Michael Duignan: Offaly will be braced for Galway 'backlash'
Offaly's first Leinster SHC game in seven years almost yielded a victory in Parnell Park last weekend, the visitors leading for most of the game until a late burst from the Dubs, sparked by Ronan Hayes' goal, saw Niall Ó Ceallachain's side over the line.
While it ended in defeat, it offered further compelling evidence that Offaly could be bound for a prolonged return to the top table after their long years in the wilderness, the county falling into the third tier at their nadir at the end of the last decade.
Duignan, a two-time All-Ireland champion in the 1990s, has been county board chairman throughout this rise, and acknowledges last week's performance as a further staging post in their evolution even if he is remaining cautious about the upcoming campaign.
"It's been a journey, there's still a long way to go," Duignan said on the RTÉ GAA podcast. "The physical power of Dublin was there to be seen. We're just not there.
"We competed really, really well. But Dublin had their process and kept running the ball. They had a few bad wides, we stuck in it big-time.
"But 1-04 to 0-01 in the last six or seven minutes, you can't argue with that.
"Lads being injured, we can't afford that. That'd be the big worry over the next three or four weeks, that if we lose one or two more lads, and then one or two more, that we don't have the strength in depth - yet. We will have it in the next two to three years."
The Parnell Park showing, combined with Galway's insipid display away to Kilkenny earlier that day, has persuaded some that a landmark victory could be in the offing for the home side on Saturday.
Micheál Donoghue's side, after a reasonable start in Nowlan Park, slumped to a 12-point defeat, remarkably their fourth loss by that exact margin in seven competitive games in 2025.
Duignan, however, is more wary and circumspect.
"Galway were terrible (against Kilkenny), there's no point saying they weren't. I shouldn't be saying that when we're playing them.
"They'll be so disappointed. There's an awful lot of good players in that team. They just weren't up for it for whatever reason.
"I would expect a backlash. People are seeing it as an opportunity for Offaly. Well, if Galway come with the same attitude, yeah. But I would say they'll be saying to themselves, 'that's not acceptable.' And Micheál said that himself after the game.
"But I think Offaly will be ready for the challenge. They won't be bending over. I think it'll be a right good game. But whether we have that strength in depth coming down the stretch remains to be seen."
The fact that there is a degree of uncertainty around the game this weekend marks a change in itself.
The Galway-Offaly rivalry was at its zenith in the 1980s, when the pair emerged as the nouveau riche challenging the traditional powers. The head-to-head was tit-for-tat throughout the period, Galway winning All-Ireland semi-finals in 1980, 1988 and 1990 but Offaly famously winning the two deciders in 1981 and 1985.
Duignan was on the last Offaly team to beat Galway in championship in 1994 but the pair wouldn't meet again until 2010, in the westerners' second season in the Leinster championship. It took Galway a replay to squeeze past a highly competitve Offaly side that year but any rivalry has been tame since then.
Since 2012 onwards, facile Galway victories have been the order of the day in this fixture.
"It's '94 since Offaly beat Galway in the championship. We haven't played them a huge amount (since then). But there was a run (of games) in the 2010s and Galway would have won all those games. Offaly's slide was probably on at that stage.
"We have a strong Galway influence in our management team, that'll be a factor. Johnny Kelly would have been successful with Portumna. Colm Callanan, former Galway goalie, is with us as well.
"You'd be expecting a decent crowd to come in. It's taken a little while for the Offaly public to catch on. They've been big supporters of the underage. But getting to come to the senior matches is proving a bit more of a challenge.
"That's not a negative, it's just a fact. It takes time. Sometimes, you have to earn your respect and your support as well. But I think that's coming now and hopefully it'll be a close game."
Watch a Munster Hurling Championship double-header, Waterford v Clare and Cork v Tipperary, on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates from around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
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Irish Examiner
12 minutes ago
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David Clifford urges GAA chiefs to stop tinkering with rules after Kerry's All-Ireland glory
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While being tightly marked by Brendan McCole, Clifford spent just 43 seconds in possession during this year's All-Ireland final. Yet it is a mark of his magic that he still managed to rack up 0-9. He explained: "You might have only eight or nine possessions in the final and in another game you could have 30 possessions. It just depends what kind of comes in front of you. "I'm delighted if I can keep wide and let the rest of the boys do damage. I'm delighted with that. At this stage, it's just about winning as a team. "The individual stuff now doesn't really matter much. It's about winning as a team. That's kind of all that matters to me now." KINGDOM FAME As a bona fide superstar, Clifford has grown accustomed to being mobbed by young supporters in the aftermath of games, particularly with his club Fossa and divisional outfit East Kerry. On life in the limelight, he said: "It can be hard at times. Let's say after a loss, maybe with Fossa or whatever and kids still want their photo, to try and remove yourself from the loss and understand that the kids just want their photo or whatever. "You kind of get used to it. I'm not perfect with it in one sense. Sometimes you're just not in the form for meeting people or taking photos or whatever. But I try, if I can, to help them out. 'I was a young person meeting Kerry players not that long ago, so I kind of understand what it brings to them.'
