It was a rare and wonderful sight for Galway fans to see Shane Walsh and Damien Comer both on the field together during the closing stages of their team’s Connacht SFC semi-final win over Leitrim last month.
The match marked Comer’s first appearance since last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Meath, while Walsh hadn’t featured since the second round of the league in early February.
Walsh, in particular, has been Galway’s go-to forward in terms of score-getting over the years but the Tribesmen still managed to score 9-125 during the National League, essentially without the duo – though Walsh did chip in with a point against Armagh in February.
Matthew Thompson, Young Footballer of the Year nominee in 2025, also missed the league after undertaking a study abroad scheme in Berkley, California.
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So, in their absence, who has been doing the scoring for Galway this season?
Pádraic Joyce’s side had a total of 21 different scorers over the course of their Division One National League campaign – with Rob Finnerty (1-33) shouldering the burden more than any other player.
Finnerty finished the 2026 league as the joint-fourth highest scorer in the top division and was the only Galway player in the top 10. Walsh actually finished the 2025 league as the fourth highest scorer in Division One as well, with a tally of 1-37.
Finnerty scored in six of Galway’s seven league games – posting his highest tally of 1-6 against Armagh while failing to score against Kerry. He hit eight points in each of Galway’s last two league games – against Monaghan and Dublin.
But if Finnerty’s form has been encouraging for Galway, so too is the fact two of their top five scorers in the league only made their NFL debuts this season – Oisín Mac Donnacha (1-17) and Shane McGrath (1-10).
Mac Donnacha has been really impressive in his maiden campaign – scoring in five of Galway’s seven games and displaying an ability to kick two-pointers, with three converted during the league.
The Naomh Anna Leitir Móir player has been one of the most lethal forwards in the Galway senior championship in recent years. He was named man of the match for his performance in Galway’s league draw with Donegal, finishing that fixture with 0-8.
McGrath picked up the man of the match accolade for his heroics against Kerry – scoring 0-5 in what was his first league start. The Dunmore man had come in off the bench and scored against both Mayo (1-0) and Armagh (0-1) before his starting role against the Kingdom.
McGrath, who had been on the fringes of the panel previously, sent over a pair of crucial two-pointers as Galway cancelled a 12-point deficit to draw in Tralee. He also scored a point in Galway’s Connacht semi-final win over Leitrim last time out.
Several other newcomers also impressed for Galway in front of the posts during the league, Fionn McDonagh chipped in with 1-5 while Ciarán Mulhern scored 0-6.
In terms of Galway’s only championship outing so far this year, Finnerty top-scored against Leitrim with 0-4, followed by Walsh, Paul Conroy and Liam Ó Conghaile – all with 0-3. Galway had 11 different scorers against Leitrim.
Walsh looked sharp during his 30 odd minutes on the field against Leitrim, scoring 0-3, and is expected to see more game-time against Roscommon in Sunday’s Connacht SFC final.
In the opposing dressingroom, Roscommon will be welcoming Dáire Cregg back from suspension. It might be useful to have calculators at the ready in Dr Hyde Park at the weekend.
Galways’s top scorers in the 2026 National League
Rob Finnerty 1-33
Oisín Mac Donnacha 1-17
Matthew Tierney 2-12
Shane McGrath 1-10
Liam Ó Conghaile 0-9
