Interesting parallels as the drive for five looms for Dublin

With Dublin now chasing the elusive five in a row, John Fogarty discovers some links to Kerry's quest for a place in the GAA history books in 1982.

It’s a family affair

Don’t let us associate this Dublin team and Kerry - let Brian Fenton. “My dad is a Kerryman,” he said of his father, Spa man Brian Senior, on Sunday, “and keeps reminding me of the heartbreak of 1982, and the Offaly last-minute goal.” Fenton is one of three Dublin players with Kerry parentage - Cian O’Sullivan (father John, Kilgarvan) and Bernard Brogan (mother Maria, Listowel).

“My mother wanted me to swim,” said Fenton in 2015, “and Dad definitely got a hold of me and, being the Kerry man that he was, football was going to be the destination.

It’s definitely something that was built into me. I am lucky in a way, I was lucky to have him and I’m still lucky to have him. He is always there for me, he’s been brilliant, my main support, my main man.

I’m a lucky man with fire in my hands

As his Raheny teammate Ciaran Whelan reminded people of on The Sunday Game, Fenton has yet to lose a championship game, a remarkable feat considering he has just seen out his fourth season.

That’s 28 SFC games for the 25-year-old, 26 wins and two draws. Aside from being the best midfielder in the business, he is the quintessential lucky general. Eoin Liston was the same up to the 1982 final, being on the winning side 12 times in championship from his debut in 1978 before Seamus Darby’s intervention. Injury cost the Bomber his final starting spot against Roscommon in 1980 but in earning a third consecutive Celtic Cross the then 23-year-old picked up his first of four All-Stars that year.

Very superstitious, the writing’s on the wall

Those opportunistic hawkers weren’t slow in producing the four-in-a-row Dublin car registration plates on Sunday.

In fact, they were available in and around the environs of Croke Park prior to throw-in. Clearly, they took no notice of what happened to a similarly enterprising man in the textiles business 36 years ago and if they think four-in-a-row merchandise sells wait until next year’s final if Dublin are involved.

Seamus Darby's goal which denied Kerry a historic five-in-a-row - a feat no team has ever achieved

@CiaranJ63, a O’Dwyers, Balbriggan man now living in Roscommon, pointed out to us on Twitter that Tyrone could be Dublin’s Achilles as Offaly were to Kerry.

He posted: 1980 Offaly lose AI Semi to Kerry, 1981 Offaly lose AI Final to Kerry, Kerry 4 in row, 1982 Offaly beat Kerry in AI Final stop 5 in row. 2017 Tyrone lose AI Semi Final to Dublin, 2018 Tyrone lose AI Final to Dublin, Dublin 4 in row. 2019 ???”.

1980 Offaly lose AI Semi to Kerry
1981 Offaly lose AI Final to Kerry Kerry 4 in row
1982 Offaly beat Kerry in AI Final stop 5 in row

2017 Tyrone lose AI Semi Final to Dublin
2018 Tyrone lose AI Final to Dublin Dublin 4 in row.
2019 ???

— Ciaran (@CiaranJ63) September 2, 2018

On another note, Kerry beat Dublin twice during the four-in-a-row spell, the same number of times Dublin have been victorious against the Kingdom in this current period of dominance.

Money talks

“They’re volunteering their time and there are no financial rewards for playing Gaelic football, there are a couple of endorsement deals but they are few and far between.” The words of Jim Gavin after Sunday’s game but maybe they don’t relate to some of his players like Bernard Brogan (SuperValu, Red Bull, Littlewoods, King Crisps and Volkswagen) or Ciarán Kilkenny, who has enjoyed endorsements with the likes of Sure, Jack & Jones, Volkswagen, Taxback.com, ParkPnP and Beko.

Mention of Beko White Goods brings to mind Kerry’s Bendix ads prior to the 1985 All-Ireland final, which had captions like “Only Bendix Could Whitewash This Lot” as they gathered around a washing machine. Guided by Mick O’Dwyer, Kerry’ decided to break GAA rules and wear Adidas gear in 1982, being fined £500 for a £20,000 endorsement was deemed a “good deal” by the ever-canny Micko.

Although, given Kerry’s experience Dublin might be wise not to do anything as radically commercially in their five-in-a-row season.

...went jingle-jangle

Not the triangle but medals. If you exclude Bernard Brogan who did not feature on the match-day panel, 10 players claimed a sixth All-Ireland medal on Sunday. Completing the four in a row, 10 Kerry players won their fifth - Ger O’Keeffe, John O’Keeffe, Páidí Ó Sé, Tim Kennelly, Ger Power, Paudie Lynch, Denis ‘Ogie’ Moran, John Egan, Mikey Sheehy and Pat Spillane. Going into 1982, 11 Kerry players were on the verge of starting a fifth consecutive All-Ireland final victory - Charlie Nelligan, John O’Keeffe, Ó Sé, Kennelly, Lynch, Jack O’Shea, Seán Walsh, Moran, Sheehy and John Egan. That number is eight for Dublin - Stephen Cluxton, Philly McMahon, Johnny Cooper, O’Sullivan, James McCarthy, Fenton, Kilkenny and Dean Rock.

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