Talty expects Galway to deliver against rejuvenated Dubs

Galway's meeting with Dublin this afternoon will be just the 13th time the sides have clashed in championship football - it'll be unlucky for one of them.

The number of meetings feels a little low for the most successful counties in their respective provinces, particularly when you consider that the Dubs have met Cork and Mayo 20 times each in championship over the years.

For many, a meeting of the Dubs and the Tribes brings to mind images of 1983 and the 12 apostles/dirty dozen (erase as you see fit!). Even if a whole cohort of GAA fans weren't alive then, they know the story.

Dublin beat Galway in the All-Ireland final, with victories over the Tribesmen bookending the Dubs' greatest era in the 20th century between 1974 and 1983.

For the westerners, it was another chance missed in a final, with the county ultimately going more than three decades between lifting the Sam Maguire in 1966 and 1998.

At the same time, it was the last Celtic Cross for many of the sky blues' most iconic players, and one of just two between 1978 and 2010.

"They were the guys that made football sexy again, not alone in Dublin, but all over the country," Brian Talty, who started the 1983 final in the maroon and white jersey, says of the Dublin team of the era.

"The huge names that they had and the performances they put on, they were the big team in the 70s and maybe the early 80s as well, alongside Kerry."

But that 1983 final also caused massive controversy as three from the capital were sent to the line.

One of them was Brian Mullins, after he infamously caught Talty with an elbow to the jaw.

The iconic St Vincent's midfielder looked likely never to play again after 1980, when he was involved in a very serious car crash, and now a moment of madness had blown what would be his last All-Ireland final appearance.

Talty never won an All-Ireland, and wouldn't even make it out for the second half of the 1983 decider owing to the hit he had received.

But it wasn't something he dwelt on with himself and Mullins going on to become good friends, with one thing that was never discussed being that day in 1983. The closeness of their friendship was reflected in the fact that Talty visited Mullins the day before his death at just 68 in 2022.

Talty is very much a Galway man, and there's no doubt as to where his loyalties will lie this afternoon but, having lived in the capital since the late 70s, he's been heavily involved in the GAA scene in the city.

He was a selector for the senior footballers between 2005 and 2008 under Pillar Caffrey, won two county titles with Parnell's in the 1980s, was involved in the management of the St Sylvester's team which claimed the club's only county title in 1996, and returned to Parnell's as manager at the start of the last decade.

It gives him a unique perspective ahead of a fixture like the one at Croke Park this afternoon.

"Like a lot of us, when he got on the field it was a different kettle of fish as regards being a gentleman off the field," he says of current Dublin manager Ger Brennan, who made his championship debut for the Dubs during the period when Talty was a selector.

"He's a very competitive person, he's up to the modern standard and knows all about the modern coaching. And where he doesn't know something, he's surrounded with fellas that can do jobs, and that's what the managers do now.

"What's impressed me with him and his management team is the faith they've put in the likes of Tim Deering, who a lot of us didn't know anything about.

"Similarly, the likes of Sean Guiden, the likes of Josh Bannon, they've brought these young fellas along as well. They obviously know what's out there and they've done their research and they've been there at their games.

"They just didn't come in and say, 'well, we'll keep all these older lads.' They went out and had a look at the young fellas as well.

"The performance of young Guiden the last day showed that that was the way to go."

As bizarre as it might sound to describe today as a free shot for Dublin, a county that lifted the Sam Maguire as recently as 2023, it does feel that way.

They're underdogs off the back of a poor season, with relegation in the spring, and back-to-back championship defeats to Westmeath and Louth.

Brennan's 12-week ban, while arguably not consistent with the treatment Jim McGuinness received, was justified given his actions in that defeat to Galway in the spring, a result which ultimately sent the Dubs down to Division 2 for 2027.

And while there is promise in some of the younger players coming through Dublin's squad at the moment, trying to cause another surprise a week after knocking out Donegal could be an ask beyond them.

Two years ago Dublin couldn't beat Galway at Croke Park, and that was a side featuring Stephen Cluxton, Mick Fitzsimons, John Small, Jack McCaffrey, Brian Fenton, James McCarthy and Paul Mannion.

"They would be on paper," Talty agrees, when asked if the Dubs are a less experienced outfit now.

But he counters that, "although they haven't got the experience, they have fellas with that ability.

"Galway would want to be very careful not to underestimate what comes in from the subs bench for Dublin.

"Guiden, Ross McGarry; there are quality fellas there."

Con O'Callaghan has been named to start, but he came off in extra-time last week, with his hamstring giving him more trouble.

"He's like losing Shane Walsh, or losing (David) Clifford from Kerry, he's just a massive player," Talty continues. "He can play it any way and he would be a big loss.

"That said, sometimes in these big games, it isn't the Shane Walshs or the Con O'Callaghans that actually do it.

"Dublin, they wouldn't want to do it without O'Callaghan so they'll be hoping that he's OK. And I'm sure there's a lot of fellas in Galway that'll be hoping the hamstring is not too good."

Things are a bit different for Galway.

Manager Pádraic Joyce has twice brought this team to the All-Ireland final, having played in their last two victories in 1998 and 2001.

They broke their "Dubs at Croke Park" hoodoo two years ago as they recorded a first win over the sky blues in championship in 90 years.

This is a mature squad with big players making their return during the season, from Damien Comer, Cillian McDaid and Seán Kelly to Shane Walsh, and there is a sense of things coming together at the right time.

But, while they got to the big day in 2022 and 2024, they didn't manage to get over the line. Joyce declared early in his management stint that the aim was to win the All-Ireland.

It's a realistic aim for most managers involved with top counties but Galway's failure to perform to their potential on All-Ireland final day, with the squad that they've had in this decade, has turned the ambition into something of an albatross around Joyce's neck.

The expectations within the squad, coupled with the favourites' tag from the outside world, naturally adds pressure ahead of this afternoon's All-Ireland quarter-final.

"It is, of course, and it could be the last one," Talty says when asked if 2026 feels like a particularly big year for Galway.

"The other issue is there's some of the players that are moving on, some of what we would call the major players.

"Shane Walsh and Damien Comer, these fellas are moving on, and these are exceptional players that need to do something this year because we may not have them next year.

"There's a lot of pressure on them, but no better man than Pádraic Joyce to take pressure. He did it as a player, he'll do it as a manager, and he has been doing it."

For Talty, this is a Galway squad that certainly can deliver an All-Ireland, but he wonders if the set up has been on song, so far, this season.

"They have been going well but I see a couple of problems, one being with their style of play," he says.

"I watched Galway in the Connacht final and I was so disappointed with some of their play. It was unbelievable, particularly on kick-outs. This is the vital thing now, the kick-outs are so important.

"What worries me is the way sometimes Galway play, very similarly to what Donegal did last week, which was that slow build-up.

"And the Dublin defence, who have been criticised a fair amount throughout the year, were brilliant. Dublin had their work done on Donegal last week and did really well.

"I'm sure they'll have worked on that again and Galway have a lot of huge men around the middle, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

"The second problem is Galway don't put teams away.

"If you leave Dublin, like they left Westmeath last week near the end of the game, you could be in trouble. So, hopefully, they'll have learned these things.

"That said, I would think looking at it, that Galway would have a little bit more off the bench. So if it goes tight, and they've Damien (Comer) on the subs bench, they can bring him in.

"And hopefully Joyce will get a good performance, and if he gets a good performance, I think Galway can win the game."

Watch two All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals, Louth v Monaghan (1.45pm) and Galway v Dublin (4pm), this afternoon from 1.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

Click here to read article