No snap call on future by emotional Padraic Joyce

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

The maroon tracksuit had already been replaced with a denim shirt and trousers by the time Padraic Joyce made his way in to the GAA Museum to give his thoughts on an utterly disappointing performance and All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Meath.
On the walls around him were framed, enlarged posters of past deciders. His own Galway team had appeared in two in recent years and, if they only fell one point shy here, then it felt like they were a million miles off the mark too.
The whole Championships has felt like a struggle, like they had walked the path with leaden shoes. This is where that weight had taken its toll, against a hungry and growing Meath team that has gone from nowhere to a semi-final in the blink of an eye.
Meath's journey sums up such a wide-open campaign, a newfound democratisation of the game where counties can transform from Tailteann Cup winners in 2023 to within 70 minutes of a shot at Sam Maguire in the space of just 24 months.
This title was there for the taking. Still is for that last four.
'Our job was to beat Meath in a quarter-final, we just weren't good enough to do it,' said Joyce. 'There's no point... If we can't do that, we can't go on and try to win it out. Yeah, we had ambitions of winning it as every team that's left has. But there is some good teams left in the competition.
'Football is levelling out a good bit. It's great to see Meath back because they had gone away a long time. They were a powerhouse over the years so fair play to them, and their supporters, they were really good. They got behind their team and all we can do is wish them well as they go forward.'
There was one frustrated remark about a free that never was for his side down the stretch, but Joyce wasn't leaning in on that line of angst or complaint. Some days those go for you and some others they don't. He knows that's the deal.
He accepted, too, that Meath had probably 'left' Galway in it over the course of the game. Robbie Brenan's side had missed some good goal chances, and must have been puzzled how they went down the tunnel a point adrift after that first-half.
'We just didn't get to the levels of the game and we didn't really perform the way we should be performing,' said Joyce. 'It's hard to figure what was going on. We had a poor first half and in general, in fairness. Meath probably left us in the game as well.
'Then when we came back to go three up we probably thought that our experience might get us over the line but we gave away a short kickout and got dispossessed too easily and we conceded 2-6, 2-7 in turnovers.'
Joyce spoke of a raw emotion at their exit. It's hard to square away thoughts in neat bundles and soundbites at times like that but he made a fair fist of it He felt their experience would do it for them when they went from six down to three up inside five minutes.
It didn't.
'The lads will regroup and go again,' he predicted.
And what of him? It was announced last October that Joyce's term, renewed in 2022 until the end of this season, was to be extended through to 2026. He has been there for six years and owes nothing to anyone but he showed his experience again when asked on this.
'We've just gone out of the Championship so I'm not going to make any rash decisions. We'll sit and chat. There's a lot of lads in there with decisions to make about next year as well, as we have as a management, so we will do that in due course.
'The county board have always been very supportive of me and the players so we will sit down and get things properly organised. Whatever will be will be. There will be no statements or no rushes coming out the next day or two anyway.'