True Blue Alan Brogan bows out on a high point

In a Dublin career that stretched out across 13 years — from 2002 to 2015 — there’s a strong case to be made for Alan Brogan’s last point of a remarkable 11-134 championship haul being his most important.

Exactly 66 minutes were gone in September’s All-Ireland final when Brogan galloped into the fray and immediately took up a position firefighting deep in defence. Kerry’s Killian Young was placed in front of Dublin’s goal and with ball in hand, disaster loomed as a goal for Kerry would have levelled the game.

Young’s handling betrayed him at the crucial moment, however, and 25 seconds after coming on for Brian Fenton, Brogan came haring out of defence with the ball, Dublin’s three-point lead still intact.

After another 15 seconds, he capped off a dashing move that began in Dublin’s own goal mouth by splitting the Kerry posts with a sublime left footed kick. The right man at the right time.

Having spent all of last winter and spring agonising over whether to return for the 2015 Championship, Brogan finally decided yesterday to call time on his storied career.

Only a few get to bow out like that, first and foremost as an All-Ireland winner but to have also played such an integral role in, arguably, the defining moment of the success.

Defender Jonny Cooper was in the stand at that stage, replaced minutes earlier and appreciative of Brogan’s cool head as the game reached its crescendo.

“Am I surprised that he’s gone? Probably, yeah,” said Cooper. “But it was fitting that it was he who kicked that insurance point in the final against Kerry. I’m sad to hear the decision, it’s news to me and it’s a sad day for Dublin football but after 13 or 14 years, he basically ticked off every honour that was on offer.

“So it is good for him, good for his family and I am sure now that every Tuesday and Thursday he can do what he wants instead of worrying about training. I have no doubt that he will be out here in the summer supporting Dublin. But, right now, my first thoughts would be that it is sad for Dublin to see him go.”

Cian O’Neill viewed that Brogan score late in the All-Ireland final from a slightly closer vantage point than Cooper as part of Kerry’s management team. He winced at the memory of it.

“That was a pivotal score for two reasons,” said O’Neill, now in charge of Kildare. “Not just because it edged them ahead by another point but because it came off a potential scoring opportunity at our end. It was almost like a double whammy. Mind you, I’m not sure if you could check the amount of steps that were taken before he kicked that score — that was obviously another reason I remember it! But yeah, he put it between the posts and that’s what you need to do.”

Many expected Brogan to retire as a two-time All-Ireland medallist after missing the majority of 2013 through injury. But the wily forward would return to play a key role as a starter in all of their 2014 Championship games and though that role was reversed this year, he appeared as a substitute in all seven games, his role was equally pivotal.

Aside from that decisive intervention in the final, his 70th Championship appearance for Dublin, he had a direct hand in 1-1 of Dublin’s scores in the semi-final replay win over Mayo and, overall, delivered six points last summer.

Clearly, even at 33 — he turns 34 in January — Brogan was still capable of performing a function in Dublin colours. Yet Brogan himself felt he was calling it quits partly because of his deteriorating fitness levels.

“I knew I was starting to wane in that department, in what would have been one of my strong points in maybe the earlier part of my career,” he told Newstalk last night.

“I knew in my heart of hearts that that was starting to wane on me so the substitute role probably did suit me and as Jim always said, he wanted to have that experience on the field at the end of the game too so I was happy to play that role. I suppose as you come to the latter end of your career, you realise, whatever happens, it’s about the team winning. I was happy to do whatever it took for us to get across the line this year.”

Another colleague, Cian O’Sullivan, spoke on Monday of how he believed Brogan would return along with 34-year old Denis Bastick. Brogan’s retirement will leave a considerable void in the dressing room, given his obvious leadership qualities as a former captain, Footballer of the Year, three-time All-Ireland medallist and three-time All Star. The only significant omission from his impressive resume is a Dublin SFC title with Oliver Plunketts Eoghan Ruadh, though that could yet follow.

“Alan has an aura about him,” said Cooper, describing the loss to Dublin. “Only a few players have that and Alan was certainly one of them. Younger guys can take a lot from that, myself included and I would have leaned on Alan’s shoulder and his experience.

“I remember marking Alan on my very first day under ‘Pillar’ Caffrey and I marked him in one of his last training sessions too, under Jim Gavin. Both situations went very similarly for me! He was just such a wily fox in terms of his movement. Maybe some people did not think he had pace but he made up for it with other great skills and what he had in his brain.”

Brogan paid tribute to the county managers who had he had played under — along with the Dublin supporters.

“I would like to thank all the players that I soldiered with and against, and the managers and mentors who have guided me from an early age when I began the pursuit of my sporting dreams.

“I would like to pay particular thanks to Tommy Lyons, Pillar Caffrey, Pat Gilroy and Jim Gavin, whose commitment to the Dublin cause was an inspiration to me and my team-mates over the years. Lastly to the Dublin supporters and Hill 16, thank you for the unwavering support during my time playing in blue.”