Daingean Uí Chúis (Kerry) 0-23; St Brigid’s (Roscommon ) 1-19
Two great teams served up a thriller that needed extra-time and a late point in the 82 to separate them after one of the most enthralling slugfests that Croke Park has witnessed in many a long day in this All Ireland SF club final on Sunday.
The only negative outcome of a day full of heroes was that one side had to suffer the heartbreak of loss after putting in such a Herculean effort to lift the Andy Merrigan Cup.
Such was the respect built up over the epic encounter between both sides that on winning, the Kerry boys saluted their anguished opponents as equals while accepting the final accolade that completed their fairytale season which saw them win the Kerry, Munster and All Ireland SF club titles for the first time.
In so doing, they rounded off a truly remarkable year for football in the Kingdom as the Kerry intercounty footballers won the Munster, League and All Ireland titles which was followed by Ballymacelligott winning the three titles at junior level and An Ghaeltacht replicating that form at the intermediate level.
We will have to rightly consider St Brigid’s as first among equals as they were every bit as good, if indeed not a little better, in this enduring final epic which swayed like clothes on a line one way and then the other - making it one of the great club spectacles of our time.
Of course laced into the fabric of this year is the almost unbelievable rise to the top at county, provincial and national level of the Dingle club. Adding sauce to the mix is how they have managed to become the Lazarus side of 2025 with their 10 point comeback against Dublin and Leinster champions Ballyboden St Enda’s one that almost defies belief.
In that match Kerry star Tom O’Sullivan and half-inured talisman Paul Geaney were the second half heroes as the men from the Kingdom fought back to the astonishment of the crowd and the big television viewing public.
This time around it was O’Sullivan again who despite wearing the number four shirt on his back got the scores which settled his side initially and then it was his two points which got the Munstermen back to parity deep into the red of extra time.
He still had time to win possession and place an expert pass to sub Mikey Geaney who kicked the winning score on the call of time with this ciotóg - and in so doing broke the hearts of the most gallant of opponents, virtually all of whom slumped to the ground in despair as the final whistle sounded.
Had fortune favored the Kiltoom outfit from South Roscommon in allowing them to hand onto their lead and end up triumphant, then undoubtedly their hero would have been Ruaidhrí Fallon, who kicked two mighty two-pointers and ended up scoring 1-6 from his wingback position - a truly amazing performance that wasn’t rewarded with ultimate victory. Even harder to bear is the fact that in normal time with his side losing by two points, he had the bravery and the skill to step up and slot over a magnificent orange flag raiser with the last kick of the game in regulation time.
His club had made the All Ireland winning breakthrough in 2013 but now have suffered two heartbreaking reverses. The one thing that could stand to them is that they are a young team capable of coming back and making it third time lucky to end the losing sequence.
Not far behind in the brilliance stakes was his midfielder Shane Cunnane who caught some outstanding balls and kicked five points while the speedy and elusive Conor Hand was a huge plus for his side, as was key defender Brian Stack.
Dylan Geaney was man of the match for the winners in the scoring stakes with his 0-6 and his all-round running and foraging game for his teammates, but he can't have been too far ahead of O'Sullivan whose accuracy once he sees the posts has proved unerring on these big occasions.
Paul Geaney was a handful despite not being 100 percent fit while Geelong resident Mark O'Connor, on loan from AFL for these key home games for his native club, was a huge factor in the midfield stakes and will go back to the antipodes, together with his Aussie teammates who flew in specially for the game to support him with huge smiles of contentment on their faces.
And with all that said and done, history will record that it was Mikey Geaney who pulled the trigger to decide the outcome - what a legacy he now has for those long winter nights.
Daingean Uí Chúis started as if they would blow their Connacht rivals away as Pádraig Corcoran’s side raced 0-5 to 0-1 ahead after 10 minutes. Their longer game of kicking and sharp interpassing had the Rossies' defense in all sorts of bother but Anthony Cunningham’s men soon came to grips with this style and used their own hard-running at the heart of the Dingle rearguard to forge ahead 0-7 to 0-5 in one of their many purple patches.
The accurate Tadhg Browne, who finished with 0-3 to his credit, and O'Sullivan pulled back points for Daingean Uí Chúis but Brigid's finished strongly with the elusive Bobby Nugent grabbing a brace to put his side 0-9 to 0-7 ahead at the break.
The fare had been good up to then but both sides somehow to notch up the standard of athleticism and skill in the way the second moiety unfolded.
Nine minutes into the half a goalmouth scramble saw Fallon fist home a goal that gave Brigid’s a 1-10 to 0-10 lead. Was that the first cut and would it be the deepest, we wondered? Especially as there had been a bit of luck involved as Hand’s two-point effort fell kindly to Fallon.
The sign of a great side is not what they do when they are coasting but how they respond to adversity. And that’s what impressed most about Daingean as Dylan Geaney almost immediately landed a two-pointer to dispel the joy of a goal by their opponents.
Mark O'Connor also landed a two pointer while Paul Geaney remained relevant to the outcoming by winning a 45th-minute free that he himself put over the bar. More importantly it seemed his marker Pearse Frost tripped him at the ankles and would sit out almost all the remainder of normal time in the sin bin - a sign maybe that Dingle could now kick on with the numerical advantage.
It was Brigid's turn to show their mettle as they dug in and refused to bow the knee as they leveled the game at 1-11 to 0-14 before Browne looked like his third score might be the decisive one of the day as their back to back scores gave them a two-point advantage.
With the clock in the red and the five minutes injury time also gobbled up by the second hand, there seemed no way back for Brigid’s until the sensational Fallon found space and time to land a beauty from outside the arc to force extra-time.
The same player continued to shine in extra time, and almost had a second goal before clipping over a white flag and then drilling an orange version for good measure.
That helped them to a 1-17 to 0-19 lead at half-time of extra time but you just knew there were more twists on the journey to the final destination.
That man Dylan Geaney was remarkable all game and although tiring, he kept going even when laid low with cramp after shooting a wide under pressure.
Both sides had possession but Brigid’s twice wasted theirs while Daingean Uí Chúis had one last trick up their sleeve after O’Sullivan landed his brace before presenting Mikey with the chance to write himself into the history books - an opportunity he took to sweep a victory tide for the men in red and white after a game for the ages.
Daingean Uí Chúis: G Curran; B O'Connor, T O'Sullivan (0-5), T O'Sullivan; A O'Connor, C Flannery (0-2, tp), P O'Connor; M O'Connor (0-2, tp), B O'Connor; T Browne (0-3), P Geaney (0-3, 0-1f), D Geaney (0-6, 1 tp); C Geaney (0-1), M Flaherty, N Geaney Subs: N Ryan for B O'Connor 50, M Geaney (0-1) for Flaherty 58. S Óg Moran for Browne h/t e/t. M Flaherty for A O’Connor 78.
St Brigid's: C Carroll; P Frost, S Trundle, R Dolan; R Fallon (1-6, 2 tp), B Stack (0-1), P McGrath; S Cunnane (0-5, 1 tp, 0-1 45), E Nolan; C Sugrue, C Hand (0-3), B Nugent (0-2, 0-1f); B O'Carroll (0-1), M Daly, B Derwin Subs: R Stack for Nugent 48, C O'Carroll (0-1) for B O'Carroll 55, S Kilbride for Daly 58. E Derwin for Sugrue h/t e/t, B O'Carroll for B Derwin h/t e/t, E Sheehy for McGrath 76.
Ref: M McNally (Monaghan).
