Kieran Shannon: Short of 28 All-Star awards, Bohan has re-constructed the Dublin machine 

Of the Dublin women’s team that started and won the 2020 All-Ireland final, seven All-Star awardees have subsequently retired or taken a sabbatical

DIFFERENT PLAYLIST, SAME DJ: Dublin manager Mick Bohan. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

At first glance the parallels between the Dublin men’s and ladies footballers are obvious, striking. For years All-Ireland final days didn’t know what it was like to be without them just as they didn’t know what it was like to be without All-Ireland final day.

Even covid couldn’t disrupt their winning streak. During the bleak winter of 2020 there was a billboard ad with an image of the biggest prize in Gaelic football sitting on the pitch in Croke Park, Dublin 3, accompanied by a public health message. ‘This is Sam. Sam stays at home. Be like Sam.’