Murphy returns, O’Shea leads, Donegal prevail on a glorious day for Gaelic football
Up West Port Hill in a sea of green and gold. The River Erne on the left and the local club ground on the right, packed to the rafters. Standing room only on the bank behind the goal, except for the excavator looming like a watchtower.
They came to Ballyshannon’s Fr Tierney Park for a rematch of the All-Ireland final, for an afternoon of old-fashioned league theatre. Boy, did they get it. Donegal eventually earned a four-point triumph after a dramatic conclusion that saw Kerry aerially bombard Gavin Mulreany’s goal.
In times like these, all the usual caveats about the league, about the fact Kerry had just five starters from the All-Ireland final, or another breach controversy, pale into insignificance in the face of the fundamental reality: did the game grip you from the start and hold you until the final hooter? This was Maximus’ match: are you not entertained?
There was so much on offer here. Firstly, the competitive ferocity of Seán O’Shea. He kicked 11 points, including four two-point frees and a 45, but it would be unfair to reduce his display to placed-ball excellence. O’Shea was the chief orchestrator and competitor. Breaking-ball wins, slick set plays, flare-ups; the Kenmare combatant was at the heart of all of it.
“He brought the team on his back at times in the second half,” said O’Connor. “He is some man in a battle. He relished that battle today.”
How fitting that he inspired Kerry to fight back from seven down early in the second half to within four midway through. How poetic, then, that the moment which calmed Donegal was a sensational Shane O’Donnell press as he hunted O’Shea down close to the Kerry goal and forced him to over-carry. Michael Murphy, in his first appearance since last July’s defeat, tapped over a simple free.
How exciting that Jim McGuinness believes this sort of high-pressing is on the rise and we will see more of it in 2026.
Donegal flexed their attacking muscles at times too. A devastating surge just before half-time saw them hit 1-3 without reply.
Mulreany slotted a 45. Shea Malone was almost punished for failing to lift his head, but Shane O’Donnell saved him by demanding the ball and finding Daire Ó Baoill, left wide open on the opposite side of the field. He was able to round Shane Murphy and tap into an empty net.
They are evolving too. Michael Langan kicked a corker of a two-pointer from the throw-in after the turnaround and added another soon after. Even Hugh McFadden got in on the act with a curling effort that looked destined to hit the digger in the corner and ended up sailing straight between the posts. Finnbarr Roarty and Peadar Mogan both raced forward to convert off left and right.
As for those who believe the game should be about physicality as much as scores, rest assured there was plenty of that here too. Tadhg Morley and Conor O’Donnell were wrestling on the floor before it even started. Joe O’Connor was a wrecking ball for several of Donegal’s giants in the middle. Post-match selector Neil McGee said a lesson from the final was that Kerry got physical with them and they didn’t handle it properly. It was a non-negotiable to stand up for themselves.
Despite that, the efficiency of Jim McGuinness’s side is startling. Post-match, O’Connor met his team of analysts on the way to the media room, where they informed him Donegal had only four turnovers in the entire game. That does not include their four shots dropped short, but it remains a jaw-dropping statistic.
Kerry’s late goal was a microcosm of what the sport is now. O’Shea floated a long ball in, the goalkeeper missed it, but Joe O’Connor accidentally cleared it off the line. McGonagle saw a loose ball and pulled on it. Charlie Keating collected the clearance and lofted it back in.
Eventually, Donagh O’Sullivan put the ping-pong to an end as he hammered in to make the margin three with two minutes remaining.
Cue panic. All of the composure that had defined Donegal’s play before that was suddenly shredded. They lost a kick-out. A stray handpass across the square was collected and booted aimlessly away. Ruairí Murphy tried another dink pass into the scrum that had formed around the goalmouth and Mogan took off.
From that lightning attack, Murphy settled his team and the afternoon.
As he was mobbed at the final whistle by a jubilant crowd, it became clear that whatever all of this means for the summer championship, this enduring rivalry, or the wider sport hardly mattered now. On the day, the game had already given enough.
D. Ó Baoill 1-2; M. Langan 0-4 (2tp); C. O’Donnell (f), F. Roarty 0-3 each; H. McFadden (tp), P. Mogan, M. Murphy (1f) 0-2 each; O. Gallen, S. Malone, G. Mulreany (45), C. Moore 0-1 each.
S. O’Shea 0-11 (4 2pfs, 1m, 1 45), T. Brosnan 0-6 (2tp, 1f), D. O’Sullivan 1-0, A. Heinrich 0-1.
: G. Mulreany; C. McColgan, B. McCole, P. Mogan; F. Roarty, C. McGonagle, C. Moore; H. McFadden, M. Langan; D. Ó Baoill, S. O’Donnell, K. Gallagher; C. O’Donnell, J. McGee, S. Malone.
: R. McHugh for Gallagher (44), M. Murphy for Malone (52), T. Carr for O’Donnell, O. Gallen for Ó Baoill (both 62), K. Muldoon for O’Donnell (68).
: S. Murphy; E. Looney, J. Foley, D. Casey; A. Heinrich, M. Breen, T. Morley; S. O’Brien, C. Trant; J. O’Connor, S. O’Shea, M. Burns; K. Spillane, T. Kennedy, T. Brosnan.
: L. Smith for O’Brien (inj, 20), C. Keating for Breen (35), D. Lyne for Spillane (42), D. O’Sullivan for Burns (52), R. Murphy for Trant (55).
: D. Coldrick (Meath).
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