Dublin tightened their grip on Gaelic football on a strange day of proclamation and ceremony around the capital city. Down on O'Connell Street, the likenesses of Padraig Pearse and other patriot ghosts roamed around outside the arcades and the restaurants and the GPO. But up here in the draughty stadium, the Dublin football team motored impressively and remorselessly towards future glories.
"Championship is championship and league is league," said Jim Gavin afterwards. "There is a definite priority there. The league is the third competition. When we are representing our county we just want to be the best we can be in every competition we play. And if there are things to win along the way, we will take them. But it is all about that process of trying to be the best."
As rhetoric goes, it may not contain the kind of high passion and mysticism to float Pearse’s boat. But as proclamations go, it carries serious weight. Dublin are getting stronger.
For almost an hour, the Allianz League final, played in front of a muted full house in a chilly Croke Park, remained a close encounter on the scoreboard. But in the end, Kerry simply caved in a way that is alien to their psyche. Dublin won 2-18 to 0-13: it was a stroll. Four league titles in a row places Jim Gavin's team in rude health as they prepare for their All-Ireland defence this summer.
"There is still a gap there," said Kerry's Eamonn Fitzmaurice evenly. "It is a gap that we have to try to close. I think we were better today than we were last September. Look, they are a serious outfit.
“In fairness to Jim Gavin, he flies below the radar but he is obviously brilliant at his job because for him to be able to keep the level of hunger he has in a group that has been so successful is remarkable, really.”
Romantic notion
Not so long ago, the old romantic notion of the Dublin-Kerry rivalry was in danger of becoming a conceit because Kerry always won. Now, there is a distinct threat that these roles will be played out in reverse. The Kingdom lost a second consecutive national final to their fiercest rival here and they did so in a fashion which made them appear uncharacteristically world weary by the last whistle.
When you consider that Dean Rock lamped a penalty over the bar, that Brendan Kealy made a fine stop on a John Small goal chance and Paul Murphy somehow smothered Michael Darragh Macauley’s attempt on goal, the final score could have had a truly shocking look. By injury time, the Kerry players looked out on their feet as the Dubs played keep-ball at their leisure and the Hill cheered every pass.
We are used to seeing this against other teams. But not against those in green and gold. It was a disquieting sight.
The Dubs move with such purpose and power all over the field that they force other teams into a siege mentality. Their attacks are sweeping and shine with the illusion of effortlessness. Bernard Brogan fired four beautifully elemental points from play.
Johnny Cooper played fullback yet visited the Kerry goal area for tea at every opportunity and Ciarán Kilkenny had an immense game in both his attacking directness and his work rate. And yet . . .
A beautiful Bryan Sheehan place kick left Kerry trailing by 0-15 to 0-13 after 62 minutes. Kerry were hanging around through guile and instinct, even after Aidan O’Mahony was red-carded for some sort of incident involving Cooper.
Big Kieran Donaghy became the Hill's pantomime villain, carrying the argument for Kerry in all kinds of ways.
“In general, Kieran finds it hard to get frees,” said Fitzmaurice. “It was one of the reasons we decided to play him out the field for the league. It frustrates him, it frustrates us looking in at it. Even before the ball goes in he gets a lot of treatment. He doesn’t get frees for it.
“Before half-time when he was inside there, he caught a ball and there was a very soft free given out. And then there was basically rape and pillage going on inside in front of the goals at the other end in the second half and he didn’t get anything. It is frustrating but that’s the way it is going to be. We just have to keep going.”
The world must keep going in the face of what is a frightening Dublin team surging towards outright magnificence. The curtain-raiser was significant in that it illuminated Mickey Harte’s uncanny ability to reinvent his county team and to evolve with the game.
Crack at the big two
Tyrone controlled their match against a Cavan side that performed honestly without ever really threatening to take ownership of the occasion. Tyrone won by 1-17 to 0-15 and look set to make a strong push for their first Ulster championship since 2010 but they must be secretly itching for a crack at the big two.
For as the Division One final narrowed into another inevitable Dublin victory – the 22nd win in a row in league and championship – thoughts turned to which county has the stuff to stage, well, a rising . . . If not Kerry, then who and how?
It is a short shortlist and when Stephen Cluxton lifted the cup, there were plenty of smart lines about giving him the Sam Maguire as well just to get it over with.
But you don’t quit just because the odds are stacked against you. Pearse and the others knew that as they set the events in motion 100 years ago. And not quitting is a truth upon which Kerry football is based. We may see this rivalry again before too long. August destiny and all that . . .
