It wasn’t long after the final whistle last Saturday evening at Croke Park, as we made for home, that word broke about Dessie Farrell’s decision to step down as Dublin manager.
I hadn’t played underage for Dublin with Dessie in charge, so my first experience of him as a manager was in 2020 when he replaced Jim Gavin. We were the five-in-a-row All-Ireland football champions at the time and in many ways, it seemed a very attractive managerial position.
Yet replacing Jim while also trying to keep a team with so much success hungry for more was, in other ways, a thankless and tricky task. But Dessie accepted that challenge.
I discovered fairly quickly that he had a huge amount of empathy for players and as a result, you wanted to give your very best for him.
He didn’t have an easy introduction to the role. 2020 was a difficult time for everybody because of Covid. On the sporting front, it made building relationships very challenging for any new manager.
We played Tyrone in the league at the end of that February, but then the season stopped until that winter; our next game didn’t take place until October. So I’d imagine it was a difficult transition for him. When the season did resume, thankfully we held our form and did manage to retain the Sam Maguire, making it six in-a-row.
But I think the 2023 success was particularly sweet for Dessie because 2021 and 2022 had proved to be a rocky period for us. There had been a bit of turmoil because we failed to make it to the All-Ireland final in either of those years and in 2022 we were relegated to Division Two of the National League.
We were at something of a crossroads at the end of 2022 and we all knew the following season was going to determine the path the group would travel. The fact that 2023 ended with Sam Maguire back in the cabinet was huge for both the players and the management.
There’s a deep-rooted connection between Dessie and all those players now because of that season, even the lads who wouldn’t have played for him at underage. That All-Ireland win was hugely satisfying. And we achieved it together, united as a group.
He wanted us all to put our eggs in the basket for a massive push at winning the All-Ireland in 2023, a case of bringing everybody back together for one last charge towards the mountain-top. It worked out, but there were no guarantees. That win really meant a lot to Dessie and the players.
His six years in charge obviously didn’t end the way he would have liked – leaving with another All-Ireland title would have been the dream but Dublin just couldn’t find their rhythm this season.
Still, there are players in that Dublin dressingroom Dessie has worked with since they were kids and he has helped them to win All-Irelands at underage and adult level.
He has shaped so many of their playing careers since they were teenagers, but he also shaped the men they have become.
Dessie has been a terrific servant for Dublin and I’m sure he’ll be involved in the GAA in the years to come, whether that’s with underage teams or going back in at the top. I can’t imagine we’ve seen the last of him on the sideline.
As for Dublin, I just don’t think they reached their potential this season. More than anything they’ll be disappointed with their inconsistency from game to game. They just didn’t find a groove or hit a run of momentum.
Some performances were good, others were below par – that was the flow of their entire season. I don’t know if the FRC rules had an impact or perhaps it took the squad a bit longer to gel because of the influx of new players. They had some issues with injuries to key players too. All in all, it was a stuttering kind of season.
The win over Galway in Salthill was something of an exception as it suggested they had hit form just as the business end of the season had arrived. What followed was a flat display against Armagh.
The varying performances between those two games summed up the nature of Dublin’s entire campaign.
I know for all the players and management in that dressingroom, that lack of consistency would have been incredibly frustrating because they would have put in the same amount of effort as they’ve always done, the same application, trained just as hard. For whatever reason, it just didn’t come together for them.
It was a similar story last year, so the challenge now is for the new management team to help the group with that consistency piece.
There will obviously be some changes to the panel – fresh faces, new voices – but I don’t think we will see a raft of retirements. Because with a new manager will come new opportunities.
There are still plenty of good players in Dublin and I genuinely believe that group is capable of challenging for All-Ireland titles.
It’s just a case of getting the consistency right and developing their own tactical game plan under the new manager.
There are lots of areas that can be looked at. For instance, Dublin were bottom of the pile in terms of two-point scorers when it came to the quarter-finalists. In only one championship game did Dublin score more two-pointers than their opponents. And it played a telling part in their defeat last weekend, with Tyrone scoring five and Dublin finishing the game with none.
Dublin obviously had their own philosophy on that element of the game but it’s probably an area the new management will examine, to try generate and execute more two-point opportunities.
Ger Brennan has been strongly linked with the position after his achievements with Louth, but whoever gets the gig is inheriting a strong squad. Despite what some might think, it’s still a very attractive project – Dublin won’t be far away from challenging for All-Irelands over the coming years.
It’s just about getting the best out of the older lads for the next couple of seasons, developing the younger players within the panel and then trying to find a gem or two out there from the club scene.
The curtain has come down on Dessie’s term but it’s somebody else’s opportunity now.
Teams also tend to get a bounce from a new manager and while the disappointment might still be raw from last week’s defeat to Tyrone, there is much for Dublin fans to look forward to in 2026.
This season might be over. But it’s not the end of the road.
