Christy O'Connor: Bringing in Paddy Tally was Jack O'Connor's bravest call

Kerry have always had brilliant footballers but Jack O’Connor has improvised once again to bring success

COACH: Kerry coach Paddy Tally lifts the Sam Maguire Cup at Croke Park on Sunday. Tally brought a mean streak to the Kingdom that was previously missing. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

At the end of Sunday’s All-Ireland final, after Seán O’Shea’s victory speech, Paddy Tally sought out Damien Comer as he headed for the dressing room. Tally embraced the Galway player for a handful of seconds before trying to offer some consoling words to a visibly devastated Comer.

Tally formed a central part of Kerry’s journey this year, and how they negotiated their way through it, but Tally’s interaction with Comer was more than just a victor acknowledging the vanquished; Tally had also coached Comer when he was part of the Galway backroom team under Kevin Walsh in 2018.