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Irish Post
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Post
Kerry crown campaign with 39th All-Ireland title
KERRY secured their 39th All-Ireland Senior Football Championship on Sunday with a scintillating 1-26 to 0-19 victory over Donegal at Croke Park, overwhelming the Ulster champions with a performance that mixed surgical precision and old-school grit. Written off by many after a shaky start to the campaign — including a group-stage defeat to Meath — the Kingdom saved their best football for when it mattered most. In front of a sell-out crowd of 82,300, they produced a clinical, fast-paced display that left Donegal chasing shadows for much of the match. The tone was set from the throw-in. Gavin White, inspirational throughout, burst onto the break and tore into Donegal's half before laying off for Dylan Geaney to clip over the opening score. It was the first of 13 Kerry points in the opening 20 minutes, during which they completely dominated midfield and exposed Donegal's much-vaunted zonal defence. By the 15-minute mark, Kerry were 0-12 to 0-4 ahead, helped by two-point frees from Seán O'Shea and a brace of long-range efforts from David Clifford, who would finish the day with 0-9. White ended with 0-3 himself, while Joe O'Connor — indestructible in midfield — was central to Kerry's engine room. Donegal, meanwhile, looked a pale imitation of the efficient, tactically disciplined outfit that had reached the final. While Michael Murphy and Caolan McGonagle chipped in with scores to stem the early tide, Kerry continued to carve them open at will. The Clifford brothers — Paudie and David — orchestrated play with telepathic understanding, and Sean O'Brien's fisted point pushed Kerry nine clear approaching the interval. A fourth two-pointer — again via David Clifford — capped off a devastating first-half showing. Kerry led 0-17 to 0-10 at the break. Despite a spirited second-half rally — featuring five frees from Murphy and scores from Conor O'Donnell and Shane O'Donnell — they never got closer than four points. A missed chance from Conor O'Donnell on 58 minutes to reduce the gap to one proved pivotal. Moments later, O'Shea nailed another two-point free to restore daylight. With the result slipping away, Donegal were reduced to chasing goals. But Kerry were ruthless in closing it out. A Paudie Clifford fisted point, followed by another David Clifford score, set up a euphoric finish. And it was Joe O'Connor who sealed it in style, hammering the ball into the roof of Shaun Patton's net with under a minute to play — atoning for his earlier misses in the semi-final against Tyrone and bringing the curtain down on Kerry's championship campaign with emphasis. As the hooter sounded, O'Shea booted the ball into the stands and the green and gold erupted. For Jack O'Connor, it marked his fifth All-Ireland title as manager — across three different stints in charge. For Jim McGuinness, meanwhile, it was another final heartbreak. Having led Donegal to glory in 2012, this was his second final defeat to Kerry, following their 2014 loss. Despite coaxing Murphy out of retirement to lead this year's charge, Donegal's dream of a third Sam Maguire ended in frustration. Kerry's path to the title — overcoming Cavan, Armagh, Tyrone, and Donegal in succession — amounts to a clean sweep of Ulster, making this one of their sweetest All-Ireland triumphs of the modern era. TEAM SHEETS Kerry: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian O Beaglaoich, Mike Breen, Gavin White (capt); Sean O'Brien, Mark O'Shea; Joe O'Connor, Sean O'Shea, Graham O'Sullivan; Paudie Clifford, David Clifford, Dylan Geaney. Subs: Diarmuid O'Connor for O'Brien (50), Killian Spillane for Geaney (54), Evan Looney for O Beaglaoich (63), Tadhg Morley for Breen (65), Michael Burns for O'Sullivan (69), Tom Leo O'Sullivan for Casey (70). Donegal: Shaun Patton; Finnbarr Roarty, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ryan McHugh, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Caolan McColgan; Caolan McGonagle, Michael Langan; Shane O'Donnell, Ciaran Thompson, Ciaran Moore; Conor O'Donnell, Michael Murphy, Oisin Gallen. Subs: Daire O Baoill for Thompson (23), Hugh McFadden for McColgan half-time, Jason McGee for McHugh (41), Patrick McBrearty (capt) for Gallen (50), Jamie Brennan for Gallagher (59). Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare) See More: All-Ireland, GAA, Gaelic Football
Irish Independent
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Colm Keys: Why Jack O'Connor's stability holds key to Kingdom exploiting the platform they have built
Conor O'Donnell's late goal-line clearance to deny David Clifford a first All-Ireland SFC final goal in all probability spiked some perfect symmetry too.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
The football year in review: Footballer of the year? Biggest disappointment? Our writers make their picks
Malachy Clerkin Footballer of the year: David Clifford. Scored more than everyone else. Scored more from play than everyone else. Scored more goals than everyone else. Scored 0-7, 1-9 and 0-9 from the quarter-final on – and wasn't named Man of the Match in any of those games. Pleasingly, his overall tally from play came to 8-12-24 – or, if you like, 24-24-24. And he did it all while being the one player every opposition made plans for, sent their best man-marker after and changed their own game to contain. A genuinely astonishing footballer. Kerry's David Clifford scores a two-pointer despite Donegal's Brendan McCole. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho Best game: Derry 's draw with Galway in the round robin game in Celtic Park. It finished 2-20 to 4-14 and never let up. Six goals, four two-pointers, countless hits and spills and crankiness all over the pitch. Derry finally showed who they can be, Galway hung in grimly right to the last drop and looked to have dug out the win with Matthew Tierney's 69th-minute goal. But Derry, with Conor Glass exceptional, got up the pitch and Conor Doherty's equaliser brought the house down. Memorable moment: Louth 's Leinster title. Ger Brennan's team had been coming but nobody was predicting anything other than a 15th Leinster title in a row for Dublin at the start of the year. But once Meath knocked them out, Louth took their chance. Played a bad first half but clung on through a hailstorm of goals, including the strike of the year from Craig Lennon. Sam Mulroy's second half was a display for the ages. READ MORE Biggest disappointment: The knock-out stages consisted of 11 games, only three of which ended with a margin smaller than six points. We thought we had a wide open championship but as the stakes got higher, so many of the games were decided long before the end. It all kind of fizzled out really. Former Dublin manager and FRC chair Jim Gavin at Croke Prk ahead of the All-Ireland final. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho In 2026 I would like to see: The game keep evolving. The new rules aren't perfect by any means but what they've done is illustrate the need for a standing rules committee with the power to change something if it isn't working. If 2025 did anything, it should have cured the moaning of the why-can't-they-just-leave-the-game-alone crowd. Fat chance, probably. Gordon Manning Footballer of the year: Is it a debate? David Clifford finished the year as championship top scorer with 8-62 all in, an average of 9.5 points per game. Second was Seán O'Shea on 1-50. Clifford hoisted his team-mates upon his shoulders and carried them to glory this year. The new rules have liberated his considerable talents. Best game: Donegal 's Ulster final win over Armagh was a gripping, couldn't-take-your-eyes off it battle. It was a game played with huge intensity, aggression, high skill level, plenty of physicality and drama. The sun was beaming and St Tiernach's Park felt like a claustrophobic powder-keg waiting to explode. And it did. Michael Murphy with the Anglo-Celt Cup after Donegal's Ulster final win over Armagh. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Memorable moment: Louth's first Leinster SFC success since 1957 sparked an outpouring of emotion rarely seen for provincial triumphs these days. The atmosphere in Croke Park was more in keeping with an All-Ireland final than Leinster final day. In terms of memorable moments it was closely followed by Meath's victory over Dublin. Who said the Leinster SFC was a lame duck? Biggest disappointment: The lack of space between the end of the league and the start of the championship encouraged teams to essentially pull the handbrake on their league campaigns a few weeks before the end of the competition. For what is apparently the second most important competition in the intercounty calendar, nobody seemed very motivated to win it. In 2026 I would like to see: A return to the traditional throw-in of two v two at the start of each half. The unnatural optics of two players standing on either sideline waiting for the ball to be tossed in before they can enter the pitch is completely unnecessary. The new rules have made such a positive impact, but the one v one throw-in is an example of needless meddling. Denis Walsh Footballer of the year: In sport, numbers are a coarse expression of genius but sometimes they're handy. David Clifford was the top scorer in the championship by a clear 33 points; he was also the top scorer from play by 33 points, and he kicked the most two-pointers. In the final he racked up nine points, without even attempting a free. Astonishing. Best game: In its final edition the mid-championship round robin produced a blizzard of great matches, two of them involving Galway, but the hectic Cork-Kerry Munster semi-final in late April was a glorious portent of the season to come. Louth fans in Hill 16 celebrate after the final whistle in the Leinster final against Meath. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho Memorable moment: Meath's sensational victory over Dublin revived a moribund Leinster championship and their mind-boggling victory over Kerry was just the shock therapy Kerry needed, as it happened. But Louth winning the Leinster final was the day of days in football's golden summer. Biggest disappointment: Games 97, 98 and 99 between the last four teams standing in a great championship were all one-sided. It was just a pity that nothing sparked in Croke Park over the last fortnight. In 2026 I would like to see: Further refinements of the new rules. Do we really need 12 players behind the ball? How soon before we can get the number down to 10? What's the plan for squashing the outbreaks of lateral handpassing? Seán Moran Footballer of the year: Just before half-time, David Clifford 's two-pointer encapsulated his consistent ability to defy the tightest marking and the acumen to kick scores, 8-62 in total. Like all great players, his scores cut deeply, messaging: he's here; today is not your day. Best game: Kerry 0-32 Armagh 1-21. The portal through which Kerry emerged as a transformed force. Trailing by five in the second half, they unleashed 15 minutes of dazzling football, which completely undid the champions in the quarter-final. Donegal's Ciarán Moore scores the winning point against Mayo at Dr Hyde Park. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Memorable moment: Ciarán Moore's 70th-minute gallop to kick the winning point against Mayo in Roscommon. It didn't advance Donegal in the slightest but killed the opposition's championship and tolled the bell on Kevin McStay's management with the usual unseemly consequences in the county. Biggest disappointment: Despite the positive impact of the FRC and some great contests, the business end proved terribly disappointing with one-way All-Ireland semi-finals, which were going to be redeemed by the resulting final. Instead, Donegal were handed a beating not suffered for 18 years. In 2026 I would like to see: Louth's somewhat forgotten – or at best, overlooked – breakthrough and Meath's progress to an All-Ireland semi-final, having beaten Dublin along the way, raised optimism for a competitive, well-attended Leinster championship. Let's hope it's not a false dawn. Ian O'Riordan Footballer of the year: Just when you thought David Clifford couldn't possibly get any better. He came out this season leaner, hungrier, and meaner, his appetite for destruction in front of goal more insatiable than it has even been. After scoring 8-53 from eight games coming into Sunday's final, he added another 0-9 from play, including three two-pointers – and only a fantastic clearance off the line denied him a goal. The smiling scene of him raising the Sam Maguire with his son Ógie, and his brother Paudie Clifford, was the perfect end to a perfect championship season. Shane Walsh celebrates after kicking the winning score against Armagh at Breffni Park. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho Best game: A few contenders here, given the many smash hits of the football championship, but Galway's All-Ireland series round-robin game against All-Ireland champions Armagh at Breffni Park was one of the best in my book. In the penultimate round of the so-called Group of Death, Galway came from eight points down at half-time to land a one-point win with the last kick of the game, a cool-as-you-like it free by Shane Walsh. Galway would later progress to the knock-out stages thanks to their draw with Derry, another cracking game of football, only that Saturday evening in Breffni was Galway at their fighting best. Memorable moment: Sometimes you get a different view of a game when attending as a spectator, not a reporter, but either way Kerry's All-Ireland quarter-final win over Armagh was a sight to behold. Sitting in the lower Hogan Stand between a mixture of Kerry and Armagh supporters, that 15-minute spell in the second half when Kerry scored 14 unanswered points was utterly breathtaking. One point by David Clifford, after running rings around the Armagh defence, was a kind of magic. Biggest disappointment: We know there will be one less round in the All-Ireland series next year which will free up another weekend to allow a little more breathing space at the business end of the championship. We also know there's no going back to September All-Ireland finals, or even early August – not for the time being anyway – but there's still an uneasy sense the championship has been raced through at an unnecessarily fast pace. In 2026 I would like to see: Louth's first Leinster football title since 1957 injected some much-needed interest and excitement into the province, particularly after Dublin's exit at the hands of Meath. Ulster and Connacht continue with their competitive element, while the Munster football championship is lacking it, despite Cork's brave effort this year. It's hard to see how that will change next year, but maybe Jim Gavin might have some thoughts on the structure of it?
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
David Clifford profile: All you need to know about Kerry's star forward
On Sunday afternoon David Clifford strengthened his case to be recognised as the greatest Gaelic footballer player of all time. On Sunday afternoon, David Clifford kicked nine points in total to help Kerry claim their 39th All Ireland Senior Football title with a ten-point victory over Donegal at Croke Park. But what else do we know about the great David Clifford. Here we take a closer look at his career on the football pitch, as well as his life away from the limelight. Who is David Clifford? Well, he is certainly one of the greatest Gaelic Footballer ever. Whether he is THE greatest of all time or not is up for discussion. But the scary thing for other counties is he still has plenty of years left to enhance his legacy. He may not have even reached his peak yet. What age is David Clifford? David Clifford was born on the 22nd of January 1999, making him 26 years old. What club does David Clifford play for? David plays for Fossa and the divisional side East Kerry. What has David Clifford won at club level? He helped Fossa win the Kerry Premier Junior Football and Munster Junior club football titles in 2022 before winning the All-Ireland Junior Club football championship in 2023. He has also won four Kerry senior football titles with East Kerry. David Clifford is congratulated by family after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile. Is David Clifford married? No but David has been with his long-term partner Shauna O'Connor since they were teenagers. Does David Clifford have kids? Yes. David and Shauna have a son named Ógie, who will turn four in September. What does David Clifford do for work? David graduated from the University of Limerick with a Masters in Education before becoming a Physical Education teacher at his former school St Brendan's College in Killarney. How many All-Ireland football titles has David Clifford won? On Sunday afternoon, David Clifford won his second All-Ireland Senior Football title with the Kingdom. He has also won seven Munster titles, four league titles, as well as two minor All-Ireland and Munster titles. How many All-Stars and Footballer of the Year awards has David Clifford won? David Clifford has won five All-Stars at the time of writing, but that will surely become six in the near future. He has also been named footballer of the year twice, but a third may also be on the way. Earlier in his career he won the young footballer of the year and minor star footballer of the year.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Paudie Clifford: Kerry felt disrespected by David Clifford 'one-man team' jibe
Paudie Clifford says Kerry felt 'disrespected' by pundits who labeled them a one man team. The Kingdom's critics were referring to David Clifford, and they got their answer in the victories over Armagh, Tyrone and Donegal to what was always nonsense analysis. Jack O'Connor's men were also on the back foot after losing their final round All-Ireland group game to Meath with some stinging criticism locally and from pundits. "I suppose as a team, we would feel disrespected because we were in three of the last four All-Irelands and we've won two of them now,' said 27 year old playmaker Clifford. 'And to be called a one-man team when I see myself, some of the work that our lads put in. 'Like Joe O'Connor, the turnovers, winning balls, scoring. Jason Foley, Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Gavin White. 'I'm only naming a few. I see the work that they put in every day. To be called a one-man team then, it's nearly like it's disrespectful. It's kind of personal. 'I suppose that's the angle we were coming from. Obviously he's (David Clifford) a top, top player and one of the greatest players ever. 'I suppose the new rules have probably given him a new lease of life. But he's had an unbelievable year - delighted for him." Clifford continued: 'We were close against Armagh last year and we'd be our own worst critics as well. 'We admitted that we've under-performed definitely as a team over some of the years. 'But I suppose with the work we put in and the players we have there, for them things to be said, it's not nice to hear it." Kerry had two goal chances at the start of the second half against Armagh that would almost certainly have paved the way for a victory in last year's semi-final that would have landed them in an All-Ireland final against Galway. The year before they were narrowly beaten by Dublin in the All-Ireland Final after landing the Sam Maguire in 2022 against Galway. And the suspicion is that under the new rules and with the Clifford brothers to the fore, more All-Irelands will follow with the Fossa pair winning their second Celtic Cross yesterday. Paudie Clifford had a whopping 76 touches as he ran the Kerry challenge. "Was it?' he said of his possessions. 'I didn't feel like that. I was just happy to be able to try and play make and create as many chances as I can for the other lads. 'It was an enjoyable game to play because everything did work out for us. But if things went the other way, it wouldn't have been." David Clifford's two pointer after the hooter at the end of the first half was a huge moment sending Kerry in seven points up and totally in command. "It was massive,' said his older brother. 'But at the same time, we had in the back of our heads that when Donegal played Monaghan, (Rory) Beggan scored a two-pointer just before the half and Donegal still came out strong, which they did. 'They came out strong in the second half (last Sunday) and won a lot of ball around the middle and got it back to four. They could have got it back to three. 'So after the Monaghan game, we were in no way resting on our laurels. 'We just said we have to keep going, keep going and just keep being kind of the aggressors. Keep taking our scores when we could. Thankfully we did."
