Keady native Tomas Galvin left Dungannon Swifts last month to link up with Kieran McGeeney’s Armagh squad ahead of the new GAA season
Kieran McGeeney pulled off a massive coup by convincing Oisin Conaty to turn his back on a promising career in the Irish League and Armagh are hoping that lightning can strike twice with another multi-talented prospect.
Conaty was on the books at his native Portadown when he decided to throw his lot in with McGeeney’s men and he has since won back-to-back All-Stars, an All-Ireland medal, been Man-of-the-Match in the final win over Galway and was the Young Footballer of the Year in 2024.
Tomas Galvin was being tipped for big things after scoring 14 goals for Dungannon Swifts, but the 21-year-old has quit soccer and joined the Orchard County squad ahead of the 2026 campaign.
His clubmate Paul McCormack has already spoken to his former Armagh teammate about Galvin’s potential and he feels he has the attributes to be a success at county level.
“I’ve known him since he was seven or eight,” said McCormack, who will hope to lead Slaughtneil to back-to-back Ulster Club SHC titles next weekend.
“I’ve seen him on the pitch and he’s just a real good lad and he wants to play sport and he’s talented. He ticks a lot of boxes.
“I remember chatting to Kieran (McGeeney) about him a couple of years ago. I said he had a lot of things that could add to the Armagh senior footballers. I could see that in him and others could as well.
“He went down the soccer route and he’s good at that too. He wants to play hurling, football, soccer, I’m sure if there’s any other sports then he’d be good at them, but he’s a good lad with a good head on his shoulders.
“I’m hoping that he fulfils his potential because he has got attributes that a lot of players don’t have. That’s why I know Kieran has brought him in and hopefully we’ll see him in the orange jersey next year lighting up pitches somewhere.
McCormack and John Toal were members of Armagh’s breakthrough team in 2002 with McGeeney as the All-Ireland winning captain. 20 years later, McGeeney won another All-Ireland as manager, but representation from the Keady Michael Dywer’s ended when Toal was forced to retire following a horrific leg injury in 2005 and McCormack switched codes to play for the Armagh hurlers after the 2006 season.
McCormack is hoping Galvin’s decision to play for Armagh can inspire the next generation in the south Armagh town.
“John (Toal) got hurt in 2005, so I was playing in 2006,” McCormack added.
“I played in the National League and I played a couple of games in the championship, coming on as a sub in 2006.
“It’s been 20 years now so hopefully Tomas will get Championship time. That’s the big thing but he has a bit of learning and understanding to do first at that level. It’s difficult for anybody just to jump straight in.
“Can he do it? I hope he can. If it doesn’t happen straight away then I hope he sticks with it because it’s brilliant for the town to have somebody on the panel again and to be in that environment.
“It’s good for the kids of the town, it’s good for the lads that are 16 and 17 and that can only be a positive for them.”
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