Q: It must be a great honour to be named Footballer of the Year?
Paul Conroy: Yeah, definitely, it is a bit surreal to be honest. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.
When you look at the calibre of players that have won this before, and even the calibre of players that are receiving awards and aren’t receiving awards tonight, it is definitely a massive honour.
It is something I’m very proud of, I’m very proud of the people, who put work into you at underage.
My club St James’ and for my family, too, it is a nice touch, and something lovely to get.
Q: That is an important part, at a certain time, you have to think about those who helped. Your Dad was an influential figure in the development of the club and others?
PC: Yeah, definitely. In the GAA you’ve so many volunteers, people put so much time into you.
When you’re a bit younger you don’t really appreciate that.
You’re just getting on with it and enjoying your sport.
When you get a bit older, you look back, and on a night like tonight, when you’re getting a big award, you might get messages off previous coaches or teachers, you definitely appreciate it.
For me, it is a massive honour, and it is still a bit surreal.
Q: For Galway City to have three footballers receiving All-Stars is a remarkable thing?
PC: It goes to show you the work that is being done in different clubs.
Salthill-Knocknacarra are a massive club, to get two All-Stars from the one club is special.
For myself, from St James’, to be the first All-Star from St James’, that is really good. It means a lot.
It is really important to motivate young lads and young girls, whether it be in the county or in your club, to see that it is possible.
If you put in the work, they can all get here.
Q: When you went to St Mary’s College, you played on good teams, and Liam Sammon, the first man that brought you into a Galway senior panel, how influential was that time for you?
PC: I was blessed in St Mary’s, I had Liam Sammon for five years coaching me.
I had him for PE and I had him as a coach too. I learned so much from him.
When I finished up in school, he was the manager of the Galway seniors at the time.
I remember him ringing me, asking me to come in. That is a very special for any player, when you get called up to a senior team.
I was very young at the time, but it is something I look back on fondly.
I learned an awful lot at the time off Liam, any player that ever played under him, they will tell you how good of a coach he is.
If I still see him today, I’d still have a great chat with him, he is someone I’m very grateful for, definitely.
Q: You are there since playing with Galway. It is a commitment, and you’re going to keep playing in 2025, but has your perspective changed? With a young family, is it very different to back in 2008?
PC: I think when you’re 18 going in, you’re just kinda on a high.
You don’t look at things the way you might when you’re a bit older.
I think when you’re young like that, you’re very carefree.
Then, maybe as you get on in years the pressure might come on a bit.
We struggled a lot of years with Galway in terms of our form.
Things weren’t going overly well. I suppose, I’m glad, and look back fondly on sticking it out through a lot of tough years.
You always feel that you will turn the corner, and you are building.
There was a lot of underage success, things like that.
It probably took me a bit longer than I expected to get an All-Star, but look it is great to get one, and Footballer of the Year too is something very special.
We’re very lucky that we’ve such a strong team at the moment, your teammates get you this far really.
A couple of individuals are picked from that team performance.
Thankfully, at the moment we’ve five All-Stars tonight, and maybe five two years ago.
It is nice to see those individual accolades, it gives everyone else on the panel a lift too.
It gives everyone a boost of confidence.
Q: Perseverance is important for any sportsperson. For Galway to be relevant again nationally matters?
PC: 100 per cent, even when you think of kids going to games with their parents.
They want to be going to the big games at Croke Park.
The boys and girls want to be looking at their heroes as such.
Obviously, we didn’t get over the line this year, but we did have three outings in Croke Park, we got over the line in two of them.
It is really important to be one of the teams that is looking at themselves at the start of the year as realistic people, who can take home silverware.
Thankfully, in the last few years, we’ve definitely earned that right, to be one of the top teams, to be a Division One team which is good.
For a good while we weren’t, we were middle of Division Two, and at times dicing with relegation.
So, things definitely have improved.
Q: Padraic Joyce and his backroom team, their influence, and looking ahead what Mickey Graham and David Morris might bring?
PC: It is important to note that Cian O’Neill put three long years into us.
He was travelling up from Cork, the amount of energy and effort that would have taken.
He is an excellent coach, he has moved to Kerry now, they are delighted to get him.
He was brilliant. It is good at the same time, to freshen things up too, whether it be a coach, manager or a selector, it can be good to hear a new voice.
I look forward to working with Mickey Graham and David Morris. Mickey has a great record and you hear nothing, but positive things about him.
Q: You’re always willing to learn?
PC: 100 per cent, I think the day you think you know everything, you’re in a bit of bother.
You pick up things all the time, you pick them up when you’re 12 or 13, and you pick them up when you’re 34 or 35.
I think if you have that mindset, it is a big plus.
If you think you know it all, you’re in a bit of bother.
Q: Can you give an insight into being all in for sport?
C: Even for yourself, taking sport out of it, if you’re spending so much time in a set-up, whether it be hurling, football, ladies football or camogie, whatever it is, the amount of time and hours that goes into that, it wouldn’t make any sense not to be fully committed.
So, that is where I’m coming from. You miss out on an awful lot of things, family events, weddings, birthdays because of inter-county football or hurling.
To make the gains, first of all you’ve to be fully committed physically and mentally.
I think maybe that takes a while for some players, I’m not sure. Once you do, and put the effort in, you start seeing the rewards.
An old principal used to say to us, you get out of something what you put into it.
I remember that from secondary school. That is the same with inter-county.
To be fair to yourself and your teammates, you have to be fully committed.
Q: So, there is joy in the journey? You wouldn’t do it unless you loved it?
PC: 100 per cent, I’ve often said that. I love going training, I have for the last whatever amount of years.
A good, hard training session or hard game, the feeling after, the sense of achievement, the friends you make, it is all in the journey.
I’ve been on this journey [for] a while now. It is very enjoyable, and as I always say, if I wasn’t enjoying it, you couldn’t keep doing it.
Q: Is the pride element still there, playing for Galway and St James’?
PC: I think it is just a trait I have in me, even from when I was very young, when I started playing football at age five or six, I just enjoyed training, sport.
I’d be competitive. I feel I’m at a good level in terms of my body.
My body has been very good to me, obviously I had one bad injury, but my body has been holding up down through the years.
You’ve to respect your body, to look after yourself, it has been going okay.
A night like tonight, you appreciate everything, you appreciate the people who put the effort into you, and even the effort you put in yourself.
It is nice to be rewarded on an individual basis even though it is a team sport.
Q: The sacrifices others make for you are key really?
PC: 100 per cent, it might take you a while to realise that.
You mightn’t realise that when you’re playing U16, U15 or U14, but as you get older you realise the amount of time people put into you.
It is important for them to enjoy nights like tonight.