I always feel a jolt of sympathy for people who start previews of upcoming sporting events by saying something obviously daft like “this could be the greatest World Cup ever staged” but you’d have to say, it’s pretty likely that this will be the greatest Gaelic football championship ever staged. Right?
I’m obviously getting ahead of myself, but there have been two shadows hanging over recent iterations of the Sam Maguire. The first was Dublin, and their foreboding dominance throughout much of the last decade. The second was the stagnation of the on-field entertainment.
There are more than enough Dublin fans who didn’t see much of a problem with the first of those, and the second one is obviously a subjective observation (albeit one shared by an overwhelming majority), but both issues appear to have been largely resolved in the last 12 months.
The onset of this season has been electrified by the new rules, but it has also been energised by the continued retreat of Dublin: 2022 saw the fear factor disappear; 2023 was one of the most famous All-Ireland finals of them all; 2024 was the final curtain for more players than we could have even imagined last July. Mick Fitzsimons, yes. But Brian Fenton?
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That is not, of course, to say that Dublin will not be at the pointy end of the championship this year. But no one would be surprised if they were to finish second in their group, even with their seeding as a provincial champion. And if they had to face the likes of Tyrone or Mayo, for instance, in a preliminary quarter-final, who could be absolutely sure they’d progress? Would Tyrone or Mayo even be dreading such a prospect?
That is a massive sea-change from the last decade, but it’s also true. Their form away from their home ground, one half in Tralee aside, has been massively underwhelming. But the All-Ireland quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals aren’t played in Omagh, or in Armagh city. And that is a useful card to have in one’s back pocket.
No one in Kerry is ever going to get carried away with a league title. Nor indeed, it should be noted, will they ever be asked to play a possibly season-defining game within a week of winning said league final. That’s just the vagaries of the provincial system.
But they won at their ease on Sunday. They did what they had to do, without ever showing anything like the clinical edge they’d shown in Pearse Stadium seven days before, and they now find themselves installed as many people’s favourites to win Sam Maguire.
That has much to do with Paudie Clifford’s form in the last couple of weeks, which has been nothing short of exceptional. It hasn’t just been the level of his performance − his ability to shape games is a boon to anyone who pines for the return of the centre forward schemer.
Rewatching the final stages of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Armagh through the lens of the league we’ve just seen, it’s quite clear the passing lines that have been opened up by the new rules for players like Paudie Clifford. It’s not a new ocean of space, but there are channels into which to pass. There is space into which you can run.
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Kerry are no one’s idea of a consensus choice as All-Ireland favourites though. If you don’t think Kerry have what it takes, you have plenty of other horses to bet on. The idea that the tournament favourites have flaws, and plenty of them, is a refreshing change from where we’ve been for large parts of the last 10 years.
After five rounds of the league, Galway and Donegal will have felt the pressure of being talked about as likely All-Ireland winners. The returning Michael Murphy is the only player in either of those squads to know what it’s like to climb the mountain. Donegal had no qualms about losing their last two league games − Galway cared a little more. If those losses dampened enthusiasm for them both inside and outside their county boundaries even a small bit, that may be no bad thing.
Counties might now be looking for a schemer at 11, but if Donegal had one, would they kick the ball to him? They seem intent on running their way to this All-Ireland title, but maybe Derry on Sunday will see a sea-change. Paul Conroy might yet be the answer for Galway on the ‘40’. Neither of those two counties have all the answers yet.
Armagh without Rian O’Neill will need to find an extra gear. Tyrone were relegated and yet I feel better about their chances this season than I’ve done in years. Mayo may not be able to put it together, but they’ll knock someone (and it could be anyone) out before the season is through.
The standard of this year’s champions may not touch that of Dublin in 2018. But if the eagerness with which we look forward to sporting occasions is based in large part on uncertainty of outcome, then that won’t bother anyone.
We’re not even sure what Gaelic football will look like by the end of this summer, let alone who will stand at the sport’s pinnacle at the end of July. That’s more glorious uncertainty than you could hope for.
