By John Harrington

Unusually for defending All-Ireland champions, this Galway hurling team is still motivated by the bitter taste of defeat.

They might have finally made it to the top of the mountain last year, but they were sent tumbling down it in 2012 and 2015 after All-Ireland Final defeats to Kilkenny.

Current players like Joe Canning, Johnny Coen, David Burke, Niall Burke, Conor Cooney, Joseph Cooney, James Skehill, Davy Glennon, and Jonathan Glynn were on the wrong side of the result both days.

And, according to Coen, that’s why they’ll be just as hungry for victory when they play Clare in Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final as they were when defeating Waterford in last year’s Final.

“For sure,” said Coen. “We're under no illusions about this semi-final. We've played Tipperary in the last three years and there's only been one point between the teams on every single occasion.

“If you haven't got your head screwed on or if you're not fully tuned in then you're going to be found wanting. We're not fully deluded or anything like that.

“You look at our performance in the first game (of the Leinster Final) against Kilkenny, if it's a fraction off at all then teams are going to punish you.

“I think having lost the All-Ireland in 2012 and 2015, the same collective group of players had suffered an awful lot of heartache throughout the years.

“You kind of had to look at yourself in the mirror and kind of say, 'Is this it? Is this really going to define us or are we going to find another level within us?' Thankfully we did.”

Having twice experienced the pain of losing an All-Ireland Final, last year’s success was all the sweeter for Coen.

“We had suffered a lot of heartache over the last few years, but to actually bring the Cup home was a special feeling,” he said.

“I was very fortunate to bring the Cup home to my own parents and to my Granny as well. At the end of the day, home is where you come from and home is where the real support structure is.

“If you're feeling down they're the ones that are going to pick you up. I was very fortunate that when I was feeling great I was able to celebrate the victory with them as well.

“They understand what you're going through, the amount of training that you're doing, the amount of times that you're putting your life on hold, as such. And to a degree they're doing that too.

“They'll be helping you out, be it with gear or making dinner or whatever the case may be. They really want to see me and the team doing well and when we did make the breakthrough it was great to bring a bit of joy.”

The hurling that Galway played in the first half and the final 15 minutes of the Leinster Senior Hurling Final replay against Kilkenny was arguably the best we’ve seen yet from them.

This generation of Galway hurlers has always had a rare ability, but now it seems as though it’s complemented by an iron-clad self-assurance. Coen admits that self-confidenc is now taken as a given in their camp.

“You'd never be doubting your own ability or anything like that,” he said. “I'm 27 years of age now and I'm hurling nearly all my life. If you have a bad game it's not going to fully define you. If you have a great game you're still trying to better yourself.

“Confidence is huge. If you don't believe in yourself no-one else is going to believe in you. If you don't feel good about yourself at times, then you're not going to be able to show-case the skills that you've been working on throughout the year.

“We've come from a very good position in the sense that we won it last year. We'll be looking at our own performance and making sure we have our heads screwed on and that we're tactically spot-on as well.

“If we bring our 'A' game there's no reason why we can't progress to an All-Ireland.”