WHEN THE GALWAY footballers arrived in Ruislip in May of 1999 for their opening Connacht championship game against London, they travelled as reigning All-Ireland champions.
It was the first and only time that the Exiles hosted the Sam Maguire holders in a competitive game, and as expected, the odds were not in their favour. Not too unlike the current squad’s ills, the 1999 Galway outfit was also afflicted by injury. Tomás Mannion [finger], Gary Fahey [toe], Kevin Walsh [knee] and Michael Donnellan [knee] were all unavailable. All four played crucial roles in the team’s 1998 success.
On the other side was a London team managed by former Donegal senior Tommy McDermott. Some of the players had represented their home counties at senior level too. Tommy Maguire played for Fermanagh while midfielder Jody Gormley lined out for Tyrone when they played in the 1995 All-Ireland final. There was also Jason Ryan who would later go on to manage Wexford to the All-Ireland semi-finals in 2008, and Paul Coggins who guided London to the 2013 Connacht final.
Starting at full-back for London in that 1999 Connacht quarter-final was Mayo native Pat Rafter. Trotting towards him before throw-in was Pádraic Joyce the player. Pádraic Joyce the manager will face Rafte’s son Shay later this afternoon.
“You’d have known he was there but you can’t get too worked up about it,” Rafter told The 42 this week when asked to recall his thoughts about the prospect of marking one of the best forwards of that age.
Originally from the Kilcommon club in North Mayo, Rafter emigrated to the England capital in 1990 at 18 after just finishing school. It would be considered too young to leave home at that age today, but it was the time for seeking adventure in those days. He came to London to work as a carpenter and settled near the Tara GAA club in north London.
He made his inter-county debut in 1992, but two years later, he felt the itch to go and see another bit of the world.
“I went to Chicago after the 1994 county final. I have a sister out there so I got hooked up with the Wolfe Tones club out there. I wasn’t intending on coming back and Tara got to the county final then in September 1995 and I came back the week before it.
“I stayed for a few months and went back out again and stayed there until Christmas 1998. My wife was over there as well and she didn’t have a Green Card so we came back.”
London were a Division 2A team in 1999, which would be roughly Division 3 by today’s standards. Galway were a Division 1A outfit, and despite the injuries they had suffered, there was still plenty of power across the lines when they took to the field for that provincial clash in London’s home turf.
Seán Óg De Paor, Seán O’Domhnaill, Jarlath Fallon and Niall Finnegan were all locked in for the battle. And by half-time, they were 1-10 to 0-3 in front with Joyce accounting for 1-2 of that scoreline inside the first 10 minutes.
“The supply of ball coming in to him was very hard to deal with. When they’re coming in waves, it’s difficult.
“You have to respect a team like Galway and we wouldn’t have been used to the pace in the first 15-20 minutes of the game.”
London found a spark in the second half, managing to cut the deficit to four points following a goal from Julian Grimes. A disallowed goal shortly after would have put sweat on Galway brows but the referee penalised Tom Feehan for overcarrying. Galway rebooted to march and earn a 10-point win.
“It was the old cliche, we had nothing to lose,” Rafter says, capturing the emboldened spirit of the London challenge in the second half. “I can’t really remember what was said at half-time but we just had to go out and give it a go.”
This weekend welcomes another opportunity for the next generation of the Rafter family to leave an imprint for London when Galway come to town. Shay Rafter made headlines after his senior inter-county debut for the Exiles in the FBD League, scoring six points to help deliver a first-ever competitive win over Mayo. That result sent London into the semi-finals of the Connacht league, and marked a major milestone in Rafter’s progress from junior football to the senior stage.
“A very proud moment and a big step-up for Shay,” says Pat. “I know Mayo had maybe three or four of their starting team out for FBD League but it was a good win for London because there’s a massive turnover of players every year.”
Rafter is one of six London-born players in the current squad, while the manager Michael Maher is the first native of the city to take charge of the team. Pat recalls sharing the dressing-room with London-born players during his career but he believes the size of that representation on the team is likely to expand in the future.
He mentions former London captain Liam Gavaghan, a son of the city, who retired from inter-county football after 12 years of service earlier this year.
“There’s not many players coming from Ireland at the moment. Liam Gavaghan was probably one of the best players in Ireland and he was a role model for young lads coming in.”
London have given Galway teams a fright when they called for a visit in the past. “Galway survive scare as London rue missed opportunities” was the headline that read in the Irish Examiner after that 1999 encounter. The 2019 meeting of the sides ended with Galway heading home relieved to have four points to spare at full-time.
Galway, like they did in 1999, travel without some of their best players at their disposal. Shane Walsh and Damien Comer are notable absentees along with with Matthew Tierney and Cillian McDaid. But Rafter is wary of the players that Galway still have in their deck, and cautions that London have another big challenge ahead of them.
“Galway are definitely in the top five in the country with the squad of players they have. They’ll be there or thereabouts.”
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