Month: September 2021

AS SOMEONE WHO soldiered side-by-side with Stephen Cluxton throughout the victorious All-Ireland campaign of 2013, Shane Supple is in a unique position to decode the enigma of the Dublin captain.

Battling together and pushing one another on through training sessions and match-days en route to the Allianz National League, Leinster Championship and the Sam Maguire, Supple should be able to lift up the curtain on one of Irish sport’s most fascinating and elusive characters.

But, he says, Cluxton just doesn’t let his mask slip. With a relentless, quiet, steely determination to be the best and maintain those high standards which yield trophies season after season, Cluxton’s secrets to success are as close-guarded to team-mates as they are to the public who watch on in amazement at the 37-year-old’s performances.

“Maybe it was the fact he didn’t talk to people,” Supple grins trying to put into words what made the Dublin captain so special during the All-Ireland winning campaign they spent together as team-mates six years ago.

The former shot-stopper, having spent seven years on the books at Ipswich Town, returned home to Ireland at the age of 22 after becoming completely disillusioned with the thankless, selfish nature of football in the UK — a toxic environment he saw as the antithesis of a GAA dressing room.

Supple won an All-Ireland football championship with Dublin back in 2013.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

He picked back up gaelic with Blanchardstown side St Brigid’s after leaving Roy Keane’s Ipswich side a decade ago, and went on to captain his local club all the way to the Dublin Senior Football Championship in 2011. His fine form led to a call-up by Jim Gavin the following season as the manager prepared for his first year in charge taking over from Pat Gilroy.

Supple says he knew the chance of getting minutes ahead of Cluxton were unlikely, but still relished the opportunity to work alongside the Dublin captain as understudy, fully aware of the importance which goalkeepers have helping to drive one another on, even if one player isn’t getting in the starting XV.

Retiring last year after two-and-a-half seasons with Bohemians, where he earned a senior Ireland call-up under Martin O’Neill and was named SWAI Goalkeeper of the Year, Supple looks back fondly on his time spent in the bubble of the Dublin machine.

“Some of the lads I was with are still playing and are going for the five in a row,” he says of this evening’s All-Ireland final replay against Kerry. “Paddy Andrews is a club-mate of mine at St Brigid’s and all the lads I played against at club level are still involved, so it’s great to see that they’re on the cusp of this achievement.

“It’s something that’s never been done before and I hope they get over the line. They’re all great, humble lads, there’s no airs or graces about them. It’s nice when you get that kind of package altogether.”

The Parnells clubman has revolutionised the goalkeeping position.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Supple won’t actually get the chance to be in attendance at, or even see, today’s All-Ireland final replay. With an EA Sports Cup final 233km up the M1 Motorway between Derry City and Dundalk scheduled, he will be on punditry duty for Eir Sport instead.

That clash of sporting events, a League of Ireland cup final and an All-Ireland decider on the same day, is a fitting reminder of Supple’s unique career balancing GAA and football. In fact, one of the key reasons he decided to return to club football with Bohemians is because they would accommodate him still playing with St Brigid’s at the same time.

There was a massive difference between my time with Dublin and Ipswich,” he told The42 in 2016. “With Dublin, the lads took complete responsibility. It was their team. They owned it and Jim Gavin allowed them to do that. There would be no messing. Every training session everyone would be on it.

“It’s obviously difficult to get into the Dublin starting line-up, everybody wants to be there. The A v B teams were absolutely savage. They were better than any Leinster Championship match we got that year. I’m not saying the management had an easy job, but it was player-driven, definitely.

“But there is no doubt about it, the demands are getting too much. I never trained as hard in my life as a professional in England as I did with Dublin that year. What was expected of us was unbelievable. Having said that, I did enjoy it. I would have enjoyed it even more if I was playing.

Supple left Ipswich at the age of 22 in 2009 and captained St Brigid’s to the Dublin Senior Football Championship two years later.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

“To ask players to do that year after year after year, it’s no surprise to see players retiring at 28 or 29 at that level of inter-county football. I think the training was a bit much but everybody seems to be doing it. Players need to keep up, teams need to keep up.”

Supple left the Dublin panel after that treble-winning campaign of 2013. Still lining out for St Brigid’s, he helped out his local Leinster Senior League club Crumlin United when they were short of a goalkeeper, and won the FAI Intermediate Cup — this short spell with Crumlin helping to fuel the fire for his return with Bohemians.

The 32-year-old called it a day and hung up his gloves at the end of last year, admitting that he ‘had to listen to his body’. Having moved to England in order to join Ipswich at 15-years-old, he said that his career had taken a toll and he was content to call it quits.

Thinking back to his days with Dublin and looking forward to today’s All-Ireland replay against Kerry, Supple speaks highly of Cluxton and all that the Parnells goalkeeper has achieved during his 18-year career with the Boys in Blue.

“I got on very well with Stephen,” Supple says. “He’s a good, noble character. He enjoys a joke and a laugh even though he doesn’t talk too much to the media. He’s a great fellah, a really good guy and when he does pack it in eventually, he’ll have left an incredible legacy behind him.

Cluxton will hope to secure his seventh All-Ireland title against Kerry this evening.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“Listen, he’s just such a driven guy. There’s lots of people that have that drive in sport and they go about their profession a certain way, and Stephen is the same. I always found him brilliant to work with on a daily basis. In training he always wants to learn and be the best that he can be.

He is always driving on further, despite all that he has achieved already, or what age he is. It’s no surprise that he is still playing at this level at the age of nearly 38. He looks after himself and as everyone knows, he’s completely changed the game.

“I’ve no idea if he’ll pack it in after this year, but it’s a big legacy to leave behind and someone will need to step up and take on that mantle now going forward.”

Supple has witnessed the transformation of the goalkeeping position over recent years and admires the ways in which his former team-mate has excelled not just in terms of shot-stopping, catching and point-kicking from dead-ball situations, but also his legendary vision and distribution.

The 37-year-old will once again captain Dublin as they take on Kerry in this evening’s All-Ireland replay.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

“It’s hard to articulate it. It’s not just one aspect of his game that you can point to, it’s all the work that he puts in and the team that works around him too. You could be the best kicker in the world, but if you don’t have the players out there working hard and creating the space, it’s not going to be successful.

He works hard on his game, he practices constantly and always puts a huge amount of effort into everything he does year after year, so it’s no surprise how good his kick-outs are. But it is a two-way streak, too, in terms of the coaching staff that work with the panel. It’s how the game has gone now — it’s all about possession and retaining the ball from kick-outs.”

Working week-in, week-out with Cluxton for a year en route to an All-Ireland, Supple says that quiet, steely determination is the key to the Coolock man’s success. Whether or not this will be the Dublin captain’s final campaign is unknown, and while we all struggle to decode the enigma of what makes Stephen Cluxton such a successful goalkeeper and leader, his legacy is there for all to see and admire from a distance.

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“IT’S MAD,” LOUTH captain Kate Flood smiles at the All-Ireland ladies football finals media day in Croke Park. “You couldn’t really write it; the two of us meeting in America and then the two of us here today as captains and then the two of us going to Australia.”

She nods over to her Fermanagh counterpart, Joanne Doonan, who’ll also lead her side out in the All-Ireland junior decider tomorrow [throw-in 11.45am, live on TG4].

In May, Flood put pen to paper and signed a professional AFLW contract with Fremantle for next season, while Doonan this month became the latest — and 15th — Irish player confirmed for the 2020 season Down Under after signing for Carlton Blues.

Of course, Oz is at the back of both of their minds and their focus is fully on Sunday, and the 60 minutes of football between them and the West County Hotel Cup. It’s just a question of who’ll sign off here on a high, though.

To understand the fascinating journey fully, one must go back to when these two stars aligned Stateside.

“Me and Kate would have been friends for years,” Doonan tells The42. “We played in America together as well, in San Francisco with Fog City Harps in the summer of 2015.”

That feels like a long time ago now, the 25-year-old laughs. 

“Obviously we know each other from that. It’s good. There’s a lot of respect as well. It’s good to play against her, and they have a good strong team as well.”

“Joanne, I suppose, I know her a long time,” Flood echoes her words. “She’s a brilliant player, a good captain and she’ll definitely add a lot to the AFL game as well as here.

From San Francisco to Croke Park, former Fog City Harps team-mates will be rival captains in Sunday's TG4 All Ireland JFC Final.. @LadiesFootball @GAA_USA @SFFogCityHarps @fermanaghladies @LouthLGFA #properfan @SportTG4 pic.twitter.com/hruefdkN93

— Jerome Quinn (@JeromeQuinn) September 11, 2019

“It’s going to be a journey for the both of us that we can share together. It’s mad, that. We’re both really looking forward to it.

Both CrossCoders graduates, they agree that they’re fairly living the dream at the minute but it’s all about going out in just over 24 hours time and focusing on the job at hand. 

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Doonan, who captained her county to the Division Four league title earlier this year, says. “The build-up and everything has been great, especially being up here [in Croke Park] too, it just makes it real. You just want to take it all in and embrace it.”

2018 LGFA Junior Player of the Year Flood adds ahead of her fifth All-Ireland final: “Everything is just go. You’re either between Gaelic or [have] the AFL ones on to you, it’s mad.

“I wouldn’t say I’m looking forward to it all being over, but just to be able to concentrate on one thing so you’re not trying to concentrate on the AFL side of things because you have this to prepare for first. It’s exciting times ahead of us, I’m really looking forward to it.

“We’re concentrating on the game ahead of us, we’ve had a good campaign all year and worked really hard. We’re keeping ourselves focused on Sunday and hopefully we can do a lot better than we did last year, and get the win.”

2018 finalists, Louth were put to the sword by Limerick 12 months ago, that game finishing on a scoreline of 5-6 to 0-8.

Flood was captain for last year’s final too.

Source: Ramsey Cardy/SPORTSFILE

That said, it was an extremely difficult year for the Wee county after their manager Mícheál McKeown passed away following a short illness in June. They battled hard, showing true character and resolve to bounce back and play in his memory under Darren Bishop, but Flood admits the occasion may have got to them, all things considered.

“Last year was a tough year for us after Mícheál passing away,” the St Patrick’s star concedes. “It was a very emotional day for everyone, we have young players and that.

“Playing in Croke Park as well, I think it got to us all in the end. There was a lot of focus and pressure on us to see would we actually win it. Hopefully this year we’ll be able to go that step further. We’re in a better place anyway to do a bit better for ourselves.”

26-year-old Flood spoke eloquently about the impact of McKeown’s passing with The42 last year, and about his wife, Mary, who stayed with the team every step of the way after asking Bishop to “continue on his legacy.”

So a word must go to the woman herself. She’s in great spirits, Flood assures, and away in America at the minute. 

“She sent us a card before she left just to wish us all the best,” she smiles. “She’ll try and get it over there and watch it. She’s an amazing woman.

“We all went to his mass, even the girls that didn’t know him and weren’t on the panel last year. We all went to the house and had a catch-up with her.

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Louth celebrating their 2018 Leinster junior title win with Mary McKeown.

“She seems to be doing very well, which we’re all pleased about and she still keeps in touch with us which is good.”

A talented soccer player too, Flood has had to call time on that for now with enough on her plate, but it’s something she misses. For now, it’s all eyes on All-Ireland final number five, and doubling up on the 2015 win.

“Five times in Croke Park and only won it once, hopefully we can get a second one,” she grins, before commenting on the small changes in the set-up since last year.

“When Darren came in he didn’t want to take full ownership of it because Mícheál was there. This year he’s been there from the very start, and he was able to put his own stamp on it. He brought in a lot of new, fresh faces. We have a few girls back, and with underage coming through, it’s all looking very positive so we’re looking forward to it.”

Likewise, for Fermanagh, the mood is overwhelmingly positive. 

The Ulster side were crowned All-Ireland champions in 2017, but that came after a draw at HQ and a replay in Clones.

“Fermanagh has never won in Croke Park before so it would be unreal to do that for the first time,” Doonan beams. “Hopefully, we can push and get over the line on the day, with no replay this time.

Doonan at Tuesday’s captain’s day.

Source: Ramsey Cardy/SPORTSFILE

“A lot of clubs and all have the banners and that up, all the papers are trying to do as much coverage as possible. There’s a brilliant buzz. Even at training, everyone’s excited and companies are giving us meals. It’s great to see, and embrace it all. I’m really excited, just can’t wait now.”

Her side have counted about 18 survivors from the 2017 panel, but there are a lot of new starters who weren’t there for that big victory.

“It’s a relatively new team but we still have a lot of experienced finishers on the bench,” she adds. “Anyone who wasn’t there two years ago or in 2014, we’re trying to tell them what’s to be expected, to not let the occasion get the better of them.”

Doonan concludes: “Louth obviously beat Antrim very well and we would have played them a lot this year. We know they’re a very strong team.

“We haven’t played Louth since the league and at that stage we were both through to the semi-finals so it didn’t matter too much to us. Really looking forward to it, and just glad it’s a new team and we’re not coming up against Antrim again!”

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AN EXAMPLE OF how far we’ve come to start off. 

When Dr Katie Lydon suffered a devastating career-ending injury 13 years ago, she had no choice but to step away from her blossoming athletics career. 

Anita O’Brien (team physiotherapist), Kate McDaid (team nutritionist), Dr. Katie Lydon (team doctor) and Dr. Caroline Whelan (Chief Operating Officer, Mater Private Hospital).

Source: MAXWELLS.DUBLIN

Now the Dublin ladies doctor, Lydon detached her hamstring from her ischial tuberosity, or how many may recognise it: the same injury that Paul O’Connell had, where one basically rips the muscle off the bone.

That, also, was a career-ending injury for Munster and Ireland legend O’Connell, but he was coming to the end of his playing days. In another rugby example, Cian Healy made it back from the horror setback.

Likewise, Dublin ladies star Siobhán Killeen and Galway’s Dora Gorman suffered the same cruel fate earlier this year and have both undergone surgery and are on their respective roads to recovery.

It shows just how far things have come on the medical side of sport.

“When I did that, for instance, there was no surgical option,” Dr Lydon explains. “The only option for me was conservative management. Now, you’ve got a whole host of individuals who can operate, and that just wasn’t the case back when I was competing. 

“I did compete to an international level and was aspiring to further international glory, but it wasn’t to be purely because there was no one at the time willing to operate or assist.

“It’s very unfortunate, but it propelled me and is my driving force into helping these individuals obtain their own sporting goals.”

***

The team behind the team is often forgotten about. Aside from the boss, the majority of those involved in management in an inter-county set-up fly under the radar. We see faces and hear names, but often don’t learn stories.

The Dublin ladies backroom team is a massive operation. You’ll see it for yourself before the throw-in 4pm at Croke Park tomorrow, as Mick Bohan’s troops stand together, arms around one another, for the National Anthem ahead of their All-Ireland final showdown with Galway.

Coaches, selectors, a psychologist, liason officer, kit man, physiotherapist, doctor, performance nutritionist; you name it. They’ll all be there. And have been through thick and thin for this team.

The Dublin squad ahead of last September’s All-Ireland final.

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Their physio, Anita O’Brien, came on board ahead of the 2017 season. A Trinity College Dublin graduate and Masters recipient who opened her own practice this year, O’Brien was introduced to Bohan that January and hasn’t looked back since.

That year, of course, the Sky Blues won their first All-Ireland since 2010. And they made it a double last September, capping performance nutritionist Kate McDaid’s first year involved on a high.

From speaking to McDaid, O’Brien and Dr Lydon, enjoyment in their roles is the main thing that shines through. They each stress how engaging the players are and how brilliant they are to work with.

“Oh my God, an absolute pleasure,” McDaid tells The42. “Having played competitive sport myself and just being in with players who are so driven, so hungry and really just lovely people too… they really are just wonderful to work with, so it makes my job even that bit more enjoyable to have the group I’m dealing with on a daily basis.”

“Yes, the commitment is huge but they’re such a fantastic group to work with,” O’Brien echoes her words. “You have so much fun with them as well, it’s not just work for them. I get on really well with the management team and the girls. They’re a great bunch to work with.”

Dr Lydon, who studied medicine between UCD and her native Galway because of that career-ending injury and then went down the sports medicine route, first got involved with the team this year following Professor John O’Byrne of Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital’s suggestion.

She’s a musculoskeletal tutor there while completing her Masters and a thesis with the Irish Sport Institute, and was delighted to come into the fold.

“This is the first time they have had a doctor on board,” she smiles. “We are the only county, as far as I’m aware, and from all our games so far, the first county to have a doctor involved with the team in a full-time capacity.”

It’s the first female team she’s been fully engaged with too, but is well versed to compare and contrast with men’s set-ups after travelling with the Ireland hockey team to the World Cup in India last year.

McDaid and O’Brien reckon that females are generally more open about life both on and off the pitch, and Dr Lydon agrees. But there’s one big difference.

Dublin ladies performance nutritionist Kate McDaid.

“What I’ve noticed, and considering my research is in the area is menstrual cycle disorders, which obviously our male counterparts are fortunate not to discover,” she says, adding that her research is in how to manage pre-menstrual syndrome in elite athletes.

“I can offer that little bit more to the women. I guess it’s a taboo subject and as a population, we generally don’t talk about it. I think that’s largely because in a lot of female sports, the coaching and management staff is largely male-orientated. In a lot of instances they’re not going to be able to offer little if any guidance on how to manage it.

“We’ve current research that suggests that about 48% of the general population that are involved in physical activity suffer from PMS. That hampers their performance and ability to train, but you need to look outside that as well: the ability to concentrate, you get more emotional.

“It’s very hard for an individual to say to a management team, ‘Listen, it’s my time of the month. I’m struggling at the moment,’ when there’s spots to be obtained on a team. And literally these girls put their heart, soul, guts into obtaining that spot.”

That’s been highlighted, more and more recently, she adds, but says there needs to be a “greater understanding of the challenges women face, not only on the sports field, to get them to a stage which they can compete at a high level.”

McDaid also touches on that, and the fact that the players are tracking their menstrual cycles to aid their performance and to reduce injury on the FitrWoman app.

“That cycle’s going to have an impact on their training and how they’re feeling,” the Dublin native says. “That was something we definitely looked at a little bit more that season in particular.

“There’s only so much that can change. We obviously can’t be doing different training sessions for different athletes the whole time or anything like that, but it makes us aware of who’s not feeling great.

“Maybe someone needs to work a little bit more on their recovery because they’re at whatever stage of their cycle. It’s a really interesting eye-opener for myself, for the backroom team and also for the girls; it was a nice learning curve.

She continues: “It’s probably still a little bit of an, ‘Ugh’ topic that some people don’t want to be talking about but it definitely does help. One of the positives from a social media perspective is that message is filtering through and through more and more. It makes it more normal.

The Dublin set-up celebrate last year’s All-Ireland title win.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“It shouldn’t be anything that we’re uncomfortable about or anything that we should feel some type of way about but I suppose it is a little bit uncomfortable for some people, so seeing the message a lot more, being a lot more prevalent, it helps people get over that little barrier.

“We still have a long way to go from a research perspective, we are learning a lot but we’re all different as individuals and menstrual cycles are so different on a person-to-person basis so aside from that, there’s still a lot that we need to learn and figure out.

“It’s definitely something that has an impact on performance anyway, it’s just about managing it and managing the girls as best as we can with that knowledge.”

The same amount of training, time and effort is put in at a high level, O’Brien nods.

“In terms of preparation, regardless of whether you’re male or female you’re going to have to cover your nutrition, your recovery strategies post-training, getting enough sleep and hydration and that’s the same across the board really.”

As physio, she’d generally be at every training session — so gym once a week, and two to three pitch sessions, depending on the match schedule — observing, assessing injuries, doing rehab with injured players and managing their training load.

That’s all part of the job spec of course, but it’s not just that. She’s a sounding board to the players, and not strictly a physio.

“You do have to keep a professional boundary but you are with them so much,” she says. “You get to know them, particularly the girls who have been with the group for three seasons now and more, you get really close to them.

“Particularly the girls that are injured, you tend to know them more. You do get close to them, you take an interest in their lives and what’s going on with them outside of football.”

Anyone who’s been through a lengthy injury understands how mentally-tolling it can be, so having someone there to speak with and a solid support system in place is hugely important.

A look at the Dublin squad ahead of their All-Ireland semi-final against Cork.

And they have just that in the set-up, O’Brien assures: “It’s hard when players get injured but it is a contact sport, injuries will happen.

“Generally, the girls on the pitch are assessed by myself. If needed then Katie, the team doctor, will get involved and they’ll go to NutriKate [McDaid] as well about their nutrition and their return to play.

“As well as that, we’ll talk about injuries and the return to play with themselves and members of management. There’s a really good psychologist on the team, she’s a coach as well but she’s really, really good at talking to the girls and helping them through tough times too.”

O’Brien and Dr Lydon work in tandem on the more medical side of things while the nutritional interaction comes from McDaid: food and supplements to aid recovery, how to manage Irritable Bowel Syndrome [IBS] and other common problems are all looked at.

It’s all about instilling habits and preparation along the way, McDaid explains. 

“When it comes to the big occasions, things are just routine,” she continues, honing in on recovery and healthful habits like adequate sleep and eating plenty of fruit and veg, “everyone’s very comfortable and it’s almost like the nutrition element is very much second nature.

“A lot of the stuff, we would have implemented last year and there’d just be little things like that that you re-iterate and remind as the season goes on and the weather changes.

“A lot it would be second nature to them and it’s just a case of putting up a few reminders here and there so everyone is very confident — especially looking to check in with the girls on a one-to-one basis just to make sure everyone is in a good space and they’re all happy with what they’ve been doing up to now.

“It’s just about those reminders, and being very aware of who you’re dealing with. I am dealing with individuals who also have a million things on their plate. It’s like, ‘How can I get this message across in a manner that sits with them and they can act upon.’”

All three appreciate the immense support provided by the Mater Private Hospital, who this year, agreed a partnership to provide medical and healthcare support to the Dublin ladies.

Dublin’s Sinead Aherne, Tarah O’Sullivan, Niamh Collins, Deirdre Murphy and Noelle Healy celebrate last year’s win.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Scans are available quickly and easily if necessary for an injured player, as is access to the subsequent imagery and appointments if needed. 

As captain Sinéad Aherne noted earlier this week, when she started out 15 years ago there was no guarantee a physio would be present at a match and now, each player’s health insurance is being looked after.

“It’s huge,” Dr Lydon agrees. “The girls spend so much of their own time, be that away from work — many of them can’t work full-time due to the commitments required by training — so it’s nice to know that they are protected in some way.

“If they get injured they can rely on the fact that they are going to get some financial support. Absolutely, they have the medical backroom team that are going to look after them. 

“The Mater Private are pumping a lot of money into the Dublin ladies at the moment. This has huge repercussions because other sporting organisations are going to look at this and realise that in order to create world-class athletes, and in the context of Gaelic football, in order to propel the sport even further, these athletes should most definitely have a strong, medical backroom team to support them in their endeavours.”

The medical progression has been massive through the years, as seen from that earlier example, but not just that, it’s little things. 

“Irrespective of whether it’s a female athlete or a male athlete, in general, I think people are tying the dots together a lot better,” McDaid nods. “Things like recognising that we need to manage load, that it’s not a case that we’re absolutely dogging players day in, day out and [thinking] that’s going to make them better.

“Recognising that down time and team building is as important as the training in some ways, and I suppose giving people a more rounded picture… things like mindfulness and the psychology element is becoming more recognised and rightly so.

“That obviously paired with the nutrition and being aware of the need for recovery sessions whether it’s going swimming in the sea or whatever it may be, that that’s being given to the athlete too. That’s the complete picture, it’s not just, ‘Okay, arrive to training and we’re just going to run the legs off you and alright, see ye now.’

“Gradually, slowly but surely, people are starting to take that into account more. I think that’s happening, it’s definitely happening on the men’s side but also the female side which is great to see.

Dublin Manger Mick Bohan with the injured Siobhan Killeen.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

“We obviously still have a long way to go to really give every athlete the correct support.”

But the Dublin ladies — and Dr Katie Lydon, Kate McDaid and Anita O’Brien — are definitely a shining example of leading the way at this present moment. And their ability to work together as a unit sure helps that.

“It’s fantastic,” McDaid smiles. “It’s great to have a sounding board if there’s any apprehension or whatever; three minds working for the wellness of a player is always better than one. I think we compliment each other nicely.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure having two such professional women involved and working alongside me. It’s invaluable for my own practice as much as anything else.”

And O’Brien most definitely agrees.

“It’s really good that we all work together and all have our input to try and get the player back as quickly as possible,” she concludes, with all eyes on tomorrow’s throw-in.

“The buzz around the camp is unbelievable, it’s hard to describe. The feeling is unbelievable. Everyone is so focused on Sunday now and hopefully getting three in-a-row. But everyone will enjoy the season, whatever the outcome.”

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1. Dublin confirm their greatness

THEY GUARDED AGAINST the five-in-a-row hype all year but finally Jim Gavin and his players can speak openly about their remarkable achievement. Wexford, Kerry (twice) and Kilkenny have all tried and failed to string together five All-Ireland crowns in succession.

Dublin celebrate their win.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Dublin went where no team have ever gone before and now must be declared as the greatest Gaelic football side in history, surpassing the great Golden Years Kerry team of the 1980s.   

The talk around population and financial advantages ought to be left for another day and this group should be celebrated for making history. Kerry brought them to brink in the drawn game but as they always do, Dublin learned their lessons and executed a plan on their second chance.

Some of the statistics around this team are mindblowing. Brian Fenton, Brian Howard, Niall Scully, Eoin Murchan and Con O’Callaghan have yet to experience losing a championship game with Dublin. Stephen Cluxton has now lifted six All-Irelands as captain, Jim Gavin has lost just one of his 48 championship games as Dublin boss. 

Sean O’Shea dejected.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

2. Kerry’s missed chances

Kerry got so much right again today but ultimately their poor day in front of the posts cost them. Just four players scored – Sean O’Shea (0-5), David Clifford (0-5), Paul Geaney (0-4) and Adrian Spillane (0-1).

Their shooting accuracy – 78% in the first-half – fell off a cliff after half-time and dropped to 27%. That sort of figure is not going to win most championship games, let alone one against the Dubs. 

They shot seven of their 10 wides in the second period, with David Moran (twice), Diarmuid O’Connor, Tom O’Sullivan, Geaney, Jack Barry, Stephen O’Brien, Spillane and Clifford all guilty of missed chances after the break.

Like the first day, Kerry didn’t take any wild shots from outside the scoring zone, although Dublin’s defenders deserve credit for pressurising the shooters.

Dublin’s Con O’Callaghan bursts past O’Sullivan.

Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO

3. Dublin stars stand up

After scoring a grand total of 0-3 between them in the drawn game, Con O’Callaghan, Paul Mannion and Ciaran Kilkenny were on a different level tonight. They fired 0-12 between them, scoring 0-4 apiece. Kilkenny pulled the strings at centre-forward, constantly probing and directing the Dublin attack in his point guard role.

Kilkenny was flawless with four scores from four attempts in a display that should leave him in the running for Footballer of the Year. O’Callaghan might well be favourite for the big prize after clipping over 0-4 in a menacing showing at full-forward. Mannion converted four of his six strikes at the posts.

The trio gave an early indication of their mood when each of them had scored inside four minutes. The frightening thing is that O’Callaghan is just 23 while Kilkenny and Mannion are 26, we mightn’t have even seen the best of them yet. 

Eoin Murchan celebrates after scoring the game’s only goal.

Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO

4. Murchan’s goal 

Dublin have a habit of working pre-planned moves from the throw-in and so it transpired here.

Kilkenny tends to leave the middle channel open with a purposeful run towards the ball. Crowley took the bait, leaving an ocean of space for Murchan to race into once he won the break off David Moran’s flick.

Moran was left chasing the diminutive Na Fianna man and the thought of dragging him to ground and taking a black card surely crossed his mind. In the end, Murchan took a few extra steps than permitted – although referees usually are more lenient when this happens mid-tackle – and brilliantly punted past Shane Ryan. 

Superb start from the second half throw-in! Eoin Murchan with a @DubGAAOfficial goal pic.twitter.com/5ZlV9vLKVI

— The GAA (@officialgaa) September 14, 2019

The ball was in the net 10 seconds after the throw-up, sending the Dubs three clear. O’Callaghan tagged on a point from the next attack and Dublin never relinquished their lead from there.  

Dublin’s Kevin McManamon celebrates with the Sam Maguire after the game.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

5. Potential retirements

The five-in-a-row feels like a natural point in time for a number of Dublin’s players to hang up their boots. There may be a host of retirements in the Sky Blue camp over the winter.

Gavin has constantly revitalised the first 15, so Stephen Cluxton (37) is the only starter in danger of stepping away – but good luck trying to predict his next move.

Bernard Brogan (35), Eoghan O’Gara (33), Kevin McManamon (32), Paddy Andrews (31) and Darren Daly (32) are the most likely to retire given their reduced roles in the past couple of seasons.

Next in line are Michael Darragh Macauley (33), Cian O’Sullivan (31) and Philly McMahon (32), who’ve all battled injury in their advancing years but may yet decide to continue.

Gavin gave little away in his post-game press conference, but he too could decide this is the perfect time to retire as Dublin manager or equally he might opt to remain in charge to continue their dominance.

All will become clear in the coming weeks and months but this squad could undergo a major facelift before the 2020 season.

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Subs

Not long enough to be rated: Cian O’Sullivan, Kevin McManamon, Michael Darragh Macauley.

Manager

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IT ALL COMES down to this.

The reigning champions Dublin are seeking a three-in-a-row for the first time in the county’s history. Standing in their way is a Galway side who who are contesting the senior All-Ireland decider for the first time in 15 years.

Incidentally, Dublin provided the opposition for the Tribeswomen on that day, with Galway coming out on top to lift the Brendan Martin Cup for the first time.

Tim Rabbitt’s side played out a thrilling semi-final against neighbours Mayo last month as part of a historic double-header in Croke Park.

Roisin Leonard showed nerves of steel to edge them over the line with a last-minute free.

Later that afternoon, Dublin accounted for Cork with a six-point victory in their final-four outing to book a place in their sixth consecutive All-Ireland decider.

Mick Bohan’s side will go into Sunday’s game without the services of star forward Nicole Ownes who misses out after undergoing knee surgery.

But who will lift the Brendan Martin Cup in 2019? Will Dublin complete the three-in-a-row or will Galway end a 15-year wait to win their second senior All-Ireland title. 

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Subs

Not on long enough to be rated: James O’Donoghue, Dara Moynihan.

Coach

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Galway captain Tracey Leonard.

Source: Ramsey Cardy/SPORTSFILE

‘THE NEARLY TEAM.’ 

It’s a tag that’s been thrown at Galway time and time again over the past few years.

But here they are, in a first All-Ireland final since 2005 [throw-in 4pm, live on TG4].

***

The Tribe have fallen at the final hurdle so often in recent times, but there’s something different about them this year. Perhaps, we could look to 2018 as when they really established themselves as contenders to the crown.

They were the only side to beat Dublin in competitive action last season, the win coming in their Division 1 league round-robin clash at Abbotstown in March. A major scalp earned, a confidence boost, more than anything after gunning down the All-Ireland champions. 

Many argued that it was early days and so many of Mick Bohan’s players were just returning from the TG4 All-Star Tour in Bangkok as opposed to Galway’s one representative, but a win is a win. You have to beat the best to be the best.

The sides locked horns again later in the campaign, in the league semi-final but a late Nicole Owens goal broke Galway hearts. Stephen Glennon’s Tribe hit the ground running and led for the 60 minutes of normal time, but Owens’ crucial delivery sent Dublin into the decider where they lifted their first-ever Division 1 crown.

A late Galway free tailed just wide, meaning no extra time. The nearly team yet again.

They went about their business in Connacht, a sixth title captured in seven years against Mayo, before they successfully navigated the All-Ireland stages of the competition, booking a semi-final date with who else but Dublin.

This one wasn’t just a close of a contest, however, the Dubs 4-8 to 1-10 winners at Dr Hyde Park.

The curtain came down on their 2018 in disappointing fashion, but after unearthing some impressive youth it was one Glennon and his management team could look back on as a positive year overall. Getting ever closer and closer.

Then, came the changing of the guard. Glennon stepped down after two years in charge, during which he laid some solid foundations. 

“I am unable to give the role – and these magnificent bunch of players – the 100% commitment and dedication they deserve in 2019,” he wrote upon departing, while one of his selectors, Tim Rabbitt, stepped up to take the reins. 

From day one in the top job, the Oranmore/Maree clubman meant business. His professionalism towards life both on and off the pitch shines through, and that became clear through Galway’s performances and new structure.

He oversaw a pretty successful start to life as Galway manager, with six wins from seven outings under their belt in the league — the only defeat coming against back-to-back All-Ireland champions Dublin.

That March day in Moycullen saw the only unbeaten record in the league come to an end, as goals from Sinead Aherne and Siobhan Woods helped the then-champions grind out a three-point win.

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Galway manager Tim Rabbitt.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Galway had already sealed their semi-final spot, and bounced back to progress to a first Division 1 league final since 2015. So many times the nearly team, just getting over the line and into a national showpiece was huge. At the top table with silverware up for grabs after so much talk of 11-time All-Ireland champions Cork and Dublin dominating the ladies football landscape over the past few years.

The Tribeswomen had been competitive, but a gap remained to be seen. That was again the case that day as the Rebels were 1-12 to 2-7 winners en route to collecting a 12th league crown. 

Again, though, there was something different about this Galway team. They controlled the game for periods and confidently dominated. A missed penalty was another big turning point, but Cork just had too much in the end. 

Summer silverware followed against Mayo in Connacht once again, albeit after a replay. Following a gap in competitive action, Galway may have been rusty the first day out in Castlebar but they showed their true colours the next time, clinical in their approach as captain Tracey Leonard hit 2-3 in the 3-7 to 0-9 victory.

A segue of sorts, but the Corofin star’s incredible recovery from a devastating cruciate injury sustained in 2016 perhaps epitomises the character of her Galway team.

“It was a huge turning point for me, on the mental side of things,” she said earlier this week. “Mentally, I’ve improved, I’m a lot tougher. 

“If you look back to 2016, and if I’d been told that three years later you’d be turning around in an All-Ireland final, you definitely would have taken it.

“It’s these days you dream of. When you go through injuries like that, it’s these days that drive you on.”

Routine wins over Kerry and Westmeath followed in the All-Ireland SFC group stages, before a five-point quarter-final victory over Waterford in horrendous conditions saw Galway set up a repeat of the provincial decider in the Croke Park semi-final.

There, they used the hurt of past defeats to bridge that gap and ground out a dramatic one-point win over Mayo. It came right down to the wire, but Galway weren’t letting this one slip.

A huge barrier broken down, the All-Ireland final drought ended.

“A lot has been written about Galway, I know we’ve been there or thereabouts and haven’t got over the line,” as Leonard notes.

“Semi-final day, we proved we’re no longer this nearly team. The grit, character and determination of our girls got us over the line that day.

Leonard celebrates that semi-final win with Orla Murphy.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

“I think in years gone by, we’d have got to that stage where we were level up to the last kick of the ball and we may have fizzled out. I think it just shows the character of the girls that are there, we’ve been learning over the last two or three years.

“The cliché goes that you have to lose some to win some and I think that probably we’re at the stage now where we’ve bottled a lot in the past and we’ve learned from hard mistakes.” 

That will surely stand to them later today as they go in search of the ultimate prize.

With invaluable Croke Park experience under their belt, ‘the million dollar question’ is how will they beat Dublin. Control the controllables, Leonard insists. Work rate, attitude and performance is all her side can manage themselves.

Just off the back of the Tribe’s All-Ireland camogie win and O’Duffy Cup lift last Sunday, they’ll look to repeat the feat and let the double settle in the West through the winter.

What Cathal Murray’s side did, Rabbitt’s can too.

“We’ve drawn great inspiration and motivation from what the camogie team did at the weekend,” Leonard assures. “It’s a huge thing for Galway ladies, the way they came into that game, as underdogs, and really drove it home. 

“The tag has been thrown around for them as well; ‘the nearly team’, being there or thereabouts. Look what they came out with.

“If you’re willing to come with the right work rate and attitude, anything can happen on the day. We know we’re going in as underdogs but I have full faith in our girls and our management that if we bring the performance we’re able to, the rest will take care of itself.”

That, it will.

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ENJOYING A REAL breakthrough season in the Dublin set-up this year, Jennifer Dunne is happy to take a short trip down memory lane. 

Dublin star Jennifer Dunne.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

19 now and in her second year on the panel with the three in-a-row hype unavoidable at this stage, the Cuala star is brought back to the 2017 All-Ireland final.

That day, the Sky Blues beat Mayo in Croke Park to get their hands on the Brendan Martin Cup for the first time since 2010, and the second time ever. The scenes at the final whistle said it all as Mick Bohan steered his charges to the Holy Grail after three decider defeats in-a-row, but 17-year-old Dunne could just watch on from the stands as a fan with her clubmates.

“We got a huge group of us, and got loads of premium level tickets,” she recalls, with the cohort supporting Cuala’s own Martha Byrne.

“I remember sitting up and watching her. I think Martha went off because she had a cramp in her leg or something for the last few minutes and we were all worried because we actually had a club championship match the following week.

“We were all panicking and like, ‘Oh my God, will she be okay?’ I remember just watching and I kind of was like, ‘That could be me next year if I put my mind to it’. It was, and it was just unbelievable, so great.”

Just a few short months later, she found herself catapulted from minor into an All-Ireland winning set-up.

“I never won an All-Ireland or anything underage with minor or U16, so coming into this was obviously a big step up,” the second year primary school teaching student at DCU St Pat’s says.

“The girls are all great and the older ones are so welcoming. I was always at ease with the older girls. You just adapt. Obviously at the beginning, it was quite nerve-wracking because you’re a little young girl coming in, but like that everyone’s so nice and there’s people you can go to and talk to, and it’s not even an issue.”

Dunne points out the younger group of 18 and 19-year-olds; semi-final goal hero Caoimhe O’Connor, Niamh Hetherton and Kate Sullivan among others, assuring that everyone on the panel wants one another to achieve, and everyone looks out for each other. Key ingredients to success, of course.

The absence of trophies at underage level led to lessened expectations at senior level, but it all came as a baptism of fire in the end. The rising teen well and truly caught Bohan’s eye; her sheer hard work, athleticism and impressive ball-carrying ability soon earning her a few substitute cameos. 

A taste here and there, but then came the big one: her crucial part in an All-Ireland final 12 months after being that fan in the stands.

Celebrations in full flow last year.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“Like I said, I never won anything underage so I didn’t really have any expectations,” she stresses. “Coming in, it was just great the year we had. I was still so young but you learn so much from the older girls. Just even little things…

“I gained so much confidence in myself as well, everyone helped each other, and then coming on, you do your part for the team at the end of the day. Everyone on the panel, there’s so much strength on the panel that if you’re called upon you know you have to do a job.

“I think it was only a few minutes that I got but and even like that, if you’re only getting a few minutes….”

Specifics enhance the story, however. What about her abiding memory of it all, her arrival coming in the 52nd minute for Nicole Owens at HQ?

Like many others when you ask, there’s more than one.

“It was just… I had never actually played in Croke Park before that as well, ever,” Dunne smiles. “We went out just before the game to watch a little bit of the intermediate game. I kind of was glad of that because you come out of the tunnel and it’s just a wave of sound.

“In that sense that was good because probably only coming out in the warm up would have been very overwhelming. The crowds as well and the support was just great.

“You’re sitting and watching, hoping for the best, and Mick just turns around and it’s like, ‘Right okay, get yourself together and go out and do the simple things right.’”

Out onto the sideline. A few sprints up and down to the get the heart racing and the fire in the belly. The heart was already going 90, she laughs. A record-breaking crowd of 50,141, no biggie.

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Just go and do the simple things right.

“It’s such a high intensity game as well, as long as you’re getting your basic hand-passing and kick-passing right, you’re not going to make too many mistakes. I went on and did the simple things.

“It was just unbelievable, it was just so much joy. I think I cried of happiness.”

So that final whistle feeling was a sweet one?

During the National Anthem last year.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“It’s just elation,” she nods, her smile growing bigger by the second. “It’s just pure joy. Obviously, everyone’s wanting to get over to their parents and family and loved ones as quick as possible. 

“I remember I went up to Mum and Dad and they were in bits as well. We were hugging and everything with the team and then after the whole trophy thing, it’s finding your parents in the crowd somewhere.

“A few of my friends were there too, it was just great. Unbelievable.”

That special moment brings her right back to where it all began. To her beloved Cuala.

She couldn’t miss it with her Dad, and her grandparents — the late Peader, and Mary Dunne — too; the red and white rooted in the family.

“They’re both actually originally from Kildare, they moved up to Dublin and then Cuala was just like their home,” she explains. “They got my Dad and his brother in and literally it was just like, ‘Once you’re born, GAA.’

“I started there at four or five and just loved it ever since. I wouldn’t really want it any other way, to be honest. I’s just so rooted in our family.

“My Mam never even knew anything about GAA before she met my Dad and now she’s involved in teams, my sisters, my brothers, it just brings everyone together in the community.”

She’s the eldest of four, a 17-year-old brother and twin sisters (15) come after, with a joke soon made that Dunne is setting an extremely high standard.

“That’s what my Dad keeps joking, they’re all like, ‘Shut up!’ They don’t want to hear it,” she laughs, before going back to her roots. 

“Cuala’s so important to us as a family, and to everyone in Cuala. It’s like any club. It’s different to Dublin in a sense. The club’s just in the village. Even I just live in Dalkey so whenever I go down it’s such a sense of this is your home and where you come from.”

As she speaks of the hurlers’ All-Ireland two in-a-row in 2017 and 2018 and the atmosphere in her home town of Dalkey, it’s crazy to think that there was no Gaelic games in her secondary school of Loreto, Dalkey: “I went through six years of school, not one Gaelic team was even set up.”

Facing Mayo in this year’s league.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

5 ft 10 or 11, she reckons, Dunne loved basketball in school, but that had to go. She plays a bit of camogie here and there, but football always has, and always will, be the priority.

“When you’re around 14 or 15, so many girls drop out with the Junior Cert and there’s other things that are priorities; going out with your friends, sometimes you have to play a match on the other side of the country at half five on a Saturday evening, you don’t want to do that.

“But advice to give young girls; just really stick it out because you get through those few years there and keep it going.”

It’s worth it, she beams.

A team of role models now, it must be quite weird for Dunne. Still only 19 herself, appearing at presentations and the likes across the length and breadth of the country. 

She looks to Sinéad Aherne, Niamh McEvoy and Siobhan McGrath as some of the big names in ladies football on the Dublin panel. “And then I come in,” she laughs.

“Little girls come up to me and I’m like, ‘How do you even know who I am?’ You know that kind of way. It’s just I wouldn’t even compare myself to them. They are just so high up.

“But look, it’s great, at the end of the day, the team — it’s all a unison and whether you’re 18 or 30-odd the girls are going to see you the same way. Little girls don’t see a number, they just see, ‘This girl is playing for Dublin.’”

Looking back to when she was that little girl, one photo and one former captain springs to mind.

“I think in 2009 at our Cuala presentation for awards, Denise Masterson was presenting the medals to us. I found the photo the other day and I’m like a little baby, then it’s Denise Masterson and I was like, ‘What the hell?’

“It’s mad how you come a long way. Then in 2010 when they won, I vaguely remember being in Croke Park with my family and like that, looking up to the girls like, ‘Wow’. Like anyone, that could be you one day.”

Just a few short years later, and she started her first game in the Sky Blue jersey this February after making serious impact from the bench in 2018. Dunne lined out from the get-go for the first time in Dublin’s Division 1 league opener against Donegal. 

Facing Donegal’s Katy Herron that day.

Source: Tommy Grealy/INPHO

With injuries and departures from the panel, she’s seen a lot more game time this year which is obviously pleasing.

“Everyone’s pushing and the strength of the panel is immense,” she adds. “If you train well, they’re going to give you a shot definitely. Especially in the league, Mick played over 30 [players], late 30s. Everyone got game time which is great in a sense because the league is where you’re finding your feet.

“Some girls, like Caoimhe [O’Connor] and all of them, it was their first time senior playing up. Obviously we had a few games in Croke Park which was really good to get experience under your belt as well.

“At the end of the day, 15 will play and more than likely five will come on. If you’re not going to be in the 15 you’re pushing for that five.”

Dunne is named to start tomorrow as they prepare to welcome Galway to the capital.

More than familiar with Áine McDonagh from her Cuala connections anyway, she knows just how impressive this rising Tribe team are.

“Galway are a great team,” she says ahead of the Connacht county’s first All-Ireland final since 2005. “People are saying they’re inexperienced but they played in Croke Park in the semi which probably is going to be an advantage to them because obviously they got that out of the way.

“Like that, they’ve had a lot of success underage. They beat us when I was playing minor in 2017, they beat us in the semi-final, they have so much talent coming up as well.

“It’s really shaping up to be a great day and we’re just really looking forward to it. It’s obviously going to be different to the last few years because it’s always kind of been Cork.”

With three in-a-row well and truly on, it can’t be ignored. Looking forward to a “unique weekend” and a “festival of football” which saw the Dublin and Kerry men kick things off at HQ last night, Dunne says that they pass no remarks of the hype.

“And it’s the same with the lads,” she nods. “Everyone’s like, ‘Drive for Five’ but at the end of the day, it’s an All-Ireland final whether it’s three in-a-row or 10 in-a-row.

“All you want is to win, come out on the positive side and be victorious. Regardless of whether its three in-a-row or not, we’re just focused on the game and getting over the line really.

“You kind of forget about the three in-a-row. It’s just about the game and that day on the 15th and hopefully getting the result.”

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WHILE HE WAS naturally disappointed to come out on the losing side, Peter Keane heaped praise on his young Kerry players after their six-point loss to Dublin yesterday.

It was Keane’s first championship defeat as manager of the Kingdom, while a large number of his team were still in their debut campaign on the senior team. 

Three times Kerry have come to Croke Park this season with silverware on the line and failed to lift a trophy – the Division 1 decider in April and both All-Ireland finals.

The sides were level at 0-10 apiece at half-time, but Eoin Murchan’s early second-half goal propelled Dublin to a 1-18 to 0-15 win. 

“What I would say is that even today I would be terribly, terribly proud of the lads,” said Keane.

“They fought with their shoes on until the end and literally had to be carried out of there. Throughout the year they’ve given me the same and of course it’s disappointing we lost the league final here and we’ve lost an All-Ireland final here.

“But look that happens. There was a lot of learning. It was a year that even looking into championship, what were the top six teams in the championship?

“Dublin, we drew with. Donegal, we drew with. Tyrone, we beat. Cork we had beaten in the Munster championship. Mayo we’d beaten in Killarney.

“So there was certainly no easy route to this for a young team and you’d hope they learn from that. But by and large we’re reasonably happy but you’re not happy to lose an All-Ireland final.”

Paul Geaney takes the ball forward.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

When asked if the experience of going toe-to-toe with Dublin would stand to his players in the future, Keane replied: “You’d hope so. But look, you’re not too worried about going forward today.

“You’re just disappointed with today’s result and you worry about that in the next few weeks or months.

“If you want to put a positive spin on it, you’re thinking that but at the end of the day you’ve lost an All-Ireland final and you go away and you lick your wounds and gather yourself and come at it again next year,” he added.

He paid tribute to Dublin’s achievement after Jim Gavin’s team became the first adult side in history to win five All-Irelands in succession.

“They’re after winning five All-Irelands in a row, it’s a historic day. No matter what was going to happen today, they were either going to win five or not win five.

“There was going to be history one way or the other. And look you have to compliment them and congratulate them on their achievement.”

Keane refuted the idea that Kerry left their chance behind them a fortnight ago.

“I wouldn’t have felt we left it behind, right. I could see the argument.

“Dean Rock had a chance of kicking a winner at the end of it so had he scored that there would have been no leaving it behind, we’d have lost it.

“I suppose with any young team, what did we have we had 11 fellas that started in an All-Ireland for the first time. We had two fellas who came on in that game so that was 13 fellas playing in their first All-Ireland final.

“So in many ways you’d have said, ‘Jesus this is great’ because you’re getting another shot at it, another opportunity to build on it.

“Below in Kerry they totally got behind this team, even between the draw and the replay, the colours that came out, the signs that came out and the support that was there.

“They just really have been captivated by this team and the youth of them. Of course young lads were going to make mistakes but they were backing them in every which way they could. What are we here at 6pm on a Saturday evening which is a crazy time to play an All-Ireland final replay.

“They came out, you have people who will be heading home on the road tonight to Cahirciveen or Valentia Island and they won’t be home until 3 or 4 in the morning. They came out and they have supported this team in great numbers.”

And the mood in the Kerry dressing room afterwards?

“My God, what do you think?” 

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