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24th Dec 2016

WATCH: Paul Galvin shares amazing story about Colm Cooper’s All-Ireland final routine

Brilliant stuff

Patrick McCarry

Not a bother to him.

Paul Galvin and Colm Cooper have 16 All-Ireland Final appearances between them. They’ve seen it all. Still, Galvin was never expecting such a late, late lie-in.

Galvin and Cooper were guests on The GAA Hour Live at The Sugar Club, at had the crowd in stitches with some of their recollections.

Kerry teammates for over a decade, the pair often roomed with each other before big games, and they don’t come much bigger than the All-Ireland Final in 2007.

Colm Cooper and Paul Galvin 1/7/2007

Four-time All-Ireland winner Galvin said:

“I came back to the room around 1 o’clock. Gooch had disappeared.

“The game was at 3:30pm and this was about 1:15pm. So he would have been up for breakfast, physio, lunch and then he disappeared. We had about an hour to kill so I headed back to the room and I see this little tuft of red hair under the duvet, and there’s not a stir out of him.

“So I go ‘It’s time to go. We have to get on the bus and we have a team meeting’.

“I was getting the bag ready and there’s still no life out of Gooch. Next thing, I pick up my bag and drop it. He grunts… ‘What time is it?’

“It’s quarter past one Gooch.

“‘Oh Jaysus… I’m going to stay in bed’.

“I said, ‘We’ve a game there about 3:30, if you wouldn’t mind joining us’. Gooch just stretches. ‘Ah, we’ve a few minutes yet’.

“It was like he hit the snooze button. Back asleep for five minutes. Rolled out of bed. Hit 1-5 that day.”

Kerry won 3-13 to 1-9 and Cooper could rest easy… for another while at least.

You can have a listen [starts at 36:00] to Galvin’s tale and another host of wonderful recollections.

Check out our GAA Hour All-Ireland preview special, featuring Jack McCaffrey, Paul Galvin, Colm Cooper, Peter Canavan, Kieran McGeeney, Senan Connell, John O’Leary and Vinnie Murphy. Listen below or subscribe here on iTunes.

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