'This compares to the hurling' - Dara Ó Briain reflects on the All Ireland Football Final
AS GOOD AS HURLING: Dara Ó Briain featured on BBC's coverage of the All-Ireland Senior Football Final. Pic credit: BBC.
The All-Ireland Football Final was such an entertaining, end-to-end spectacle that Dara Ó Briain believes it rivals a match from one of his more favoured sports.
“I would even say this compares to the hurling. And I’m quite snobby about the hurling,” joked the comedian.
Ó Briain featured on BBC’s coverage before and after Dublin’s memorable victory over Kerry to play his part in promoting the game to a British audience.
“I did say to people to pick a team and go with it because it did go from side-to-side and side-to-side.
“So, look you have got a spectacle there, we gave you a spectacle. And we were within one point of having the entire thing shutdown because of betting syndicates because his was too accurate.”
The person he was referring to was actor Paul Mescal, who was sitting close to him and another familiar face in the form of soon to be The Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty.
“It’s an amazing, amazing occasion. It’s like you feel for the Kerry lads but you are also looking at some of those Dublin footballers now have nine All Ireland medals. They should give them away to somebody else now,” said Mescal.
“What an amazing occasion. Anyone watching their first Gaelic football match today, this is why we love it,” added Kielty.
But for more expert analysis on the showpiece occasion in the Irish Gaelic football season, former Tyrone and three-time All-Ireland winning manager Mickey Harte was in the studio.
“It was a fitting end to the season,” he said shortly after full time.
“The two best teams in the country were playing in this final and they took it the distance. It took it to the 76th minute for us to conclude who was going to win this game.
“You have to hand it to both teams, and you always have to hand it to the referee. There was a few decisions at the end – a wee pull of the jersey, it’s just a wee pull but it’s still a foul – but I think he let a certain amount of physicality go which both teams accepted and went to town on.
As the camera turned to the celebrations on the pitch at Croke Park, it caught Stephen Cluxton celebrating with his teammates having just added another winner’s medal to his collection.
“Yeah, yet another to make it nine,” added pundit Michael Murphy, who has a winners medal himself from his playing days with Donegal.
“You look at those celebrations there – we have come so accustomed looking at Dublin teams celebrating All-Ireland – but you look at the emotion that’s there.
“This season had a feel of throwing EVERYTHING at it for one last big, massive push for a lot of these players.
“It was an entertaining second half because it was so close. The pressure, you could feel it in the stands. Supporters were throwing in frustration, there was everything in it.
"There were mistakes being made. At one stage Dublin had 21 turnovers and from knowing and watching this Dublin team over the last 10, 12 years that’s something we just do not know.
"Credit to Kerry in bringing that but just right at the death. Kerry have improved in terms of those games and trying to eek them out but this Dublin side, this is their DNA, it’s what they are known for.
“When things get really tough, they tend to stand up and it was them in that second half that stood up and they definitely – for me – deservedly edged it.”
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