Two years later in 1953 Galway defeated a star-studded Kilkenny team in the penultimate stage of the championship. This victory allowed Duggan's side to advance to the All-Ireland final where Cork provided the opposition. The game itself is remembered as one of the ugliest championship deciders ever and is clouded in controversy due to the injury to the Galway captain, Mick Burke. Galway lost the game by 3-3 to 0-8. After the match at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin a fight broke out when another Galway player struck Cork's Christy Ring. The following morning another fight broke out when another member of the Galway panel attempted to hit Ring. The fights, however, ended just as quickly as they had started. This defeat brought the curtain down on Duggan's inter-county career.