The Allianz Football League swings back into action next weekend after a three-week break. This return is marked by a renewal in Killarney on Sunday of the frequently fascinating Kerry-Dublin rivalry.
For the fourth time in the past six years this league fixture will feature the All-Ireland champions, who have been beaten twice in that sequence – Kerry in 2010 and Dublin two years later.
Halfway through this decade, Dublin have built their strongest record in the fixture for decades. In 2010, the county hadn’t beaten Kerry away for 28 years and hadn’t beaten them at all since 1998. The impact of that change was quickly felt as a year later Dublin recorded a first championship win over their rivals in 34 years, in the 2011 All-Ireland final.
It was also the match in which a number of the players who would backbone that successful Dublin team made their first appearance
At this stage, Kerry have won just one of the last six league meetings with Dublin and that came three years ago, months after the 2011 All-Ireland, before the best crowd (45,836) to have attended Dublin’s spring series over the past six years.
One of the livelier Kerry performers that night was James O’Donoghue, who a year later had received his first All Star award and is currently Footballer of the Year after spearheading last year’s All-Ireland win.
Shoulder surgery
At present he is recovering from shoulder surgery last November and won’t be available until the end of the league and certainly not on Sunday in Fitzgerald Stadium.
He’ll be missed. During his transformative 2013 season, the keynote performance came in the epic All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin when he scored 2-3, 1-3 from play.
Still he’s looking forward to the encounter, as an indicator of where the counties stand, their championship status realigned after Kerry’s heroics last year.
“You’d have to think that Kerry and Dublin are going to be two heavyweights most years,” he says. “You’re always looking forward to a Kerry-Dublin fixture. Whether you’re looking forward to having a crack off them or not you’re just looking forward to the fixture – two good teams; open, attacking, excellent players on both teams.
“You love those games. I’m sure they’re going to be really entertaining hard-fought games. It doesn’t matter who is the reigning champions or not. I’m sure it will be the same in Killarney.”
The counties were expected to meet in last year’s All-Ireland final. That expectation lasted less than 24 hours, as the day after Kerry’s semi-final replay defeat of Mayo, Dublin were sensationally deposed by Donegal.
The irony of it is that Donegal prompted much soul searching in both counties - after the semi-final because Dublin had ploughed ahead with the open, offensive game plan and after the final because Kerry had fought systemic fire with fire.
The difference was that Kerry won, as O’Donoghue explains.
“Last year we approached every game different. We looked at the Dublin-Donegal game. If we played the same way Dublin did, Donegal would have beaten us. We’re going to line up to win the game.”
He knows all about it, as his natural attacking game was sacrificed, effectively as a decoy to occupy Neil McGee. He was fascinated by the tactical challenge but has sympathy for the old Kerry imperative to win in a certain way.
“I’d be a big man for winning with a bit of style, with a bit of grace. I know the All-Ireland was poor this year, the final wasn’t great, but the way it is, two teams are going to go at the game differently. It just happened to be in the final this year. It was a more defensive game.
“But that is interesting to watch for people as well. They can take different things out of the game. It’s not all about 15 fellas going forward, 15 fellas going back. I enjoyed the tactical battle in the All-Ireland final last year. It wasn’t the most enjoyable game to play in. Hopefully this year will be a bit more open.”
