“That’s why the Galway fans were nice to him,” jokes Des Cahill as he reveals his son’s mistake on the GAA jersey in the All-Ireland semi-final

DES CAHILL has revealed his son wanted to wear a Donegal GAA shirt for their All-Ireland semi-final against Galway – but made a critical mistake.

Tir Chonaill were eliminated from the Sam Maguire race on Saturday after a narrow defeat to the Tribesmen at Croke Park.

Present at GAAHQ was RTE legend Des Cahill’s son Paul, who chose to buy a Donegal shirt to support his Ulster-born mother Caroline.

However, he made the embarrassing mistake of buying the Corofin jersey, as the Galway club colours were also yellow and green.

Des shared a photo of his son wearing the shirt during the match, joking: “THAT’S why the Galway fans were so nice to them…!!

“My son took a yellow and green jersey home to support my wife in the #Donegal v #Galway game… it was the @CorofinGAA Galway club jersey!!”

Galway fans had another reason to be jovial and hospitable after watching their team secure an All-Ireland final against Armagh.

Padraic Joyce’s men will be playing the showpiece game since 2022, when they lost to Kerry after a penalty shootout between Shane Walsh and David Clifford.

They will have another chance to get their hands on Sam for the first time since 2001 when they face Orchard County on July 28.

At the helm of that team was John O’Mahony, who had also led them to All-Ireland glory in 1998.

Padraic Joyce played a key role in both teams and dedicated their upcoming appearance to O’Mahony, who died last week.

Joyce admitted: “It was a tough week, very tough, to be honest, but we had to try to separate the emotion from that and prepare for the game, which I think we did well.

“We were obviously heartbroken. I shed a tear because this man meant so much to me personally and to the Galway players. Our WhatsApp group from 1998 and 2001 was abuzz.

“The guys were really heartbroken. You can’t be heartbroken unless you love someone and we loved him as a man.

“He was a great manager, a brilliant friend, a great mentor to me over the last two years. I will miss his conversations, his phone calls and his advice.”

DO NOT MAKE ANY NOISE

Armagh will be playing in their first All-Ireland final since 2003, with their semi-final victory over Kerry representing a remarkable turnaround for manager Kieran McGeeney.

Last August he was put to a vote among the county’s clubs to determine whether he would remain in charge – eventually winning that vote.

After greeting the Kingdom, he urged the audience to let his players focus on nothing but getting their hands on Sam.

McGeeney said: “We want our county to enjoy the build-up and the next two weeks leading up to the All Ireland final.

“The fans have the right to do that. That’s the whole point of the sport, the spectacle and the occasion.

“I want them to do it. But I want them to leave the players alone and let them do their part.

“This hype is going to be hard to handle, but what’s happening inside won’t be.”