Liam Sammon

Infobox GAA player
code= Football
sport = Gaelic football


name = Liam Sammon
irish =
placeofbirth = Galway
countryofbirth = Ireland
dob= 1946
county = Galway
province = Connacht
club = Father Griffins
clposition = Full-forward
clubs = Father Griffins
clyears = 1966-1990
clapps(points) =
clcounty = 4
clprovince =1
counties = Galway
icposition = Full-Forward
icyears = 1966-1979
icapps(points) =
icprovince = 7
icallireland = 1
allstars= 3

Liam Sammon is a famous county footballer for Galway and is the current manager of the Galway inter-countyset-up

Sammon was part of the Galway team that won the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the last part of the "Three In A Row" for the county.

Sammon played in three more All-Ireland finals in the 70's, losing all 3, against Offaly, Cork and Dublin in 71, 73 and 74 respectively. In the 74 final, he famously had his penalty saved by Paddy Cullen, a crucial turning point in the match.

He played his club football for Father Griffins in Galway for 24 years.

In January 2008, Sammon launched a second book on Gaelic football coaching ’Optimising Performance in Gaelic Football’ with the proceeds going to the Physically Challenged Irish and American Youth Team charity.

2008 Championship

"All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2008" In September 2007, Sammon was confirmed as the new Galway senior football boss, receiving a three year term and succeeding Peter Ford in the hot seat. His appointment meant that Galway had a native in charge of their premier football team for the first time in almost 10 years. Sammon is the second oldest inter-county manager on the scene at the moment after Mick O'Dwyer. Sammon’s backroom team includes former Galway defender Richie Fahey, Dunmore McHales Tom Ryder and another former county player, Jimmy O’Dea, of Tuam Stars.

On 19 May 2008, Galway won Connacht SFC first round clash against Roscommon at Pearse Stadium by a comfortable 2-16 to 0-06 scoreline. "I didn’t think we would win by so much. I would have settled for one or two points, I thought that’s how close it would be." Sammon said after the match. Their semi-final clash against Leitrim alos at Pearse Stadium again had the same otucome, Galway winning by 2-14 to 1-13. Sammon wasn’t entirely satisfied with Galway’s performance and felt there was plenty of room for improvement ahead of the Connacht final against Mayo. "Goals are so important and they win games. We were fortunate when we got two and were disappointed that we gave one away.We were giving away goals in the early away goals in the early rounds of the league and we worked on stopping that, so we’re not happy."

On 13 July 2008, Galway won their 44th Connacht Senior Football Championship after beating Mayo by 2-12 to 1-14 in a gripping provincial decider at McHale Park. Sammon warmly greeted the victory after the final. "Any time you can win, it certainly stands to you, particularly down here in Castlebar. It is a very difficult places to win in," he said.

"It helps players’ confidence to win here and, if we could do it in the league, maybe we could do it again in the championship. We had a couple of chances in the first half, maybe we didn’t take them. You are never going to take all your chances."

"The performance was up and down, nip and tuck and both teams complemented each other. We let it slip a little bit at one stage and we were unable to win any sort of breaks in the middle of the field and we were struggling. I know Mayo will be disappointed, but God help the team they meet in the qualifiers."

In the quarter-finals, Galway played reigning All-Ireland Champions Kerry. A spirited performance from the Tribesmen was not enough as Kerry won by 5 points, 1-21 to 1-16. Sammon said after the match, "Kerry were brilliant today. They just proved what a great team they are. Any team that is going for three-in-a-row deserves the respect and plaudits that they get. Looking back, I think that it has been a successful year for Galway as we brought on a number of young players. I felt at one stage when we got the goal that if we had pressed forward and gotten a point or two more, we might have gone ahead. But that is the sign of a great team - any time they are under pressure that they are able to come back and score". In his assessment of Galways season, he added "Looking back, I think that it has been a successful year for Galway as we brought on a number of young players."