Dessie Farrell: ‘We’ve just got to accept that David Clifford is going to do damage’

Amid the celebrations of Dublin’s breakthrough 2011 All-Ireland final victory over Kerry, some details of the day got lost in the retelling of the tale.

Dessie Farrell was in Croke Park that afternoon, Jack McCaffrey, John Small, Cormac Costello, Ciarán Kilkenny, Paul Mannion, Niall Scully and David Byrne too. All crestfallen.

The Dublin had minors played in the curtain raiser on September 18th, 2011, losing their All-Ireland final to Tipperary. As the city embraced Dublin’s first Sam Maguire success since 1995, the next generation were erased from the narrative.

“That was difficult, for sure,” recalls Farrell. “We were at the same banquet as well that night. I remember one of the lads who was part of our back-room team, he was an older man and he was a little bit deaf.

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“There was a table for the coaches and management team, but there was so much noise in the room that night that it was hard to hear the conversations over and back.

“Eventually, for some reason, there was a lull. Somebody was waiting to come up to speak when our man, at the top of his voice, roared, ‘Nobody gives a f*ck about the minors!’

“Everyone looked around and must have been thinking, ‘Look at those lads over there having a little pity party for themselves!’ That day was a different experience for those of us who were part of the minors.”

Some of those minor players have progressed to now sit among the most decorated footballers to ever play the game.

Farrell took the senior job in late 2019, and during his first season at the helm he guided Dublin to All-Ireland glory in that strange and eerie Covid-impacted 2020 season.

But Dublin did not advance to the final in either 2021 or 2022. Those disappointing seasons invariably generated questions about the management team and Farrell admits there were difficult periods.

“It doesn’t really matter what sport it is or what level it is, when you’re not successful or you lose a big game or you’re knocked out of the competition, it always provides food for thought,” he says.

“Some of that can absolutely dip into the area of ‘Are we good enough? Am I good enough?’. Self-confidence, self-belief, self-doubt is definitely part and parcel of the narrative in any competitor’s head.

“Our players are no different, managers and coaches are no different as well. It’s a time for deep reflection, but ultimately you have to back yourself, rise and go again. Thankfully we’ve been able to do that this season.”

The biggest challenge of Dublin’s year awaits at Croke Park this Sunday.

David Clifford’s impact on the match is expected to be pivotal, but Farrell has a plan for the Kerry captain, and the plan is not to overthink it. Clifford will do damage, the trick is to weather the storm and don’t allow him to shake the foundations.

“It’s difficult because he can do things nobody else can. He’s a physical specimen and he has a skill set that belies that,” explains Farrell.

“He’s just so unique and he’s such a leader for them as well. He makes them tick.

“I actually love watching him play. I tell the kids he reminds me of myself when I played, but I think they know better! He’s brilliant. He’s probably the greatest I’ve ever seen.”

[ David Clifford, the song and dance man of Gaelic football ]

So how do you stop greatness? You don’t stop it, you try to manage it.

“We’re under no illusions how difficult that’s going to be,” continues Farrell.

“It could keep you up late at night, for sure. I think the challenge for us is to accept that he’s in such a rich vein of form, he’s going to do damage and he’s going to have an impact on the game.

“We’ve just got to accept that. It’s trying to minimise the impact and try not get over-fixated on him. Because if you do that, you turn the tap off here, then it opens the floodgates somewhere else.

“They have some other really good forwards and some backs who are also comfortable in attack, so they can hit you from all different angles. They’ve loads of threats.”

As for his own charges, Farrell sees greatness in their desire to continually seek more silverware.

“They’re a special bunch of players,” he says. “It’s been interesting this year, because the one thing about these lads – and they’re highly decorated and have done all they’ve done in the game – but appetite is a special ingredient as well.

“I think that was the most curious thing for me, the appetite and the innate hunger and desire, particularly from some of the older players. To their eternal credit, they’ve shown that in spades.

“It’s not easy to keep going year after year, going back to the well. Getting ready for preseason, getting ready for National League games in the depth of winter.

“They have managed to keep the show on the road and keep doing what they do. I hold the most admiration for that aspect of it.

“They’re great footballers and everything else, but the ability to continuously motivate yourself to be at your best when it matters most is remarkable.”