'We were oblivious to Jim arriving' - Galway's 2020 training session with McGuinness

FORMER GALWAY FOOTBALLER Gary O’Donnell recalls their squad training session with Jim McGuinness in October 2020 as being “very demanding” both physically and mentally.

Images of McGuinness conducting a session with the Galway footballers in Tuam were shared online at the time, triggering rumours of a potential appointment with the Tribesmen ahead of the Covid-delayed championship.

McGuinness and Galway manager Pádraic Joyce enjoyed Sigerson Cup glory together during their time at IT Tralee, and will face each other in the All-Ireland semi-final this weekend.

That training session proved to be one-off arrangement with McGuinness who wasn’t involved with an intercounty side at the time. But it was an opportunity for O’Donnell to gain an insight into the coaching style of the current Donegal boss.

“It was probably hard to get a full impression of him considering it was just a two-hour session,” says O’Donnell who retired from Galway in 2021.

“We were actually oblivious to Jim arriving at the time. It was Covid times so there was a lot of uncertainty but we knew there was someone coming to take a session. It was superb, it was a great insight into the way he thought about the game, the way he coached and trained teams, what he expected from players and so on.

Former Galway player Gary O'Donnell. Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE

“It’s just the manner in which he delivers things. It was very demanding physically and mentally and pushing you to the pin of your collar. You can imagine what the Donegal players have experienced for the last while. Jim is similar to Pádraic with the confidence he exudes into a room. You’d do anything for them.”

Galway have reached the final four of the All-Ireland series despite suffering several injury setbacks from the early stages of the 2024 season. However, O’Donnell says those issues with personnel allowed Galway to explore the depths of their panel, pointing to the influence of their bench in securing a shock win over Dublin in the quarter-final.

“I remember driving home thinking that the five subs they had all contributed to the game. Huge impact on the game from Céin Darcy, Cian Hernon at the back, Johnny Heaney kicked a point, Liam Ó Conghaile worked really hard up front so their bench was hugely influential. It’ll be the same on Sunday, they’ll need the four or five subs coming in to make the impact and get them over the line.”

The emergence of those players, O’Donnell believes, has also lightened the burden on Galway’s marquee names including Shane Walsh. Walsh has received plenty of criticism over his inconsistent performances, although he has faced injury battles as well this year. O’Donnell expects Walsh to be fit for selection on Sunday, but says Galway have progressed from a time where they were overly reliant on the Kilmacud Crokes star.

“They’ve won big games without Shane performing to his potential so that’s the good thing for management and for Shane. There’s not this huge wave of expectation for him to play well or for Galway to win. He knows more than anyone that he doesn’t have to be nine or 10 out of 10 for Galway to have a chance. He can have an off day or a period where he’s not at the top of his game and someone else is going to chip in. 

“That’s been the story of Galway’s season so far. Different players have come to the fore to get Galway over the line in big games. It’s the sum of the parts really that have been a big positive for Galway this year.”

This is a poignant week for Galway supporters following the death of former Galway manager John O’Mahony, who famously guided the county to All-Ireland success in 1998 and 2001. O’Donnell didn’t know the Mayo native, and says it’s likely that a lot of the current panel are too young to have any memory of that successful period for the county.

“I’d say quite a lot of them were hardly born during that time. But at the same time, you’re reared on these stories in Galway football. Pádraic was at the forefront of that era. John O’Mahony was the manager and you have the Year Til Sunday (documentary). You have all the tales and it’s a huge part of people’s upbringing, particularly in the last 30 years.”

Gary O’Donnell was speaking at the AIB launch of the Volunteer VIP competition giving GAA club volunteers across Ireland a chance to win an exclusive match day experience on the morning of the All-Ireland SFC final on July 28.

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