Galway SF Final: Caltra 3-11 Killererin 0-5 In the match programme was a photograph of the only other Caltra team to reach a Galway senior final. The team of 1975 are lavishly sideburned as they squint hopefully in the sun and notably impoverished of Meehan boys. They lost.
Yesterday, in a gloomy and damp Pearse Stadium, around 6,000 watched as Caltra took their first title in emphatic fashion in a match that will long be remembered for the exploits of Michael Meehan of Tycooly.
The future of Galway football gave one of the finest individual displays as can have been seen in Pearse Stadium. It wasn't that he struck 1-8 on a slippery mess of a day. It was the keen wit and sharpness, the lightness of touch that underlined his every contribution to what was an otherwise heavy-duty game.
Several of Caltra's scores were a tonic of imagination and speed and the youngest Meehan was central in the best of them. After 10 minutes, a long John Galvin ball skipped over the last line of Killererin's conservative defence and Meehan tore across open ground before mercilessly shooting past Alan Keane.
That put Caltra ahead 1-1 to 0-3 and signalled the beginning of the end for the county champions. Meehan then floated two distance frees from the ground and put Declan Meehan through for a point with a sublime flick on 22 minutes. Three minutes later, he added another, demanding a pass from Colm Kilroy and shooting high and true despite the squall.
When he next took possession, he mesmerised all, including the Killererin defence, who stood off expecting another long-range dispatch. Instead, Meehan spied Paul Gately sneaking behind the frozen opposition and languidly chipped a ball into space.
The wing-back, emboldened by his central role in a gorgeous move, had the composure to lob a shot over all 6' 3" of Alan Keane and his effort fell perfectly.
At 2-5 to 0-3 at half time, the real stuff was all but over. It was a dispiriting day for Killererin, whose travails over the past few seasons have evidently caught up with them. For the first 10 minutes they played a cagey and low-tempo game but once Caltra illuminated the pitch with sheer youth and enthusiasm, the tired Killererin had no answer.
Losing Ollie Wilson to an injury aggravated as Meehan goaled was a signal of things to come. Nothing went right.
Killererin's response to Caltra's Meehans has of course been the Joyces. Tommy was a central figure but employing him to kick every long Killererin free just aided Caltra's defence.
Nicky Joyce scored a couple of lovely points and Padhraic, top scorer of the Galway summer, had a tough afternoon, hounded by Caltra defenders whenever he took possession.
The ease with which Caltra strode to their maiden championship must have made all the decades of misery seem needless. They played fine, attacking football, with John Galvin embellishing a great afternoon with his team's third goal on 44 minutes.
Caltra saw fit to withdraw Michael Meehan in the last minutes and he departed to a rousing ovation. With Caltra people organising a pitch invasion on the sidelines, Padhraic Joyce attempted to retrieve something from the afternoon, pirouetting through the crowd and somehow releasing a shot that flashed narrowly wide. It seemed an emblem of Joyce's entire season. It may take the resumption of playing at county level alongside Meehan to reignite Joyce's own rare gifts. But that is for other days.
At local level, the torch has been passed and Caltra's own version of Oktoberfest got underway last night.
CALTRA: K Kilroy; J Murray, E Meehan, B Kilroy; D Meehan (0-1), K Gavin, P Gately (1-0); O Hennelly, D Cunniffe; T Meehan, J Galvin (1-0), M Killalea; M Meehan (1-8), N Meehan (0-1), C Kilroy. Subs: B Laffey for D Cunniffe (half-time), K Killalea for C Kilroy (49 mins), S Hogan (0-1) for M Meehan (54 mins), A Murray for J Murray (56 mins), D Costelloe for B Kilroy (57 mins).
KILLERERIN: A Keane; S Wilson, O Wilson. D Flaherty; P Miskell, T Joyce, M Nicholson; M Mitchell, T Wilson; G Curran, P Joyce (0-2 frees), T Flynn; K Courtney, N Joyce (0-3, 1 free), P Mitchell. Subs: J Wilson for S Wilson (44 mins).
Referee: M Curley (St James's).
