Composure central to Galway's success —Mannion

GAA history is filled with numerous examples of brothers crossing the white lines at Croke Park on All-Ireland senior hurling final day and bringing glory and honour to their clubs and indeed homes.

Sunday was no different from a Galway perspective. There were five sets of brothers involved in the senior panel: Padraic and Cathal Mannion (Ahascragh-Fohenagh), David and Éanna Burke (St Thomas'), Greg and Gavin Lally (Gort), Daithí and Ronan Burke (Turloughmore), as well as Paul and Brian Flaherty (Abbeyknockmoy).
Waterford, meanwhile, had three sets of siblings central to Derek McGrath's plans: Kieran, Stephen and Shane Bennett (Ballysaggart); Darragh and Shane Fives (Tourin); and Mahony's, Philip and Pauric, from Ballygunner. Then there was the Shanahan clan from Lismore, represented inside and outside the white lines by Maurice and his older brother Dan, Déise selector.
There was plenty of crossover between the Tribesmen minor and senior panels, too. Turloughmore's Daniel Loftus emulated his older brother and senior panelist Sean by being part of a minor-senior double on Sunday. So too the Glennons from Mullagh, Ronan (minor) and Davy (senior), and the Molloys from Kilnadeema-Leitrim, Brian (senior) and Conor (minor).
For the Mannions from Lurgan in Caltra, the sons of Tomás and Marie, it was extra special with both starting members of Micheál Donoghue's drought-ending side.
Speaking little over an hour after winning a first All-Ireland senior medal, Padraic admitted it was difficult to put the scale of Galway's achievement into words.

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