John Fogarty: The shadow of an All-Ireland win was never as long

If it seems like Kerry have been champions for an inordinate amount of time — 170 days and counting to be precise — that would be down to the split season

BACK THEN: Kerry’s Seán O’Shea celebrates with the Sam Maguire after the All-Ireland final last July — 170 days ago. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Boy does the split season have a lot to answer for. David Clifford intimated on Saturday he mightn’t be in a position to win a sixth straight final this weekend were it not for the compartmentalisation of the 2022-23 Gaelic football year.

“A lot easier this year, in fairness,” he said of his multiple commitments. “Like, every other year you would have been playing a game here and there, whatever, then coming back to Kerry and maybe training once a week. Whereas, the nature of the split season, you were able to give your sole focus to one of them.”