Dingle 1-26; Ballyboden St Enda’s 1-24
The All Ireland club championship has started the new year as it ended 2025 - by giving us gripping, almost fairytale fare in the unspooling of its fight for final places.
Those in Pairc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday afternoon got a double helping of Gaelic football drama as the intermediate semi-final and the senior All Ireland semi-finals saw dramatic comebacks - and then extra time edge of the seat competitions unfold in front of them.
While Sunday’s game between Monaghan’s Scotstown and Roscommon's hadn’t the same fervor, it was nevertheless something of a surprise to see the Connacht men win more easily than the five-point margin suggests.
They will be cast in the role of underdogs in the final on Jan. 18 as well but they won’t mind that though it was noticeable how much the Brigid’s side referred to how Dingle had come back from the dead against Ballyboden.
With Daingean, An Gaeltacht and Ballymacelliot reaching the senior, intermediate and junior finals respectively, there is no doubting that football in Kerry is at a higher level right now than any other county.
You could argue with some conviction that both Dingle and the Gaeltacht boys had no right to snatch victory from the clench of defeat but both managed, maybe with a little help from referees, to kick two-pointers and win in the most exhilarating of circumstances for their supporters.
The importance of their two leading countrymen became evident in this game as Paul Geaney came on in the second half to lead his team back from the brink of defeat, trailing by 10 points at one time.
If he became the talisman, then his fellow countryman Tom O’Sullivan’s was the very heartbeat of the team as his drove his colleagues on to win possession time after time and more importantly landed six points, including two two-pointers to make ultimate victory, albeit after extra-time, a possibility.
Geaney scored 0-8, including the two-pointer which forced extra-time and then added the two-pointer from a free which gave Daingean Uí Chúis the lead for the first time in the 77th minute.
Another big name Mark O’Connor, the Aussie Rules star who came home after being released by Geelong for this game, missed a sitter in normal time which could have cost his team but then ended up kicking the winning score - proving the huge trip from the antipodes was worth the cost.
Daingean Uí Chúis will hope they can keep him on this side of the world until after the final on Sunday week when they become the first Kerry club to feature in the final since Dr Crokes in 2019.
Ballyboden will wonder all this week, and maybe for many more into the future, how they contrived to throw away a 10-point advantage? Certainly they didn’t help themselves with some of the substitutions and definitely the removal of free-taker Daire Sweeney came back to bite them as they missed two second half free after he departed that he would have slotted over with his eyes shut.
They had a five-star performance from Ryan O'Dwyer who shot 0-7 but on a day when the Basquel brothers were expected to shine, they failed to lead from the front. Ryan was hauled off after missing a free and even his brother Colm was culpable for one of the poor late frees which could have won the game for the south Dublin outfit.
Neither team was helped by the fact that the throw-in was delayed by 30 minutes as, An Ghaeltacht, claimed a last-gasp extra-time victory over Kildare side Sallins, who had the winning of the game if only one of their players had not shot for a score and instead played out the remaining few seconds in possession.
In a nutshell, the first half was all about the Leinster champs as they raced into an 0-14 to 0-5 half-time lead. Dingle needed every inspiration possible and Paul Geaney provided it by making two early second half points for his cousin Dylan while O’Sullivan had the other.
Kieran Kennedy was another inspired sub for the other side as he was the inspiration behind another 1-1 by the 36th minute.
O’Dwyer got the white flag with his assistance and he started the move which saw Ronan McGarry pass on to Colm Basquel to raise a green flag, simultaneously you would have expected Dingle to raise the white flag of surrender but Kerry GAA souls don’t lie down - they redouble their efforts despite being 10 points behind - 1-15 to 0-8.
They were getting points but badly needed a goal and that came when wing forward Browne blasted home to cut the deficit to five points. It ws now a true case of “game on” with 14 minutes left to play in regulation
O’Dwyer, Colm Basquel, and McGarry landed points but not knockout blows but the Kerry lads took it on the chin and responded with scores per Tom O’Sullivan and Conor Geaney.
Then Paul Geaney closed the gap with a free before Tom O’Sullivan, who else you might ask, swung over a measured two-pointer with his left boot to cut the margin to two.
Dylan Geaney was denied a goal by Shane Clayton and Conor Geaney cut the gap to the minimum. Mark O’Connor had a great chance of the equalizer but sent a timid shot straight into the keeper’s breadbasket.
The miss looked costly especially when the impressive McGarry ended a mazy run to put two between them.
Dingle needed a two-pointer to salvage their hopes of advancing and it was Paul Geaney who showed nerves of steel to fire over the leveller.
Ballyboden had one last chance of redemption with a 13-metre free which Colm Basquel slicked badly across the face of the goal.
Ballyboden, seeing the error of their ways but alas for them too late, reintroduced Sweeney in extra-time and he landed both a one- and two-point free as Ballyboden established yet again a lead they hoped would last this time.
It was not to be as Dylan Geaney made it 1-23 to 1-21 at half-time in extra time and when both Mikey and Paul Geaney got points to level. McGarry stood tall once more to edge Ballyboden back in front with a palmed score.
Flannery won a free for Paul Geaney and he landed the two-pointed version to forge the Kerry noses in front. Now it was Ballyboden who had to chase the game and they still had chances of equalizing and forcing penalties but Callum O’Dwyer missed two chances and Sweeney’s final two-point effort went awry.
DAINGEAN UÍ CHÚIS: G Curran; P O’Connor, C Flannery, Brian O’Connor; A O’Connor, Tom Leo O’Sullivan, Tom O’Sullivan (0-6, 1tp); M O’Connor (0-1), Billy O’Connor; T Browne (1-1), M Flaherty (0-2), N Geaney (0-1); C Bambury, C Geaney (0-2), D Geaney (0-4, 0-1f) Subs: P Geaney (0-8, 1tpf, 1tp, 0-2f) for Bambury (h-t), M Geaney (0-1) for Flaherty (52), S Óg Moran for A O’Connor (52), N Ryan for Billy O’Connor (54), Flaherty for C Geaney (73), Bambury for Browne (76).
BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S: H O’Sullivan; B Bobbett (0-1), S Clayton, H Donaghy; P Dunleavy, C Flaherty, P Warren (0-3); C D’Arcy, A Gavin; J Holland, R O’Dwyer (0-7, 1tp), R Basquel (0-2); R McGarry (0-4), C Basquel (1-2), D Sweeney (0-5, 1tpf, 0-2f) Subs: K Kennedy for Warren (35), C O’Dwyer for Sweeney (51), J McGuire for R Basquel (56), J Madden for Holland (58), R Baynes for Donaghy (60+2), Sweeney for C O’Dwyer (e-t), Holland for Clayton (h-t e-t), L O’Donoghue for Gavin (73), C O’Dwyer for R O’Dwyer (77).
Ref: F Kelly (Longford).
