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Galway footballers saw another premature end to their championship when their chances of a third Sam Maguire in ten years were quite literally washed away on Saturday evening. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Tribesmen. The Galway faithful seem optimistic for the future of the county and why not?

If you had told Liam Sammon on Saturday morning his side would score 1-16 against the All-Ireland champions, he might even had a few pound on Galway progressing. It wasn’t to be, but all is not lost.

Ok, Padraic Joyce will be 32 but hardly passed his best on this year’s evidence. Put Nicky Joyce, Sean Armstrong and Joe Bergin in Saturday’s team and you can see that the future is bright. The emergence of Paul Conroy and Gareth Bradshaw shows that talent is still coming through and with last year’s minor All-Ireland panel to choose from one or two more gems might make an appearance in the 2009 Championship.

This year may be put to bed but the mood in Galway is still one of optimism.