John Muldoon had the perfect ambush in store for his coach.
Eager to get All-Ireland Sunday off, in order to watch Galway take on Kilkenny, he asked Pat Lam in front of a room of journalists and PR execs.
The Connacht captain is a massive hurling fan and is hoping The Tribesmen can claim their first Liam MacCarthy in 27 years.
The westerners open their Guinness PRO12 season with two Friday games, against Dragons and Glasgow, so a Sunday session has been planned in between.
All Lam would commit to, in front of his audience, was that an opening day win might see him grant some of the squad’s Galwegians a day off.
Perfect motivation.
Muldoon and the Connacht players missed Galway’s semi-final win over Tipperary as they were coming back from France, but he kept the squad updated through phone alerts.
‘We were slagging JP Cooney and Shane O’Leary as they are from Tipperary,’ he says.
‘I’m delighted for Galway. There are a couple of Portumna lads in there. Obviously Andy Smith, who is captain, and a couple of others.
‘I’d love to see them doing it. I hope the semi-final wasn’t their All-Ireland, if you know what I mean.’
‘I’d love to see Joe Canning win it too,’ Muldoon adds.
‘For one of the best players to grace the game, it would be an awful pity for him not to win it.’
Muldoon has cloudy memories of Galway’s last big trophy triumph at Croke Park, in 1988.
‘I think I remember some of it but it is probably mixed with me watching and re-watching All-Ireland Gold on TG4,’ he remarks.
‘I have a vague recollections of being with my mum and dad in Ballinasloe when they brought the cup back… The cup was brought to my school, by Tony Kiely I think. His nephew was in the school.’
This is the first year Muldoon has not made it along to a Galway game but he laughs off suggestions that his presence at Croker might jinx them at this stage.
‘It’d be great for them to win and hopefully I’ll be there for it.’
Muldoon is a Mazda Brand Ambassador, along with Kieran Marmion and Denis Buckley. For further information on Mazda’s upcoming roadshows, visit their website or Facebook page.
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