With their array of inter-county stars, Salthill-Knocknacarra were touted as potential All-Ireland club champions as far back as last summer, but their manager Eoin O'Donnellan insists that they have been in bonus territory since ending a 15-year wait for county championship honours last October. A new name will be inscribed on the Andy Merrigan Cup at Croke Park on St. Patrick's Day when Salthill-Knocknacarra of Galway meet Antrim kingpins St. Gall's in the All-Ireland club football final. For Salthill-Knocknacarra and their manager Eoin O'Donnellan, the final provides an opportunity to make amends for the defeat to Lavey in the 1991 All-Ireland final. O'Donnellan was vice-captain on that occasion and would dearly love to atone for that disappointment. "Obviously, it would mean a lot if we could make up for what happened 15 years ago, but the real motivation for this team has been to banish the memories of 2004 when we lost the county final to Killererin. They've already achieved that by winning the county title and every game has been a bonus since then. "People outside the club don't realise how much it meant to us to win the Galway championship. We had gone 15 years without winning anything and it was a huge achievement for us. But I suppose winning an All-Ireland title would be absolutely massive. We might never get a chance like this again," he adds. The Salthill-Knocknacarra club has only been in existence for 35 years and before that, there was no senior football club in Galway City at all. Former Galway goalkeeper and well-known film producer Pat Comer captained them to a first county championship in 1991 and they subsequently reached the All-Ireland final which they lost to Derry champions Lavey by 2-9 to 0-10. Salthill reached a championship semi-final in the mid-1990s but remained out of the limelight until 2003 when they took the following year's All-Ireland champions Caltra to a replay in the league final. They continued to improve in 2004, reaching the county final, before capturing the county championship for a second time last year at the expense of surprise packets Carna/Cashel. While acknowledging that the involvement of big-name 'outsiders' such as Michael Donnellan and Maurice Sheridan has boosted Salthill, O'Donnellan rejects the 'league of nations' tag that has been attached to the team. "The perception seems to be that we have a team of outsiders, but this couldn't be any further from the truth," he says. "Out of a squad of 37, 29 of them have come through our underage system. Maurice Sheridan, Gordon Morley, Anthony McDermott and Michael Donnellan are the only outsiders on the panel, and those guys have been living in the area for a number of years. Alan Kerins plays with us because we are the nearest football club to him. The nearest senior football club to us is Barna and they're about five miles away. "While Michael Donnellan has been a huge addition to us over the past year, the real reason why we've come back to the fore is down to our underage system. We've worked very hard at underage level and are now beginning to reap the benefits with the likes of Sean Armstrong and Finian Hanley coming through." Since winning the Galway championship, Salthill-Knocknacarra have beaten Crossmolina, St. Brigid's, Tir Chonaill Gaels and Kilmacud Crokes to reach the All-Ireland final. Against former All-Ireland champions Crossmolina, the Seasiders had to survive a late penalty miss by Ciaran McDonald before prevailing on a 0-9 to 0-7 scoreline. The Mayo side dominated for long stages, but couldn't convert their possession into scores. The teams were tied on 0-4 each at the interval and Salthill had edged into a 0-8 to 0-7 lead when McDonald had a chance to win the game from the penalty spot. But his shot rebounded off the crossbar and Seamie Crowe had the final say when he converted a free to seal the win for the prairie-based outfit. A 35th minute penalty by former Mayo star Maurice Sheridan paved the way for Salthill's 1-10 to 0-5 victory over St. Brigid's in the Connacht final at Pearse Stadium. Sheridan, who had a fine game at midfield, gave Shane Curran no chance with his spot-kick and the Galway champions were always in control after that. Their Roscommon opponents were a big disappointment with the twin threat of Frankie Dolan and Karol Mannion starved of possession throughout. With Finian Hanley, Ruaidhri McTiernan, Alan Kerins, Seamie Crowe, Sean Armstrong and Michael Donnellan to the fore, Salthill led by 0-6 to 0-3 at the interval and would have been further ahead but for their tally of seven wides. The Roscommon champions rang the changes at half-time, but instead it was Salthill who moved up through the gears and Sheridan slotted home the only goal after Armstrong was up-ended by Robert Kelly. Mannion replied with a point in the 37th minute, but St. Brigid's would not score again for another 15 minutes as the Donnellan-inspired Seasiders coasted to victory. Despite having two players sent off, the blue and golds survived a tricky trip to London when they had four points (0-9 to 0-5) to spare over Tir Chonaill Gaels in the All-Ireland quarter-final. That set the scene for a last-four joust with hotly-fancied Dublin champions Kilmacud Crokes in Longford. Crokes looked to be in a strong position when leading by two points at the break, but Sean Armstrong took centre stage on the resumption, scoring four sublime points from play in the first 18 minutes to turn the game on its head and inspire Salthill to a 1-9 to 1-7 victory. The Dublin kingpins had no answer to Armstrong's brilliance and their hopes faded when Mark Vaughan received a straight red card from Cavan referee Joe McQuillan eight minutes from the end. Crokes dominated the early exchanges, but already had six wides on the board before Vaughan opened their account from a free in the 14th minute. Michael Donnellan immediately equalized for Salthill before wing back Marty O'Connell and Armstrong combined to set up John Boylan for a stunning goal. Kilmacud gradually began to find their feet after that and they were back in it when Salthill goalkeeper Cathal McGinley failed to deal adequately with a Vaughan line ball and the inrushing Conor Murphy was on hand to finish to the net. The Leinster champions tagged on two further points to take a 1-4 to 1-2 lead into the break, but with the breeze to their backs in the second half, Salthill began to take control with team captain Maurice Sheridan leading by example. Crokes actually opened the second half scoring through a Vaughan free, but then endured 20 barren minutes, during which Armstrong scored 0-4 and Donnellan also pointed. Vaughan reduced the gap before Sheridan landed two vital 45's to give Salthill some breathing space. Johnny Magee replied with a 45, but it was a case of too little, too late for the Stillorgan side as Salthill held on for a place in the final. O'Donnellan, whose selectors are Mark Butler (who also played in the 1991 final) and Clonberne native John Joe Burke, insists that Salthill will be underdogs against St. Gall's in the Croke Park decider. "I think St. Gall's deserve to be favourites, even though we have taken a few big scalps ourselves in getting to this stage," the former Galway player says. "It is not easy for any team to come out of Ulster and they had a fantastic result against Nemo Rangers - the clear favourites for the All-Ireland - the last day. They are a super-fit team and have very talented individuals in Kevin McGourty and Karl Stewart. We're expecting a very tough game and will have to be at our best to have any chance." Eoin, who is in his second year in charge of Salthill, having previously managed the club's junior team for four years, believes the involvement of his team and St. Gall's in the All-Ireland final reflects well on the strength of Gaelic football in the cities. "I think it is good for football to see two city clubs in the All-Ireland club football final. You had four city clubs in the semi-finals, so there is obviously a lot of work being done to promote Gaelic football in the urban areas. "We've been getting great support from the local community and are as serious and ambitious about our football as any club. The commitment our players have given has been second to none and I would love to see them leave Croke Park as All-Ireland champions. But we know we face a huge task against St. Gall's who, like ourselves, will be doing everything in their power to win their first All-Ireland," he concludes. Tweet

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