come back and yesterday we came back.
'I want to thank you all for coming out and supporting this team. I've never seen [such] a crowd to get behind the Galway camogie team since I started playing. We've lost three of the last four finals we've been in, and you stayed coming up that road. I can't tell you how important you were yesterday in that victory.
'To all the young boys and girls down there, yesterday our dream came true and, in the future, that could be your dream too. Never give up on your dream if you want to be a Galway camogie or hurling player.'
Last to address the crowd was Galway manager Cathal Murray, who spoke proudly of the group and praised the side for the hard work that ultimately sealed their first O'Duffy Cup since 2021.
'One of my earliest memories as young child is coming to Ballinasloe to see the '87 and '88 teams, and I think it put a love of hurling in me. I hope there's lots of young girls out there that look up to these girls and that they inspire you and I hope you go on and represent your county in Croke Park.
'We're here because of the team here on my left-hand side. I'm unbelievably honoured to have such an unbelievable group of players representing Galway. I think the performances that put up over the last number of years have been exceptional but yesterday topped it all off.
'For me as manager, I'm just unbelievably honoured and privileged to be involved with such a special group of players.'