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Irish Post
14 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
The 42
a day ago
- Sport
- The 42
Kerry captain Gavin White lands All-Ireland football final man of the match award
KERRY CAPTAIN GAVIN White has been named man of the match after today's All-Ireland senior football final. The Kingdom stormed to Sam Maguire Cup glory with a 1-26 to 0-19 win over Donegal. White scored 0-3 in a superb half-back performance at Croke Park. Advertisement While David Clifford and Paudie Clifford were among others in the conversation, the winner was announced on The Sunday Game on RTÉ, and presented by GAA President Jarlath Burns at the team banquet at the winners' hotel. Mayo legend Lee Keegan labelled White's showing as 'one of the all-time great half-back performances,' to which he said: 'Ah look, I suppose you go out there and try to perform as best you can. 'Plenty of the lads played exceptionally well today. You see Paudie there getting 76 possessions, it's unbelievable. Look, it's a team performance, our main objective this morning was to get the Sam Maguire back to the Kingdom so we're just absolutely thrilled with that. ' Kerry captain Gavin White is the 2025 All-Ireland Final Man of the Match 📺 Watch the #SundayGame live: — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2025 White continued: 'One of our targets at the start of the game was to make a mark in the first 10 minutes, use our experience from the last couple of years and thankfully we were able to do that. 'I'm a bit lost for words to tell you the truth, just so emotional over the last five our six hours. Immensely proud of all the players. It's been a tough year, it's been a tough couple of years. To get Sam Maguire back home, I'm just immensely proud of all of them.' The Dr Crokes man also spoke about changing his own game, recalling a meeting with team coach Cian O'Neill at the start of the season. 'Like any player in the country with the new rules, you have to evolve to some degree,' said White. 'The kick out has obviously been a huge part of it, breaking ball being key to primary possession. It's something that probably wouldn't have been one of my strengths in previous years so it was obviously something I needed to target this year. Related Reads 'I was inside here a month ago and there steam coming out of my ears' - Jack O'Connor How Joe O'Connor put injury hell behind him and played his way into Footballer of the Year contention 'It was a bit of a struggle when I came back after the club campaign, but gradually got to grips with it and thankfully it paid off.' Both captains landed the man of the match awards in this year's All-Ireland football and hurling finals: Ronan Maher was honoured for Tipperary last week. *****
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Kerry boss Jack O'Connor drops hint around his future after landing FIFTH All-Ireland crown vs Donegal
KING OF KERRY Jack O'Connor admits today's All-Ireland win could be his final farewell as manager. O'Connor's men romped to their 39th crown as Advertisement 3 O'Connor led his county to Sam Maguire for the FIFTH time today 3 Embracing Jason Foley after they ran out 1-26 to 0-19 winners 3 Jim McGuinness admitted the better team won on the day Star man O'Connor His wife, Bridie took a photo of him leaving the house on Thursday - and he hinted at a dream exit after Kerry's sizzling performance at Croker. Kerry are one off a whopping 40 titles - and it remains to be seen if O'Connor will stay at the wheel to take them there. Advertisement Read More On GAA He said: 'I think I was on record earlier in the year that it would probably be my last hurrah, do you know, so. I don't want to be telling ye lads before I tell anyone else. 'There's a lot more people down the corridor. Look, we'll do that in due course. There's no hurry. 'I was going out the door Thursday evening with the bag and my mrs took a picture of me going out the gate. 'I have a fair idea that will be up on the wall as my last hurrah. I'd say now she'll be firm on that one.' Advertisement Most read in GAA Football Live Blog Meanwhile deflated Donegal boss Jim McGuinness He said: 'We are a wee bit raw. We didn't perform, Kerry did perform. That's the bottom line. They started very early in the game and they got a foothold in the game. 'Sad to see him go' - GAA fans emotional seeing Michael D Higgins attend last men's All-Ireland final as President 'I thought we responded quite well in the first half on our attack. "We were good, we were clinical but I think they might have scored in their first six attacks and we were struggling to deal with them in that period. Advertisement 'They went for a lot of twos and they hit a lot of them as well and that was big. David Clifford coming on to those balls on a loop. "We did a lot of work on him and we did a lot of work in terms of managing him. 'I thought Brendan McCole did actually quite well on him for periods but obviously it does take more than one person to try and close down David and he kicked some brilliant twos. 'From our own point of view we made too many mistakes. We did things that we don't normally do. Advertisement "We made decisions that we don't normally do and we had just too many turnovers. 'We were chasing our tails, that's the bottom line. We had too many turnovers and some of them were off clutch moments.'
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
All-Ireland SFC player ratings: Captain White and magic Cliffords are the cream of the crop
KERRY Shane Ryan Sealed his All-Star as well as his All-Ireland here and in the process erased the mishap of Armagh last year. Showed a marvellous range of kickouts in the first half to ensure Kerry retained a remarkable 82 percent of them in the first half. Came under more pressure after the break but remained unperturbed. Wasn't forced into having to make any goal-stopping save but still exuded a commanding presence that was critical to Kerry retaining a second straight clean sheet. 7. Paul Murphy Doesn't grab as much of the limelight as the rookie that beat Donegal in a final back in 2014 but was similarly effective here in an understated way. Repeatedly was an option on kickouts and even when one went askew, it was a measure of his guile and experience that he opted to handle the ball inside the arc and give up the free rather than allow Michael Murphy through on goal a la Rory Grugan in the quarter-final. 7. Jason Foley Tasked with shadowing Michael Murphy as Aidan O'Mahony was in 2014 and was similarly effective in thwarting and frustrating Donegal's greatest ever. Donegal occasionally sought out a 2012 final-like goal but that was never a runner here between the poor delivery and Foley's presence. Also presented himself well for Ryan's kickouts when required. 8. Dylan Casey Showed what they've known on Rock Street for years; his intelligence and temperament are made for Croke Park. Won several key breaks on kickouts to initiate scores that established Kerry's early dominance, and while he gave away a soft free for over-carrying, more than atoned; bettered a series of men he was assigned to, with the manner in which he consistently forced Paddy McBrearty onto his weaker foot testament to the homework both he and the Kerry backroom clearly did. 7.5. Brian Ó Beaglaoich Another typically steady performance to follow his fellow An Gaeltacht No.5s Tomás and Páidí in having multiple Celtic Crosses instead of just the one. 7. Mike Breen Had a bit of a lapse around the 21st minute when a long-range shot of his drifted well wide and then from the kickout he was caught out of position leading to a Donegal point that initiated a 4-0 spurt from them. More than compensated, though by winning two of the next three kickouts that led to Kerry scores. 7. Gavin White All-Ireland final day has seen some remarkable individual wing-back performances but we can't recall anyone before scoring two points to go with an assist inside the first five minutes from that position. Didn't relent; won the first kickout of the second half to initiate a Seánie O'Shea point while when Donegal got back to within four entering the last quarter, White put on the burners again to cut in and fist over his third point, then followed it up by winning a key kickout that extinguished any hope for Donegal. 9. Seán O'Brien When Jack O'Connor won the first of his five All-Irelands, he got a huge performance from a previous unheralded midfielder in William Kirby. O'Brien was that here. Within the opening 12 minutes he'd scored two points, a reward for how he ventured in around the square to both create and attack space. Unrelenting in his workrate. 8. Mark O'Shea A wrecking ball. Won the throw-in to set the tone of the day and set up the game's opening score while his blockdown on Finnbarr Roarty was the kind of gritty play all managements and teammates love to highlight. 7.5 Joe O'Connor Will finish second to only David Clifford in this year's Player of the Year voting with this suitably appropriate finish to a stellar year. In the opening minutes brilliantly pulled down kickouts from both Patton and Ryan to set up early Kerry scores, and while he had a mid-game wobble by coughing up the odd free and turnover, got back to himself with a key block, and then a goal fitting of his talent and season. 8. Séan O'Shea Underlined what a winner and leader he is by his willingness to take a step back and be the third option with the Cliffords on fire as they were, and then step up when required. After Donegal reeled off four points to get it back to 0-13-0-8, it was O'Shea who won the next kickout, slowed the play down with the resultant possession, won a free and then pointed it. Also kicked the opening point of the second half – a tricky one, being on the right side off his right foot – to ensure there'd be no falloff from Kerry the way there was from Cork last week, to go with a late two-pointer free to ensure victory. 8. Graham O'Sullivan Completely selfless in his willingness to recycle the ball, lay off to better-positioned and more skilful players, and get in a big hit which Ryan McHugh was never the same after. Underlined that he's no mean footballer by way of a fantastic left-foot pass inside to David Clifford for an insurance score. 7.5. David Clifford A masterclass in efficiency and patience. For the first nine minutes here he hadn't touched the ball, happy to stay at the top right-hand side of the arc and allow Gavin White to cause wreck on the left. But immediately upon getting his hands on the ball he had the umpire raising the orange flag and the Kerry crowd raising a cheer you'd normally associate with a green one. It was just a taste of what was to come. Finished with nine points, the same as Maurice in '97 – only all of his here were from play. 9. Paudie Clifford If it wasn't for the other this would go down as the Clifford final. But because both of them were as majestic as the other they'll just have to settle for it being the Cliffords final. David might have kicked three two-pointers while Paudie missed three of them, yet Paudie was as pivotal as the brother here for being The Pivot, dismantling the Donegal zone. Ran the game. 9. Paudie Clifford of Kerry in action against Jamie Brennan of Donegal the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kerry and Donegal at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile Dylan Geaney His best game in Croke Park this year, kicking three points out of an attempted four, including the opening score of the day. 7.5. Subs (7) Didn't quite have to be the game-changing unit they have been in previous games but still ensured there was no drop-off. Diarmuid O'Connor (6) and his persistence was rewarded with his introduction here whereby he broke several tackles. Evan Looney (7) made a great blockdown and though Killian Spillane (6) didn't get his customary point, he's kicked enough earlier this year and over the years to justify a second senior All-Ireland medal after the minor one he won here 11 years ago. By Kieran Shannon DONEGAL Shaun Patton Patton's kickouts have been pivotal to Donegal but Kerry targeted the St Eunan's keeper's restarts and had huge return on that investment, especially in the opening third of the game when this final was broken open. Conceded the goal to Joe O'Connor late on when the game was over and done. 6. Finnbarr Roarty Part of a defence that just couldn't solve the conundrum Kerry posed. Had a shot blocked when Donegal needed early momentum, harshly penalised for a challenge on Dylan Geaney late in the first-half when the Ulster side were straining to remake a game of it. Just one of those days at the end of such a brilliant breakthrough season. 5. Brendan McCole One of the best man-markers in the business, McCole stuck to David Clifford like Superglue and still coughed up nine points to the Fossa genius, six from two-pointers. Now ask yourself this: what did he do wrong? Clifford's two-pointer on the half-time hooter typified what was the impossible job. 6. Peadar Mogan Mogan has been a huge threat for Donegal going forward despite the number on his back but Jack O'Connor named him and McHugh afterwards in the context of how little a mark they made going forward, and that Kerry's own attack had been the reason behind it. Hammers being hammered. 5. Ryan McHugh Such a source of strength and momentum for Donegal, McHugh struggled to make a mark early doors but his dog work had helped create two scores from turnovers in the second quarter even as he seemed to be suffering with injury. Started the second-half but came off soon after with injury. 5. Eoghan Bán Gallagher The Killybegs man never got to put his stamp on the game with Kerry dominating the skies and pouring through the middle third on the ground. Death by a thousand small battles lost for him and for Donegal as a whole. 5. Caolan McColgan Part of such a testing, intense Donegal defence, McColgan only lasted until half-time when he was replaced by Hugh McFadden. 5. Caolan McGonagle Brought in to the named 15 as a more defensive option, obviously with the David Clifford threat in mind. You would have to wonder if the choice of that extra security blanket fed subconsciously into the collective's minds. Either way, it didn't work. 5. Michael Langan Had 1-23 to his name from play up to this decider but this wasn't Langan's day. Made some brilliant high catches but his failure to get on the scoreboard was symbolic of Donegal's day with only six doing so when 10 or 12 is their norm. 5. Shane O'Donnell Worked his socks off all day. Covered a huge amount of ground and was one of those whose dirty work gave Donegal something of a foothold after their slow start. The St Eunan's man also claimed two points. No regrets. 7. Ciarán Thompson You work and you work and you work for years on end through the dirty days and dirtier nights and then you come off injured on All-Ireland final day after just 23 minutes. Had struggled to get to grips with the game like everyone else on his side up to that. 5. Ciarán Moore Man-of-the-match in the All-Ireland semi-final stroll against Meath, this was a very different proposition. Found himself on a bit more ball after the interval but, all told, left little enough imprint on the game over the 70 minutes. 5. Conor O'Donnell Donegal's top scorer from play with four points on the day, O'Donnell made sure to bring a season of fine form into the biggest of days. Add his work rate into the bargain and he was superb. He even cleared a shot off his own line. Ends the championship with 3-24 from play. 8. Michael Murphy Some big moments from the big man: a huge catch here, a dispossession for one of his own two points from play there. Kicked his dead balls with a minimum of fuss aside from one bad miss off the post but gave away one bad turnover and was quiet in the second-half. 7. Oisín Gallen Looked Donegal's most dangerous attacker early on. Scored their first point that looked at the time to be a settler. Added two more before being called ashore with 20 minutes to go. Strange. May be that he was done after a huge amount of work off the ball. 7. Subs (7) me very positive input off the bench, even if the cavalry arrived too late. Jason McGee roared into the game. Daire O Baoill made key interventions as he found the pace of the game and Hugh McFadden, like McGee, evened things out in the air when he came on. Captain Patrick McBrearty couldn't match those impacts and the dye was set by the time Jamie Brennan made it inside the white lines. By Brendan O'Brien
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘We felt disrespected' – Kerry star Paudie Clifford slates critics after Kingdom win 39th All-Ireland title
KERRY star Paudie Clifford has hit back at critics who doubted the Kingdom. And he insisted the team finally put in a full shift when it mattered most. Advertisement 2 Paudie Clifford lashed out after the Kingdom claimed yet another All-Ireland title Credit: rte sport 2 They saw off a brave Donegal team that couldn't cope with their relentless attack He comments came directly after the The hard-working forward admitted they are also not a one-man team as He passionately slammed any doubters: 'We felt disrespected, to be honest. People were writing us off, saying we weren't the same since 2022. But we knew what we had in us.' Clifford also hailed Kerry's complete performance in the final: 'We hadn't really done the full 70 minutes in a while – not since the last time we won Sam. Advertisement read more on gaa "But today we did. We emptied the tank.' And Paudie also shut down talk that Kerry are a one-man team carried by his brother David. He said: 'Look, David is unbelievable, everyone knows that. "But we've 15 lads on that pitch and plenty more ready to go. This is a team – always has been.' Advertisement Most read in GAA Football The Kingdom produced a ruthless display at Croke Park to see off Donegal and claim their 39th All-Ireland football title. David and Paudie Clifford were outstanding, with Dylan Geaney and Joe O'Connor also starring as Kerry dictated the tempo from the outset. Matthew Broderick reveals connection to Donegal GAA during RTE interview Donegal battled bravely and got to within four points early in the second half, sparking hopes of a comeback - but Kerry responded like champions, pulling away again to seal a deserved victory. Jim McGuinness' men had their moments and converted well, but they simply couldn't cope with Kerry's pace, control, and firepower. Advertisement
