All-Ireland final countdown: How Dublin’s startled earwigs learnt to crawl again after Kerry hammering

It was the day of the startled earwigs, Kerry’s 1-24 to 1-7 annihilation of Dublin in the 2009 All-Ireland quarter-final felt in the moment like a fork in the road result. For all the hype and enthusiasm swirling around the capital at the time about Dublin’s upward trajectory, the manner of this defeat seemed to confirm what the doubters still suspected, the Dubs just didn’t have the stuff to cut it at the top level.

Colm Cooper scored a goal in the opening minute and by half-time Kerry led 1-14 to 0-3.

“I think the big factor was that we seemed to be like startled earwigs in the first 15 minutes, all over the pitch,” said Dublin manager Pat Gilroy afterwards, which immediately sent a scatter of reporters in the press conference room googling what indeed a startled earwig looked like.

It was Kerry’s ninth consecutive championship game undefeated against Dublin, with seven victories and a draw in the previous eight, stretching back to 1978. It was seen as a kind of hammering that was likely to bury Dublin for several more years, but it would turn out to be the last time Kerry were to overcome the Dubs in the championship until 2022.

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Stephen Cluxton will be the only one of the startled earwigs playing this Sunday, but players from both camps are currently involved in the management teams. Bryan Cullen has been working with the Dublin team in strength and conditioning and is the county’s high-performance manager, while Gilroy is now part of Dessie Farrell’s backroom team. Diarmuid Murphy and Mike Quirke are selectors with Jack O’Connor in Kerry.

Kerry went on to win the All-Ireland in September 2009, but since then the Kingdom’s only Sam Maguire triumphs were in 2014 and 2022. Dublin have claimed eight All-Ireland titles since that 2009 August bank holiday Monday chastening – 2011, 2013, 2015-2020.

Minor problems

Kerry and Dublin continue to dine out at the top table at senior level but there has been something of a lull for both counties at minor. Dublin have not won an All-Ireland minor title since 2012, which was also the last time they even contested a final at that grade. Kerry were rampant from 2014 to 2018 when they claimed five-in-a-row at the grade, but the Kingdom have not added another over the last five years – during which time Derry (two), Cork, Meath and Galway have all won All-Ireland minor titles.

Not solely a goalie

Dublin goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton plays out the field at club level, but his Kerry counterpart on Sunday has already tasted All-Ireland glory at Croke Park this year – and as an outfield player. Kingdom goalkeeper Shane Ryan scored 1-3 for Rathmore, all from play, as they beat Galbally Pearses 1-11 to 0-11 to win the All-Ireland intermediate football final in January. Ryan, who plays as a forward for his club, also scored 1-3 in Rathmore’s semi-final win over Fethard. The 2022 All Star goalkeeper came out the field to pop over a point in Kerry’s All-Ireland semi-final win over Derry a fortnight ago.

In numbers: 17

This will be the 17th time Dublin and Kerry have met in an All-Ireland senior football final. In the previous 16, Kerry won eight, Dublin came out on top in six while there were two draws.

In Quotes

“In terms of performance, probably getting the balance right between getting promoted out of Division Two without expending too much energy and to be conscious of timing and keeping fellas fresh to be at it for the business end of the season, when it matters most. It’s worked out reasonable well for us.”

− Dessie Farrell talks about Dublin’s staggered approach to the 2023 campaign, explaining they aimed to time their run to heat peak performance for the knock-out stages of the championship.