Gary Fahey
 |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Gearóid Ó Fathaigh | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Full Back | ||
| Born | Galway, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| Killannin | |||
| Colleges(s) | |||
| Years | College | ||
| UCG | |||
| College titles | |||
| Sigerson titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
1992–2004 | Galway | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Connacht titles | 5 | ||
| All-Irelands | 2 | ||
| NFL | 0 | ||
| All Stars | 0 | ||
Gary Fahey is a former Gaelic footballer who captained the Galway county team in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Playing primarily in a full-back position, Fahey won five Connacht Senior medals and two All-Ireland medals.[1] He is the brother of Niamh Fahey, the Republic of Ireland women's national football team player.[2]
Playing career
[edit]College
[edit]Gary Fahey won a Sigerson Cup with UCG, defeating Queen's in the 1992 final.[3]
Inter-county
[edit]His inter-county career began in 1992 when he joined the Galway panel after playing a role in UCG's Sigerson Cup-winning team. Fahey made his inter-county debut in the summer of 1992 when he came on as a substitute in a defeat against Mayo in Castlebar. In the 1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, Galway won the Connacht title under Bosco McDermott. They defeated Mayo in Tuam Stadium to win their first provincial title in 8 years. Galway later lost to Tyrone in the All-Ireland semi-final.[citation needed]
Mayo defeated Galway in both the 1996 and 1997 Connacht campaigns where they also lost both subsequent All-Ireland finals. John O'Mahony was brought in as Galway manager in September 1997,[citation needed] and in the 1998 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, the team defeated Kildare in the All-Ireland final. It was Galway's first All-Ireland win in 32 years.
In the next four years, Fahey played in several big games for Galway.[citation needed][tone] In 1999, a hamstring injury kept him out of the Connacht final. However, he returned for the 2000 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship season where Galway re-claimed the Connacht title after defeating Leitrim before losing to Kerry in the All-Ireland Final after a replay.[citation needed]
Galway began the 2001 championship season with a defeat to Roscommon. However, through the new 'back-door' system, and following victories over Wicklow, Cork, Armagh, Roscommon (again) and Derry, they met Meath in the All-Ireland final.[citation needed] Galway beat Meath in the final by nine points, and Fahey collected his second All-Ireland medal. He also lifted the Sam Maguire trophy as captain.[citation needed]
Galway won the Connacht title again in both the 2002 championship and 2003 competition.
John O'Mahony departed as Galway manager in 2004 and Fahey retired from inter-county football shortly afterwards.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Neville, Conor (4 February 2015). "The Best Footballers Who Have Never Won An All-Star XV". Balls Media Ltd. Balls.ie. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ Barry, Brian (25 September 2020). "Niamh Fahey: Liverpool captain and All-Ireland winner with Galway". Sky Sports. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ McCoy, Niall (21 July 2022). "Seán Kelly's eye on a perfect season finale". Raidió Teilifís Éireann.
Kelly, like Fahey, wore number three on his back. Kelly, like Fahey, won a Sigerson at NUIG – although it was UCG when Fahey's side defeated Queen's in the 1992 final.
- ^ Keys, Colm (25 November 2004). "GAELIC GAMES: Fahey calls time on Galway". Irish Independent.