Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Galway manager Padraic Joyce.Tommy Grealy/INPHO FreePadraic Joyce Padraic Joyce: 'I'm huge on the Galway GAA brand, no one disrespects that' The Galway boss takes his team to New York for tomorrow night’s Connacht senior football opener. 6.01am, 5 Apr 2025 Share options DONALD TRUMP’S LATEST declarations during the week have confirmed that it’s not a good time to be shipping into the United States, but regardless of tariffs and trade, Galway have no choice but to try and do business in New York if they are to retain their Connacht senior football title. Given how close the Tribesmen went to lifting the biggest prize of all last summer, it could well be argued that another Nestor Cup is of little consequence in the greater scheme of things, but that’s not how Pádraic Joyce sees it, in advance of their season opener at Gaelic Park tomorrow. “I value the provincial championships highly, I think youre better off coming through it” he said at the Connacht SFC launch last week. “We took a lot of confidence from last year’s Connacht championship, the way we won it. You’re talked about as being one of the top three or four because you win your province, it just gives a good vibe around the place in the group, because if you lose a semi-final or a final you’re waiting a month to play or five weeks to go again with doubts hanging over you. “Everyone has different opinions on them (provincial championships) but my opinion on it is that I think they’re great and our province of Connacht is quite strong. We have two teams at the weekend in the league finals, Sligo put us to the pin of our collar last year and theyre tipping away quietly in the league there as well, so it’s a really wide open championship.” Galway’s Kieran Molloy throws water on manager Pádraic Joyce as they celebrate after last year's Connacht final.James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO There aren’t too many – if any – pundits on the record saying that Galway might slip up against New York, but there are plenty, particularly those with experience of the logistics involved in making the trip stateside, who argue that the whole ordeal can be incredibly disruptive to a well-planned out campaign. On a week when the Kerry footballers and Limerick hurlers are among those groups who have built in a week of warm-weather training, Galway are currently in the midst of a trip which involves time changes, longer journeys, and considerable social commitments. Advertisement The option of foregoing some of the meeting and greeting was never strongly considered by Joyce or his management. “When we went over years ago, we (stayed) well outside the city which was a bit of a disaster really because you’re in one of the nicest and busiest cities in the world. I remember where we stayed, we were an hour and-a-half bussing in and out” he said. “We’re staying in the middle of Manhattan when we go over. I think lads need to enjoy the city as well when they’re there. “We’re doing the meet and greet on the Friday night. We’ll mix, we’ll enjoy it, well go and enjoy the city. Lads will go and do a bit of shopping, do a walk, sightseeing, do all that stuff. I think they need to go and enjoy it, but obviously the focus will be the game on the Sunday. Galway players before last year's All-Ireland final.Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO “They’ve a lot of family and friends going as well and they don’t want to be miles away from where they’re staying. There’s supporters staying in our hotel. We’ll over as a group and well enjoy it”. Real upsets have become increasingly rare in the championship in recent years, but Leitrim’s defeat in a shootout two years ago serves as a reminder to everyone within the group that the new rules, the different surface and the likelihood of real heat all create a unique environment, and one where Joyce is wary of the threat. “I know a lot of supporters are going for a bit of craic for the weekend. My focus is going to get a second round match against Roscommon in a few couple of weeks time. “We got a huge scare in 2010, we pulled away in the end by three or four points, just about. But again, New York beat Leitrim a couple of years ago as well. We’re going to go and get our stuff right and make sure we’re tuned in for it.” What Joyce has been strong on, and their itinerary in New York feeds into that, is continuing a strong connection with the general public of the county. For years the Galway hurlers were the crowd-pullers, while the Galway footballers, even at the height of their powers, were only followed by a hardcore group of supporters, the majority of which were from the north Galway heartlands around Tuam. Under Joyce, even before the group reached two All-Ireland finals, that trend has been moving the other way. “I just felt in Galway over the years, there was a bit of a city culture. We had lads going round the town wearing a Galway top of the sake of it and that kind of craic. “The focus has to be on football. We’re trying to leave it in a better place because we wont be here forever. There needs to be an ethos in the squad that Galway is now competing probably in the top three or four teams in the country. “It needs to be a privilege now to play for Galway. I’m huge on the Galway GAA brand that no one steps outside the mark on that, no one disrespects that. Even a simple thing like going for a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, if someone says hello to you and wants a picture, you do that. You help the kids as much as we can because we hadn’t huge support in Galway when we started off initially. “I always say that its up to us to give supporters the reason to come with us and follow us. In fairness our support the last couple of years has been immense and its great. You’ll see it in New York as well, a lot of people are travelling out and I know it’s expensive. “I pay wages every week to fellas and I know how much people value their wages. We understand that people spend their hard-earned money watching us, so we have to try and make sure we reward them with decent performances and just good attitude. “I’d be huge on kind of developing a family atmosphere within the group as well. Every day we play a championship match, we’d have a family with us or someone that we’d donate a matchday experience. Money would be raised at some things and a charity would benefit. “We’ve no problem doing that for supporters because obviously we have to give back to them as well. “That doesn’t change just because we’re over on the other side of the Atlantic, if anything it’s all the more important because of the effort people have made to be there.” Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Padraic Joyce: 'I'm huge on the Galway GAA brand, no one disrespects that'”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Padraic Joyce: 'I'm huge on the Galway GAA brand, no one disrespects that'”. 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