THE celebrations in Salthill said it all.
Pádraic Joyce and his coaches danced with joy as Connor Gleeson’s free-kick sailed between the posts to beat Mayo to the Connacht title at the death.
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It was a monumental moment for Galway and their manager, after months of seemingly never-ending injuries.
After the limp NFL loss to Dublin on March 16, the casualty list was like A&E on a Saturday night, with captain Seán Kelly (hamstring), Matthew Tierney (muscle) and 2022 All-Stars Liam Silke (toe), Shane Walsh (hip), Cillian McDaid (groin) and Damien Comer (hamstring) all sidelined.
Things didn’t look much better in the Connacht semi-final win over Sligo, as Robbie Finnerty’s goal saw Galway squeak home by two points.
But timing is everything and Sunday’s clash came bang on schedule for Joyce’s biggest stars, who all featured.
Comer put in a superb performance, torturing the Mayo defence in a man-of-the-match display.
Finnerty registered 0-8, with Walsh scoring 0-3 off the bench in his best display in maroon since the 2022 All-Ireland final.
Paul Conroy drove them forward from midfield. But the day belonged to Gleeson.
Coach John Concannon could not watch as the goalkeeper stood over the kick, 50 metres out and deep into injury time.
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Gleeson was on the League of Ireland ladder with Galway United before leaving Eamonn Deacy Park in 2018 to focus on GAA.
But the Dunmore MacHales stopper has shipped plenty of criticism when matters have not gone Galway’s way.
He silenced the naysayers in style.
The whistle was a huge release for Joyce, who had only beaten Galway’s provincial foes once in eight attempts as boss.
Joyce admitted after the game that talk in the build-up had irked him.
Galway weren’t given a chance and he blasted the ‘gobss’ who wrote off his side.
Last year, the Tribe’s summer ended with Mayo winning an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final at Pearse Stadium — a bitter pill to swallow for a side that contested the Sam Maguire showpiece in 2022.
Galway will rattle more cages on the back of this result.
They go into an All-Ireland series group of death with the losers of Sunday’s Ulster final between Armagh and Donegal, along with Derry and Westmeath.
But they will fear nobody now.
Defeat pairs Mayo with the Leinster champions in the round robin — which means Dublin.
They will not enjoy playing Roscommon again either, even though they sent them packing in the province last month.
Cavan are in there too, a side who never get the credit they deserve and gave Tyrone the fright of their lives in Ulster.
The narrative has flipped now.
The knives are out in Mayo, a county where the public’s expectation levels can weigh on the panel.
Kevin McStay is probably sick of listening to a few gobss this week, but the Mayo chief is left with questions.
Folding in the manner they did will require some soul searching, as Joyce and Gleeson had the last laugh.
