Kettle boils with pride for victorious Dubs

Dublin GAA chairman Andy Kettle was certainly a proud man as he savoured the Metropolitans' first All-Ireland SFC success since 1995 at the Burlington Hotel last night.

Players, management and supporters celebrated long into the night at the Vodafone Banquet, with Kettle thrilled to be at the helm in a year which saw four Dublin teams reach All-Ireland finals.

"I'm full of emotion at the moment. 16 years is a long time and there's a generation of Dublin footballers and supporters who have grown up without seeing Sam Maguire in Dublin," he said.

"We corrected that today and it's a phenomenal feeling absolutely."

Kettle watched Dublin carve out a slender one-point win over Kerry from the sideline, with plenty of heart-stopping moments throughout a pulsating decider.

"I thought at one stage coming towards the end (of the game) that it was gone from us," he admitted.

"Me of little faith, I didn't have enough faith in our guys. They never give up, they are just a phenomenal bunch of players.

"They don't know the word stop or failure. They continued until everything was sorted. For Stephen Cluxton to kick a point in that cauldron is just...it beggars belief."

A late Colman Kennedy goal ensured Dublin were not celebrating double All-Ireland glory, after Tipperary's minor team claimed a first All-Ireland MFC title since 1934 thanks to a 3-9 to 1-14 win yesterday.

"Unfortunately a little bit of luck might have done it, but it didn't go their way," added Kettle.

"It is a terribly hard lesson to learn, to lose by a point in the last minute of the game nearly.

"The boot was on the other foot in the senior final. That's sport and that's the part we love about Gaelic games."

Dublin's official homecoming will take place at 7pm in Merrion Square tonight and Kettle is hopeful that the Dublin supporters will come out in their thousands to toast the dramatic final win.