IT'S BACK TO THE FUTURE

Having former boss Donoghue on the Galway sideline adds extra spice to this one for Dubs

- By PAT NOLAN

IT may not be one of the GAA's more noted rivalries, but there has been a level of enmity between the Dublin and Galway hurlers over the past decade and more.

Perhaps it has cooled in more recent times as players have moved on, but Micheál Donoghue landing on the Parnell Park sideline tomorrow in charge of his own county after effectively dumping Dublin last year adds a fresh flavour of seasoning to this de facto Leinster semi-final.

So, what spawned the rivalry in the first place?

Bar occasional League meetings, which Galway would invariably win with comfort, the counties weren't all that relevant to each other historically - until Galway moved into Leinster in 2009 at a time when Dublin were stretching their legs.

Galway were essentially shifted into the province to provide more competition for Kilkenny but, at times, they couldn't even get a swing at them because of Dublin.

And that didn't sit well.

Niall Corcoran, an All-Ireland minor winner with Galway who later hurled with distinction for Dublin seniors having been deemed surplus to requirements in his native county, is uniquely placed to give an informed perspective.

Although they had won the League in 2011, beating Galway in a Leinster semi-final that year was their first big statement in the Championship.

"I remember after that game back home in Galway, it was really a shock in Galway that Dublin, you know, who had been beaten by Antrim the year before in a Championship game, would be able to overturn Galway," Corcoran recalls.