By Daire Walsh

A few weeks have now passed since their nail-biting win over Kerry at Croke Park, but Galway’s TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship final success still feels like a deeply satisfying one for experienced defender Sarah Ní Loingsigh.

A senior panellist since 2011, the Naomh Anna Leitir Mór stalwart lined out at full-back when the Tribeswomen collected the Brendan Martin Cup for just the second time in their history with a tense 2-7 to 0-12 showpiece victory at the expense of the Kingdom in GAA HQ on August 2.

The Connacht county had been pushing hard in the latter stages of the championship in recent seasons and their 2026 campaign saw them taking the final step on their journey back to the top of ladies football. This led to scenes of immense joy in the minutes that followed their one-point triumph at the Jones’ Road venue and this mood was maintained upon the squad’s return home to the west a day later.

“It was amazing to see family and friends after the game and all the Galway supporters were just so happy and so emotional. It just meant so much to everyone up there and then the homecoming in Tuam the next day was just unbelievable. The scenes and the amount of fans that came out,” Ní Loingsigh recalled.

“Everyone was just over the moon for the group and the county. It has been a while coming. 22 years since Galway first won an All-Ireland senior title, so it was just such a relief and everyone was so proud of the group. It was lovely seeing how happy everyone was for the team as well.”

As Ní Loingsigh references above, Galway’s previous All-Ireland senior final victory back in 2004 was also a breakthrough triumph at the grade for the county.

Just 12 years of age back then, Ní Loingsigh was in attendance when a Galway side managed by PJ Fahy overcame a shaky start to get the better of Dublin on a final scoreline of 3-8 to 0-11. Given her club colleague Philomena Ní Fhlatharta was part of the panel, it made the day extra special for the Leitir Mór prospect.

“She would have been involved, so I remember we got a bus up from the club and it was the best day out. I remember at the time you were still able to run out onto the pitch after the match. We all took our chance and legged it out onto the pitch.

“It was an unbelievable day and even I remember the homecoming so well, when they brought the cup back to Leitir Mór. It was just a fantastic achievement for that group. Just a great memory that I still have.

“Philomena was one of my idols as well at the time. She was the only ladies player that was involved with the county team, so it was great to see her get over the line. Still a great memory that I have.”

Seeing Galway reach the promised land in 2004 helped to push on her own game and just six years later Ní Loingsigh captained her county to an All-Ireland Minor ‘A’ Football Championship title courtesy of a decider win against Donegal in Ballinamore. Interestingly, the manager of that team Con Moynihan is the father of current Galway senior boss Daniel Moynihan, while another of his sons – Neil - is also part of the latter set-up as strength and conditioning coach.

Although her performances in that All-Ireland winning minor campaign led to her earning a call-up to the senior panel a year later, Ní Loingsigh was forced to bide her time before securing a regular spot in the Galway starting line-up. The intense competition for places made it difficult to break into the first 15, but she was firmly established by the time her native county returned to an All-Ireland final on September 15, 2019.

Their first senior decider since 2005, Ní Loingsigh donned the number four jersey as the Tribes came out on the wrong side of a low-scoring encounter with Dublin played in front of a record 56,114 spectators.

“It definitely took a while [to break into the Galway team]. When I came in first there was Galway legends involved at the time. The likes of Emer Flaherty, Yvonne Daly, a lot of those ’04 girls were involved. It was just amazing really to be playing with them and up close. Watching them, the commitment that they gave to Galway.

“The hard work that they put in and it really made me more determined to find my place on the team. I suppose once I did I never looked back. Once I got settled initially. It has been a long, but a really rewarding journey I must say.”

While she enjoyed the celebrations that followed their All-Ireland win at the beginning of this month, Ní Loingsigh has switched back to club mode in the past couple of weeks.

After kick-starting their Galway Intermediate Football Championship Group One campaign with a loss to a Tuam/Cortoon side that featured county captain Kate Geraghty on August 15, Naomh Anna Leitir Mór are set to face Oughterard at home next Saturday.

Having spent the best part of a decade and a half trying to get her hands on the trophy, it remains to be seen if Ní Loingsigh returns for Galway’s defence of the Brendan Martin Cup in 2027. Although it is something she’d love to do, the 34-year-old acknowledged she will see how the club championship develops before making a final decision on her inter-county future.

“It’d be great to be involved with defending the Brendan Martin going forward. To be honest, I haven’t thought about it too much yet. I’m going to see how the next couple of weeks go with the club and hopefully come through that. We’ll probably have to really have our decisions made towards the end of the year, I guess,” Ní Loingsigh added.

“Galway ladies is in a great place, to be honest. The U20s as well winning the U20 All-Ireland there a few weeks ago. There’s just such a strong panel there and loads of good, young girls to come up as well. The future looks really bright for Galway ladies.”

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