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Dublin have new football champions. Cuala, long absent from the county final and hard-wired into the GAA consciousness as a hurling club, having won back-to-back All-Irelands, outperformed their underdog status to win a thrilling endgame and spike the four-in-a-row ambitions of their South Dublin neighbours, Kilmacud Crokes.
On a wild afternoon with Storm Ashley gusting all around Parnell Park, the final was like playing football with a poltergeist but Cuala managed the elements better in terms of shot selection and execution.
Fittingly, one of the club’s great servants, Michael Fitzsimons – joint-holder of the record number of All-Ireland football medals – was named Man of the Match, having scored 0-2 including popping the ball over a defender, running on and fisting the fifth point.
This was during a calm and characteristically effective performance, marshalling the defence. His manager Austin O’Malley paid tribute.
“I’ve always said it, he’s a special type of individual. If you could sell the software that Mick Fitz operates off, you’d be in a lucrative business. The guy has a mindset that just is unparalleled … in terms of his desire to be better, his desire to improve and his growth mindset. He is just a joy to be around, to learn from and to try and coach.”
This was a match won the hard way. Having been well on top for three quarters of the match and in control of their destiny with 10 minutes remaining, adversity reared up in the closing stages.
Kilmacud fashioned a goal, a great kicked pass by Paul Mannion across to Luke Ward who was just on as a replacement and he fired in the equaliser, 0-12 to 1-9. To make bad worse for Cuala, Con O’Callaghan, their dazzling forward, was red-carded almost immediately after an altercation with opposing goalkeeper Devon Burns.
The match level, your most dangerous player gone, it would have been easy for them to disengage from the match or at least to try to hold on to a draw. Instead, the went for it, retaking the lead with a Luke Keating free only to be pegged back by Mannion after Cal Doran, impressive for his three points, had taken too much out of the ball on a breakout from defence.
Five minutes of injury-time were nearly elapsed when another free was awarded against Michael Mullin for fouling the ball. Keating’s free dropped and wing back Eoin Kennedy showed immense composure to clutch the breaking ball in front of goal and in almost the same movement, punch it over the bar.
It was a first football title for the Dalkey club and copper-fastens its place at the top table of Dublin GAA on the 50th anniversary of their modern foundation.
They thoroughly deserved the historic victory in a gripping conclusion that appeared to be drifting away from them, Kilmacud have surmounted so many challenges to their imperium that this group of players could never be discounted in a county final.
Cuala started with an energy and clinical edge that belied any novice inhibitions. Ahead by 0-7 to 0-2 at half-time, they had established control on the scoreboard after a half in which Kilmacud looked dilatory in their approach play and struggled to cope with the elements.
By the end, the champions were relying on the twin strike force of Mannion and Shane Walsh to rescue their title but they collectively lacked the energy of the challengers.
This was acknowledged by outgoing manager Robbie Brennan saying that Cuala “were better with it. They had, what, three or four hand-passed points in the second half? They had the smarts to get the job done.”
He now moves on to take up the reins in Meath, a move he cast in improbably romantic terms,
“It’s very strange. There’s probably only two loves in my life. One of them is Crokes and the other one is probably Meath. So, it’s probably like getting dumped from one relationship and picked up in the next one very quickly.”
About the match he said that he had been concerned about the challenge.
“No, I was worried … Cuala spooked us, if I’m being honest. I just wasn’t sure what they were going to bring. We’ve had Na Fianna, Ballymun or ‘Boden or Jude’s, so it was new and that maybe caught us a little bit.”
His victorious counterpart, O’Malley, said that he had continued to believe even after the late reversal of fortune.
“Winning a title was our vision at the start of the year and before that. The game will test you; life will test you but it is in those moments that you have to remain believing and true to your principles and virtues. To a man they did that.”
Their next match is the Leinster quarter-final in three weeks against the Kildare champions.
CUALA: R Scollard; D Conroy, M Fitzsimons (0-2), E O’Callaghan; E Kennedy (0-1), C McMorrow (0-1), D O’Dowd; P Ó Cofaigh Byrne (0-1), P Duffy (0-1); C Dunne, C O’Callaghan (0-1), C Doran (0-3); L Keating (0-3, two frees), N O’Callaghan (0-1), C Ó Giolláin. Subs: C Groarke for Ó Giolláin (43 mins), C Mulally for Dunne (48 mins), M Conroy for D Conroy (56 mins).
KILMACUD CROKES: D Burns; M Mullin, T Clancy, D O’Brien; M O’Leary, A McGowan, J Murphy; B Shovlin, R O’Carroll; H Kenny (0-1), C Dias (0-1), D Mullin (0-1); P Mannion (0-4, one free, one mark), P O’Connor, S Walsh (0-3, one free). Subs: C O’Connor for O’Leary (43 mins), T Fox for Kenny (45 mins), L Ward (1-0) for Murphy (53 mins), S Cunningham for O’Connor (61 mins).
Referee: S McCarthy (St Vincent’s)
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