Nothing pleases Galway people more than being branded as underdogs. It seems to bring out the best in them. This year there is little talk about the affairs of the county in either hurling or football circles as the focus falls on teams from outside Connacht. They can, however, be considered hot favourites for their next match and are expected to sail easily past Roscommon in Saturday's Connacht hurling final in Hyde Park.
The attention of hurling followers will then switch to Thurles on Sunday for the Munster final between Clare and Waterford and, once that is out of the way, all eyes will be on RTE for the draw for the All-Ireland quarter finals. With Clare, Waterford, Kilkenny, Offaly and Antrim already confirmed as participants and with Galway virtual certainties, there will be considerable interest in the outcome county-wide. What has already been established, however, is that the losers in the Munster and Leinster finals will play the winners of the Connacht and Ulster titles.
The draw will also ensure that a repeat of the Munster or Leinster finals can only occur in the actual final itself. The draw, which can be described as an arranged rather than open one, will be made at a Thurles venue and will take place under the guidance of the Games Administration Committee of the GAA. Meanwhile, selectors Paudge Mulhare and Pat McLoughney have taken control of the Offaly hurling team. The secretary of the Offaly county board, Christy Todd, and the secretary of the hurling board, Tony Murphy, have been charged with the task of finding a replacement for Michael `Babs' Keating, but it is thought that Paudge Mulhare and Pat McLoughney will probably take over the running of the team until such time as their championship season ends.
Mulhare and McLoughney will provide continuity as they were selectors with Keating until his surprise resignation. They are expected to recruit a third selector within the next week or so.
Keating's resignation became inevitable after he had publicly criticised the players following their poor performance in the Leinster final against Kilkenny. This was quickly followed by criticism of Keating by one of the senior players, Johnny Pilkington. Galway, meanwhile, will give championship debuts to two players for Saturday's Connacht final against Roscommon in Hyde Park. Paul Hardiman from Athenry will play at left half back and Martin Kenny from Meelick, Eyrecourt, partners Michael Coleman at midfield.
Three members of the squad were not considered for selection. They were Justin Campbell, Cathal Moore and Conor O'Donovan, all of whom are injured. Galway manager Cyril Farrell is content that he is on course for a good championship run.
Donegal's Martin Call escaped with a four week ban following his sending off against Cavan in the Ulster senior football championship semi-final in Clones.
The suspension means that Call is available for the Ulster final against Derry on July 19th. It had been feared that he might incur a greater penalty and anything other than four weeks would have ruled him out of the Ulster final.
