 Later that year he made his championship debut at centre-back against Down.In 2005 Galway defeated both Tipperary and Kilkenny in the All-Ireland series to qualify for an All-Ireland final showdown with Cork.It was the first meeting of Cork and Galway in an All-Ireland final since 1990 and even more daunting was the fact that men from the west had never beaten Cork in a championship decider.