HE TOOK PLENTY of stick for the way he worded his inter-county departure more than two years ago, but so far Sean Armstrong’s return to the Galway footballers couldn’t have been scripted much better.
A disillusioned Armstrong surprisingly ended his 10-year stint with the Tribesmen just a week out from Christmas in 2014, at the age of 29, after losing his “grá”, as he regrettably put it, for the game.
The ribbing he received for his multilingual announcement is redundant now, as Armstrong reflects on a U-turn that has already yielded a National Football League medal.
A 12-month break from the game in 2015, at inter-county and club level, did Armstrong the world of good, and it wasn’t long before the revitalised forward was catching the eye for Salthill-Knocknacarra once again.
A six-point haul (four from play) in last year’s county final defeat to Corofin failed to halt the Galway kingpins’ march to a fourth successive crown, but it was a timely reminder to Tribe boss Kevin Walsh that the attacking threat was still there in abundance.
There is a warming romanticism about successful sporting comebacks, and although Armstrong’s return to the Galway fold is still in its infancy, the nature of his progress throughout their recent league campaign suggests even better things are still to come from the 31-year-old.
Add in the possibility of a reunification in maroon and white with former partner in crime Michael Meehan this summer, and you’ve got a storyline brimming with nostalgia. The preface has grabbed attention, the meat and bones of the tale could prove a best-seller.
Walsh’s faith appears to be paying off too, as while Armstrong admits he took some time to readjust to the pace of the inter-county game, five points in his last two league outings, both against Kildare, suggest the secondary school teacher is recapturing the form that earned him senior Connacht medals in 2005 and 2008.
“At the time it was easier for me to walk away from it because I wasn’t enjoying it. I didn’t see why I should keep doing it,” Armstrong tells The42.
The year out definitely rejuvenated me a little bit. Kevin and the management team gave me a buzz and asked would I be interested in coming back to the Galway set-up.
“I had a few meetings with them and I was very happy to go back. We were all singing off the same hymn sheet and honestly since I went back I’ve been really enjoying it.
“I’ve got absolutely no regrets. There’s a nice mixture of the youth and the older fellas like myself.
“It’s been a pleasure going back to training again. You have the team weekends away and stuff like that, it’s good aul’ craic.”
Last weekend’s 0-18 to 0-16 success against Kildare was just Armstrong’s second victory at GAA HQ, his previous one coming in Salthill-Knocknacarra’s 0-7 to 0-6 All-Ireland club football triumph against Antrim’s St Gall’s on St Patrick’s Day in 2006.
For many it was a first opportunity to see Armstrong 2.0 in the flesh — no longer operating as an orthodox corner-forward, but as Galway’s primary ball-winner up top and a key link man in Walsh’s strategy.
“It certainly makes it easier anyway, coming back and winning things straight away.
“It was definitely nice to get a league title, it’s one I didn’t get before and nice to get the monkey off the back with the win in Croke Park,” Armstrong adds of Galway’s first win in Dublin 3 for 16 years.
Armstrong emerged into the national footballing consciousness at U21 level in 2005, in a remarkable 6-5 to 4-6 All-Ireland final victory against a talented Down outfit in Mullingar, as he and Meehan bagged a hat-trick apiece, 6-3 between them.
The duo’s on-field relationship continued at senior level, the two aforementioned Connacht titles their primary successes in what was regarded as a spell of under-achievement in the county.
Armstrong was at a wedding in Mayo when Galway won their first Connacht title in eight years last July, and with a Division 2 crown in the bag, the stock of the Tribesmen continues to rise under Walsh’s watch.
There is a sense that the doldrums of 2009-2015, which included championship defeats to Sligo, Wexford and Antrim, not to mention a couple of batterings at the hands of Mayo, have been banished.
There are even whispers out west that maybe, just maybe, they could get themselves into a first All-Ireland semi-final since lifting Sam in 2001.
Meehan’s return to the panel, after it was feared an ankle injury ended his inter-county career three years ago, has added a dash of giddiness to it all.
It would be far-fetched to imagine the Caltra man having the same on-field impact — he was one of the best inside forwards in the country in his prime — but Armstrong explains Meehan’s influence is already being felt around the panel.
“I love it,” Armstrong says of Meehan’s return to the set-up.
It’s nice to see. It’s funny. We were chatting about it on the bus on the way home from Dublin last weekend and one of the young lads, who will remain nameless, said ‘it’s great to be on the bus with my idol’.
“You kind of forget that a lot of these young lads coming out of minor, or U21 two or three years ago, he was their idol 10 or so years ago when he broke on to the senior team.
“Mikey is such a talent, a fantastic individual to have around the team.
“Young lads are learning so much from him. He’s a perfectionist. His dedication in training, he is bringing a whole new dimension to the set-up.
“He’s delighted to be back. He’s going well, he had an issue with the ankle before the Kildare game, the good ankle thankfully. He turned it at training, it could have happened to anyone and that kind of slowed his comeback.”
Armstrong doesn’t hesitate when asked if he could see Meehan featuring in the heat of battle this summer, despite the fierce competition for jerseys 10-15.
“Absolutely, I can’t see why not. The competition that’s up there for the forwards is phenomenal though,” the former Irish Army officer adds.
“I’ll be happy if I can get my place, if Meehan is there beside me I’ll be even happier again.”
Football discussions in Galway have adopted a much more enthusiastic tone over the past 12 months, and although Armstrong attempts to dilute it, he admits the optimism is building, especially with the tactically astute Walsh running the show.
The prospect of facing Mayo, assuming Stephen Rochford’s side navigate a Connacht quarter-final against Sligo or New York, at Pearse Stadium on 11 June is no longer greeted with trepidation, it’s an opportunity to get another one over on their old rivals.
“It’s great. Galway people are passionate about their football. They’re delighted to have a bit of success back in the county, something to go to, something to be a part of.
Kevin is a winner. When you get a manager you often look at their history and what they’ve achieved in the game.
“Kevin had a very similar story to what we had. He was playing football for Galway for seven or eight years before he had any success.
“He’d tell you himself that he was hemming and hawing about whether to stick at it and then he got his just rewards in ’98 and in 2001.
“You start to win games, even if it’s just a couple of FBD Leagues, it’s a title at the end of the day. If you win a Connacht title, that breeds confidence and you get a bit of momentum going.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We’re going to have our work cut out to beat Mayo in eight weeks. They’ll be hurting from last year. We need to have our work done.”
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Must have been hard to find a Leitrim man to put in there. Surely time to look @ a 2 tiered championship.