Just shy of 21 years later, Padraic Joyce has once again returned Galway to an All-Ireland final. This time, he's in the dugout and not at 14, the jersey he made his own during a stellar playing career for the Tribesmen.
Kerry were last in the final back in 2019, a defeat to Dublin ending their hopes of winning a 38th All-Ireland title. They are back in the big time once again with Jack O’Connor at the helm looking to win their first Sam Maguire since 2014.
But what paths have these teams taken to get here? We took a look:
Galway
Finishing level on points with their Connacht rivals Roscommon, Galway would go on to lose the Allianz National League Division 2 decider to the Rossies in Croke Park.
After being relegated by Monaghan the previous year, Galway bounced straight back up with promotion. They won six out of their seven league games, with a solitary defeat in the final game against Roscommon proving only a blip.
24 April 2022 - Connacht quarter-final: Mayo 0-16 Galway 1-14
Galway were underdogs going into this clash with their eternal rivals Mayo, losing the last three championship outings before this. McHale Park was the venue but that didn’t faze the Tribesmen, as Shane Walsh kicked three frees and two '45s combined with 1-01 from Johnny Heaney and three from play from Paul Conroy.
Mayo were left trailing by a fast start from Galway, Joyce’s side leading 1-04 to 0-02 before the Green and Red kicked seven of the next nine to go in level at half-time.
After the restart, James Carr made it eight from 10 as Mayo moved in front. Galway reeled off six points without reply before Mayo inevitably thundered back into the reckoning.
Galway demonstrated great resolve which would have delighted Joyce and his management team, to hold on and claim the win that put them into a Connacht semi-final against Leitrim.
8 May 2022 - Connacht semi-final: Galway 4-20 Leitrim 0-09
Despite the best efforts of Keith Beirne and Ryan O’Rourke, Andy Moran’s Leitrim side just could not compete with their provincial rivals as the Tribesmen ran riot.
Patrick Kelly chipped in with 2-01, Shane Walsh converted six points with only one coming from play with Niall Daly and Owen Gallagher notching the other three-pointers.
If there was ever a game that advocated for a two-tier championship, this was it. There was only one point in it after 21 minutes, but Galway demonstrated their superiority as Walsh and Paul Conroy kicked Joyce’s side into a seven-point half-time lead.
Kelly nipped in for a goal shortly after the second half began, ending the contest, before adding a second after a Walsh free dropped short causing panic.
Daly and Gallagher added further gloss to the scoreline and Galway were safely through to another Connacht final and the last 12 of the All-Ireland series.
29 May 2022 - Connacht final: Galway 2-19 Roscommon 2-16
Salthill was once more the venue for Galway’s Connacht success as they defeated Roscommon. It was their first win against them in their third meeting of the year.
Shane Walsh continued his scoring exploits with 1-06, 1-03 coming from play, while Rob Finnerty didn’t miss a beat scoring 0-05, none from placed balls. Damien Comer notched 0-03 while Patrick Kelly scored the other goal.
Walsh scored a magnificent goal, racing between a couple defenders before burying his effort beyond the out-stretched Colm Lavin. Kelly took his opportunity to put daylight between the sides.
Roscommon fought back with two late goals, the second of which was a 77th-minute effort from Diarmaid Murtagh but the game was already over by that stage.
26 June 2022 - All-Ireland quarter-final: Galway 2-21 Armagh 3-18 a.e.t. (Galway win 4-1 on penalties)
Galway made history, as they became the first team to win a championship game in a penalty shoot-out at Croke Park [Limerick had beaten Clare by the same method in Munster].
This was a classic that ebbed and flowed, with the maroon side surrendering a six-point lead to a 14-man Armagh side within the last eight minutes of additional time.
A melee at the end of normal time put bit of a dampener on proceedings that saw Galway captain Sean Kelly sent off along with his Armagh counterpart Aidan Nugent.
Rian O’Neill kicked a monster free for the Orchard County to tie up proceedings after goals from Nugent and substitute Conor Turbitt caused pandemonium in the Galway full-back line.
A Johnny Heaney goal had put the Tribesmen in the ascendancy after a cagey opening half, but they will have rued how they let Kieran McGeeney’s side back into the game.
Rory Grugan scored a third for Armagh before Cillian McDaid replied almost instantly with a green flag of his own. McDaid then kicked one of the all-time great points to level up the scores in extra-time.
Stefan Campbell and Turbitt both missed their spot kicks, while Galway made absolutely no mistake, scoring all four of their penalties. Shane Walsh, Damien Comer, Rob Finnerty, and Matthew Tierney all converted to send Galway into their first All-Ireland semi-final since 2018.
9 July 2022 - All-Ireland semi-final: Galway 2-08 Derry 1-06
Despite not scoring until the 21st minute, Galway prevailed over the Ulster champions thanks largely to a wondrous display from Damien Comer.
Derry set up defensively and aimed to transition the ball patiently in attack. Brendan Rogers came up from full-back to kick two of the first three points.
But when Comer kicked a left-footed effort to get Galway on the scoreboard, they never looked back. A '45 from Shane Walsh was initially ruled out by Hawk-eye but ruled a point in the aftermath of half-time. That swung momentum in favour of the westerners in the second half and levelled up the match.
Comer skinned Rogers for a goal in the Davin end and that, combined with three Walsh frees, accelerated the Galwegians in front. Derry 'keeper Odhran Lynch was caught up the field after Conor Glass was turned over, Comer secured the ball and finished expertly by placing the ball into the back of the empty net.
Derry substitute Lachlan Murray did slot the ball underneath on-rushing goal Connor Gleeson, but by then the game was long over and Galway were to be back on Jones’ Road for the All-Ireland final.
Kerry
Topping the table, Kerry won the Allianz National League Division 1 title beating Mayo comfortably in the final thanks to a superb David Clifford performance.
The Kingdom only lost one of their seven games, losing to Tyrone and drawing their opener with Kildare as Jack O’Connor went back to the county he left at the end of last year.
7 May 2022 - Munster semi-final: Cork 0-11 Kerry 0-23
Kerry maintained the status quo as they ran out comfortable 12-point winners against a Cork side who managed to stick with their Munster counterparts for 50 minutes.
Kerry kicked the next eight points – helped by the introduction of Paul Geaney, David Moran, Paul Murphy and Micheal Burns - as they put the Rebels firmly in their rear-view mirror.
Due to Ed Sheeran’s concert taking place in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the game was moved to Páirc Uí Rinn where the 10,743-strong crowd packed into Cork’s second home venue.
Sean O’Shea kicked 10 points, with eight coming from placed balls, whilst David Clifford was limited to just four points, three coming from frees.
Stephen Sherlock did the most damage for Cork with six points, five coming from frees but this game was never a contest as Kerry demonstrated their superiority to firmly put their Munster rivals in their place.
28 May 2022 - Munster final: Kerry 1-28 Limerick 0-08
A David Clifford-less Kerry proved too strong for Limerick as the Kingdom ran out 23-point winners in Fitzgerald Stadium on a baking hot summer's day.
Limerick, buoyed by their promotion into Division 2, continued on their hot summer streak by defeating both Tipperary and Clare on their way to the Munster final.
However, they couldn’t end their 126-year wait for a Munster title as Kerry made no mistake putting the Treaty County away.
Kerry had won nine of the last ten Munster Championships whilst Limerick last appeared in a final in 2010.
Killian Spillane did the damage with 1-03 from play whilst Sean O’Shea kicked another six points, four coming from open play. Paul Geaney kicked four, one coming from a mark, as Jack O’Connor’s side demonstrated the gulf in class between the two sides.
26 June 2022 - All-Ireland quarter-final: Kerry 1-18 Mayo 0-13
Kerry continued their progress in the All-Ireland series by defeating a Mayo side who faded in the second half. David Clifford overcame a worrying looking stumble to fire home a goal in the first half but it wasn’t until the second period when there was daylight between the teams.
Mayo put up a good account of themselves in the opening half, but when Kevin McLoughlin fired over for a point when the goal gaped, it ended up being the wake-up call the Kingdom needed as they pushed on in the second half.
Paul Geaney was the pick of the forwards with four points, one from a mark. Whilst Tom O’Sullivan sauntered forward from the back to kick three excellent scores.
Clifford overcame his injury set-back to add three points with two coming from marks and one from a free as Oisin Mullen tried to shut the Fossa man down.
Mayo dropped several balls wide or into Shane Ryan’s hands which stifled their momentum and gave impetus to Jack O’Connor’s men who never looked back from there.
10 July 2022 - All-Ireland semi-final Kerry: 1-14 Dublin 1-13
It was Sean O’Shea who silenced Hill 16 with a monster 50-metre free to win it at the death for Kerry which sent them through to their first final under Jack O'Connor since 2011.
Despite missing a first-half penalty, O’Shea showed character to strike a free straight over the black spot to send the Kerry faithful into delirium in front of over 73,000 spectators at Croke Park.
The Kingdom looked to be the better of the two sides as David Clifford and O’Shea tore the Dublin backs asunder. Clifford was unstoppable, and despite Johnny Cooper’s best efforts to get back in front of him and Michael Fitzsimons marking him tightly, Clifford brushed them aside on his way to kicking four points in the first half.
O’Shea pounced on some questionable Dubs defending after a long ball in wasn't dealt with and the Kenmare man made no mistake slotting past Evan Comerford.
Dublin showed all the hallmarks of what made them so great by pulling level in the second half thanks to a James McCarthy wonder score and an expertly taken goal by Cormac Costello.
Despite that, Paudie Clifford kept Kerry ticking over when the rest of the Kerry forwards were found wanting before O’Shea stepped up to write himself into Kerry folklore.
24 July 2022 - All-Ireland final: Galway v Kerry
Are Galway going to cause a shock and beat the highly-fancied Kerry? Or will this Kerry team finally answer their critics by delivering that coveted Sam Maguire trophy?
Follow the All-Ireland Football Championship final on Sunday, Galway v Kerry, from 2pm via our live blogs on rte.ie/sport or on the RTÉ News app. Watch live coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player with live radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
