Back in the 1980s, I remember a Dublin supporter complaining that Kerry were turning every year into its own mini-cause. “Win it for Rosie, win it for Páidí, win it for Tommy,” he would complain. “They’re always f***ing winning it for somebody.”
Dublin in recent weeks reawaken those memories. Last July, the rapturously received All-Ireland win over Kerry was accompanied by the elegiac resignation that a number of the team’s old warriors would probably depart the battleground for the last time.
Having been near the front of that particular queue, I have to accept the elegy is looking premature. This is despite the close-run nature of last summer.
Whereas Dublin lost the 2022 semi-final to Kerry by a point to Seán O’Shea’s epic free, they added within the next 12 months Con O’Callaghan, recovered from injury, plus the retirement comebacks Jack McCaffrey, Paul Mannion and Stephen Cluxton.
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They were also driven by the motivation to see one of the county’s greatest and most influential footballers, James McCarthy, lift Sam Maguire as captain. Notwithstanding all that additional ordnance they were still level in the 72nd minute of the All-Ireland final.
Muscle memory of how to navigate close finishes in finals flexed sufficiently to see them home.
After a stolid opening two weeks to this year’s league, the team have taken off in the past three weekends to record impressive victories over Roscommon, and then, Kerry and Derry in the past fortnight.
As Dessie Farrell’s team could end up playing the latter two for a second time in the league final, it’s not possible to close the books on either rivalry for the current competition.
Yet, to be fair to the champions, Dublin have in the past few weeks been producing higher quality performances than in any Division One season since 2018.
The extent to which the competition is subject to what team managements deem their best interests was in full view on Saturday in Celtic Park, as match goers digested the pre-throw-in news that Mickey Harte had made so many changes that Derry had to print off a revised team list as a supplement to the match programme.
There were plenty of perplexed faces around. After all, Harte is an enthusiastic advocate of treating a year’s competitions like an ‘all you can eat’ buffet. Most had to accept that some Derry players needed a rest, especially those from All-Ireland club champions, Glen, who had gone around the clock since 2023.
Why this fixture, though? It could be that he was influenced by Derry getting so high last year after the league win against Dublin in Celtic Park, only to be brought back to earth by the Division Two final a month later. Better to ease back the throttle now and go for the final should his team get there, which looks more likely than not at this point.
Farrell’s priorities are harder to judge. He raised a few eyebrows after the narrow loss against Mayo by downplaying the outcome.
“We want to be as competitive as we can in the league but we are always looking towards the summer and what that brings us. We have been in Division Two and it worked out well for us. Not going to put a gun to our own heads in terms of Division One status being crucial or paramount to us.”
Again, on Saturday Dublin were “building towards the summer”.
That may be so but the team is undeniably playing well. They are being led by the senior players. On Saturday evening, Ciarán Kilkenny was named man of the match. His contributions since the team turned a corner against Roscommon have risen steadily.
Two points that night, three against Kerry, four at the weekend. In an interview with this newspaper last autumn, he reflected on the different roles he had played.
“I love the challenge of playing in different positions but the best football that I’ve played is maybe being aggressive, taking your man on and looking to go at the goal and has been at centre forward or full forward – closer to goal.”
Evidence backs him. In 2018 he was the championship’s top scorer from play. Last year, he lost altitude a bit – and his place on the team for a while. So far, he looks driven to avoid suffering that indignity.
For his 25th-minute point he was the third link in a move that began when Eoin Murchan tipped a ball away from Shane McGuigan in front of Dublin’s goal. Seán McMahon cleared to Brian Fenton and on to Kilkenny. After the move had snaked its way up to the other end, there he was finishing over the bar.
For his part, Fenton had 33 involvements during the match, only three of which were negative and including 0-3 from three shots and an assist.
The recent run also coincides with the untimely death in February of selector Shane O’Hanlon, which was mentioned by Kilkenny when receiving his award on Saturday.
“He really instilled that belief and motivation in us and every game we play this year is going to be for him. He’s with us every game in the dressingroom, everywhere we go. He’s really inspired us and given us that real energy to kick on now.”
The late O’Hanlon has been referenced after each of the three wins to date, which includes the 10-point drubbing of All-Ireland finalists Kerry the week before last, Dublin’s first league win against their rivals in six years.
RTÉ analyst and former Dublin All Star Ciarán Whelan said on Saturday that the main challenge he saw for Farrell was to rein in the team a bit such has been the form.
Not quite the challenge many foresaw last July.
