Diary of a Dub…The Boys are back in Town episode   It’s Sunday, July 30th. 6.30pm, Grand Central on O’Connell street. You’ve never walked down from Croke Park so fast in your life. A cold beer in one hand, surrounded by family, friends and fellow fans, and you hear the band strike up those immortal lyrics ‘ How can I protect you in this crazy world….’ You’ve made it. Paradise. So here we are, back in another final after 2 semifinal defeats in the last 2 years. Our old frenemies from Kerry awaiting us once again. The El Classico final is ours again. Any final is special, any final against Kerry is next level special.   Let us get some closure on 2022. Only a 55-yard kick of a ball between these teams in a semifinal 12 months ago, yet that was a team devoid of Cluxton, Con, Mannion and McCaffrey. Dublin were down by 5 points at half time, and brought the game back level in the dying embers before that Davy Byrne foul and Seanie O’Se and his monster boot brought Kerry to a final. That 2nd half performance from Dublin made it easier to accept defeat, they gave it their all and just came up short. You have to take the losing with the winning and whilst last year left us disappointed, it closed with some semblance of hope. 12 months has made such a difference to Dublin. In the semifinal against Kerry last year, despite losing with the last kick of the game, Dublin emerged from a season of disappointment to restore pride in the jersey, mainly because they showed up in the second half. You know if things were different, Dublin could have made 2 more finals, had they not lost those game of inches against Mayo in 2021 and Kerry last year. I’ve always said it’s a game of inches and it always will be. And you take the losing with the winning, always, no matter hard that may be. To 2023, and this is a different Dublin team this time around I feel, and many of you do too. No doubting that these are the best 2 teams this year and their talent and experience has deservedly brought both to this very game. Are the stars aligning for Dublin? The return of the magical trio and of course, Pat Gilroy, adds to the sense many Dubs are subscribing to that this is our time again. Stop Kerry going on a run with Back-to-back titles. And of course, there’s a plethora of Dubs on 8 All-Irelands titles. Jack O’Connor has never won Back-to-Back All Irelands and therefore the narrative of this game is plentiful on both sides. There are so many sidebars to this game and narratives have been aplenty this week in the media. it has been well documented this week that no player in the history of the game has 9 all Ireland football winners medals. Plenty has been written of this over the course of the last few days. 12 players have 8 and 3 of them will play on Sunday. Cluxton, McCarthy and Mick Fitz. Don’t tell me that this has no bearing on the motivation of these players come Sunday. Of course it does. Every player wants to leave their greatest legacy behind them and each of the lads will want it, and every other Dublin player will want it for these 3 heroes of Dublin who have given so much in their time to the cause of Dublin football. Words may not be spoken about it but you can be guaranteed this is one of those unspoken motivations that exists in a dressing room and more importantly in a players mind. As fans, we immortalize our greatest players and we have been privileged to see these lads over the last 15 years, to us, a win cements their place is the GAA Hall of fame and leaves a legacy that may never well be beaten. Both sets of fans will want their teams to win for this very obvious reason, amongst others. So what of this year from Dublin? Promotion from Division 2 and a divisional title beating Derry. Another Leinster title, 13 in a row. Top of their all-Ireland series group, a blistering defeat of Mayo, and a hard fought down the stretch win against Monaghan. This all means Dublin arrive to this final in much better shape than they were 12 months ago. Don’t forget, the boys are also back in town and those boys are Cluxton, Mannion and McCaffrey. They didn’t come back for the craic. They mean business and you only need look at their performances since their return. They make Dublin a better team and give us strength on the bench coming down the stretch. No doubt, they add intensity in training and competition for places. Try to convince me this is anything but good for any team. We do need to talk about Clifford. David that is. Tyrone were the only team to keep him relatively quiet this year and if there is a winning of an All-Ireland in this Dublin team, a plan for him will have to be enacted. He is, without doubt, a generational footballer, the likes of which are seldom if not rare. Hard as it is as a Dub to lavish praise on any Kerry player, but you cannot but admire his skills as a baller, his physical prowess and his deadly accuracy. He is an absolute athlete and he is only 24. Now Kerry aren’t a one player team but they are a different team without him. So winning against Kerry with Clifford makes the incentive all the sweeter, and I’ve no doubt, the back 6 of Dublin will relish the opportunity to stop the supply to him and negate his impact. Now should he break the lines, he will face a keeper in Cluxton who hasn’t conceded a goal since 2019. Something has to give you would think? Dublin too have found some talent this year and also seen new leaders emerge in this team that would encourage you for the future. We’ve seen the stalwarts return and the leaders up their intensity like McCarthy, Fenton and Kilkenny, their last 2 games in a Blue shirt were exceptional. Basquel and Costello have finally stepped out from the shadows and showed us their worth to the team. Lee Gannon has been immense and is only 23 years old. Sean Bugler has nailed on a starting berth at 11, his work rate is immense both on and off the ball and he is only 25. There are others on the panel that we have yet to see the best of and may very well be involved in the changing of the guard in the next few years, the likes of Daire Newcombe, Peader O Cofaigh Byrne and Lorcan Dell to name just a few. No doubt some of the under 20’s will join the panel next year. Watch out for Adam Waddick and Luke Breathnach in this blog in years to come. But of this Sunday, it will be experience, appetite and character that will make the difference and of this panel, there are 11 players with a combined total of 80 all Ireland winning medals. Cluxton, Mick Fitz and James Mc all on 8. Kilkenny, Davy Byrne, Costello and Rock on 7, Fenton has 6, with Mannion, McCaffrey and Con on 5, Howard has 4. That’s a wealth of winning mentality experience and how many of those medals have been won by the narrowest of margins? A fair few, and that level of experience will be critical in the heat of battle come Sunday.    Pat Gilroy’s return and influence on this Dublin team cannot be understated or underestimated. To those not of a Dublin persuasion, he is the man responsible for the turnaround in Dublin fortunes. Post 2009 after being battered by Kerry in a quarter final, he led the cull of that team and the building of a new Dublin team which would go on and win their first of 8 all Irelands in 2011 in that famous Cluxton last kick of the ball All-Ireland. It seems to have gone relatively unchecked in the media circles but to those who know, his return and influence is as big as the returning Cluxton, Mannion and McCaffrey. No coincidence is it either that the boys returned AFTER Gilroy had returned. Make of it what you will. What we do know is this, Pat Gilroy is a through and through Dub, someone who would bleed blue for his county. He is a player’s manager, schooled in the Mickey Whelan era of Football and a Vincent’s legend, they who were all Ireland Club winners. He has his own All-Ireland winners medal as a manger in 2011 and as player in 1995, the very same team that spawned the great Jim Gavin who took over the reigns in 2012. So it all started with Pat and his team, and his return whilst under the media’s radar, is most certainly not under ours. Anyway onto the history of this rivalry. We do always love a good stat or two. Dublin and Kerry have met 32 times in championship football in the history of the game,. Kerry have won 18, Dublin 11, and we’ve had 3 draws.   Kerry have 38 All Irelands compared to Dublin with 30. That gap has narrowed in the last decade, but this Kerry team look to have more All Irelands in them in this decade so this makes Sunday even more important. Kerry have lost their last 3 All Ireland finals to Dublin and have not beaten the Dubs in a final since 1985. Interesting record that. They have beaten the dubs plenty of times in that time, just not in a final. And look, it is only history, it counts for nothing come Sunday, but should Dublin win and you find yourself in the company of a Kerry person post-game, it’s a handy stat to rollout if required for bants alone. Due to this history, this is an unmatched rivalry in Gaelic football, has been for almost 50 years now, and I’ve been fortunate to be alive and a be supporter for it all. I’ve seen times like the 80’s and 90’s when Kerry were the dominant force and then there is the last decade which was Dublin’s alone. But for all of Dublin’s Dominance in the last decade, it is Kerry who still have more of the championship wins and more titles. The all-time stats are no guide to form for this weekend but they are an interesting sidebar, one to be mindful if you’re celebrating a Dublin win this Sunday, as the more knowledgeable of Kerry fans may just remind you of the fact should you go there, just remember the 1985 quip, you might it need it or might need the 8 in 10 years record Dublin had in the last decade, 3 of those at the hands of Kerry (2011, 2015, and 2019). Best of luck in your banting endeavors. One thing Dublin and Kerry does produce, is a great game and they have delivered some of the greatest games I’ve ever seen. 2011, Maccers goal and That Cluxton point. 2013, 4 points down and dragged it back to win in one of the most incredible finishes to a game I’ve ever witnessed (I was on Hill 16 that day, it shook and it’s the closest to a banger I’ve ever come to). 2015 under the floodlights wasn’t a classic but 2019 and the drawn game with Dublin down to 14 and chasing the game, let alone Eoin Murchans goal to separate the teams in the replay. Sean O’Se nailing a 55 yard last kick of the ball free kick to beat us last year. Go back and look at the 1970’s rivalry and you see some of the most incredible games between 1975 and 1979 between two teams who were at their absolute peak. This generation was born of that 70’s rivalry and understand better than most. This new generation has 2011, 2015, 2019, 2022 and now 2023 to feed off. Kerry and Dublin bring out the best of footballing pedigree, the sight of each other’s jerseys bring out the best in themselves. They play the game the right way, with intensity, with skill, with do or die football, leaving nothing behind football. Tanks emptied, footballing purity and lads dying in their boots on the field. This Sunday will be no different, and it won’t be for the faint of heart once again. We became accustomed in the years of Jim to seeing the players motto and inspirations, but only after winning a title would we see it. I wonder what the theme is this year? I know what mine is and has been for a long time. Excelsior. A great word, it is borrowed from Latin, excelsior means “ever upward”. And as any footballing Dub who is on this road as long as I am, we are nothing but ever upward, especially in the barren years, and now its back again as we come bearing no titles since 2020, and it’s been 3 years of ever upward for us all. A motto for life it is, and a guiding principle for a few who know who they are, something that keep us going, through thick and through thin, always in the knowledge that better days lie ahead and good times always come to those who wait and have patience. May Excelsior guide us well this Sunday. I have spent this week managing the distraction that only an All-Ireland final can bring, but often this week I’ve asked myself, so what does it mean to be a Dub?  So, I’m going to do my best to put into words how special a feeling it is, and something that accentuates even more in an all-Ireland final week. It is a feeling most certainly. But it is too an accent. And it is a pride. It is a goosebump. It is Christy Dignam, Sinead O’Connor, U2, Killiney Hill, Jones Road, and the 46A. It’s the Dart, The Dubliners, Ronnie Drew and a pint in your local wherever it may be. It’s the superstition, the slang, the banter and the craic. It’s a song, it’s a thought, it’s a longing and it’s a love. It’s that moment you see land as you approach Dublin Airport. It’s the view from Killiney Hill down onto Killiney beach and home. It’s the Gasworks, Boland’s mill, Customs house quay and the Poolbeg Chimneys. It the Vernacular, that unique slang that only a Dub would give you, a language of its own. The How’s your father, what’s the story and get up the yard!  It’s the flags, the flats, the mars bars 3 for a Euro and if don’t want them, then don’t maul them. It’s the people, the salt of the earth type, mischief and all. All of this and more, for it is in our DNA. Programmed through a life experience of growing up in Dublin and being immersed in all things Dublin. Dublin GAA is a manifestation of it all to the initiated. For those no longer living in the fair city, all of this is accentuated even more, born from a longing of home, a love of home and a life of home. So, in essence, it is truly more than just a feeling. How has your final week been? Have you prepared? Have you learned from previous years and course corrected? Have you engaged Radio Silence? Listen not to those pundits, many if not all of them scripted or self-scripted to guarantee their own relevance, nothing but annoyance to be gained from exposing yourself needlessly to tripe and hype. Have you engaged Superstition? Jersey selection critical on a week like this, preparing the lucky socks, jocks et al. Some go as far as shoes, jeans and more. A Superstitious lot we are. Have you chosen to go on the Gargle or drink in Moderation? This is a week of extremes, either you can’t cope and the giddiness takes over, you succumb to the porter early doors or you remain extremely disciplined and avoid it altogether. No in-betweens. The road you choose on a week like this is yours and yours alone. Both are understandable given what’s at stake. As long as you make it to match day, that’s all that matters. One thing for sure, it’s a long week that feels more like a month and you have to practice acceptance as Sarah would say. She being the modern day Dalai Lama of common sense and wisdom. The week eventually passes and Sunday does indeed come. Life has a funny way of throwing signs your way. And it comes from both sadness and happiness. This year we lost 2 Musical legends born of a Dublin persuasion. Christy Dignam and Sinead O’Connor. In fact I had written this part last week and had to go back and edit to include Sinead given its recency. Sadness for us all at the loss of life and talents who brought such joy and inspiration to all. I’ll never forget seeing Aslan at a Lark in the Park in Blackrock 40 years ago, I became an instant fan then and his passing brought such sorrow to us all but such pride in seeing how many people took to the streets to celebrate his life. In a world so broken, sometimes we get a glimpse of how powerful we are when we come together. For me, Christy was an out and out Dub. an unbelievable musician, but a Dub first and foremost.  For Sinead, she was from the Borough, a woman so ahead of her time, and as Dave Fanning said, she was both Fragile and Fearless. I’ll never forget her breakthrough musically in the 80’s, how Mandinka gave me goosebumps when I first heard it and how proud we were of her being a Dub and from the borough. We didn’t appreciate her in the living times though in terms of what she stood for and fought for. That’s all changed now. Christy and Sinead were quite different in their approach to life but both were incredible fighters for their causes, as well as being incredible musicians and are an inspiration to us all, and I expect, will be for many years to come. Does their passing have any bearing on Sunday, who knows? One from the Northside and one from the Southside, both with quite different life circumstances, but both were incredible fighters for the causes they believed in. Don’t underestimate the loss of legends to have a lasting impact on the Dublin lads who love their county.   One thing their passing should show us all is this. We are a family of one. Sure they had their own families, their musical families too, but what they could never have realized is how big their family of fans were, their community and their county. All came together to celebrate Christy’s life in his passing. He was loved in life and will be loved and cherished for a long time to come. I sincerely hope that Dublin honors Sinead in exactly the same way. We may never see a woman as powerful and brave as her ever again. And so, from this, we take that  being a Dublin fan is about being part of a family, your own family and your Dublin football family, and I’m lucky that all my family are a family of Dub fans. Every match is about family, it’s about gathering, being together and celebrating our love of Dublin football. Win, lose or draw, we always have each other, we have the craic, the bants and the love of it all. Sure it wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t have a family to share it with. And what of Sunday… As we look ahead to the game, every Dub knows this will be an epic battle. A game of inches for sure and don’t rule out a draw. This year has a smack of 2011 about it, not in terms of outcome, but certainly in terms of the build up and the emotions. Its been the longest 2 weeks ever since the semi final, and this week in particular has had all the hallmarks of that famous year. In footballing terms, you can argue Dublin are coming again after coming up short in 2021/2022, same as they did in 2009/2010. Under the radar until they beat Mayo in the quarter final, and then the hype started to go into overload. Its this overload, that gets you as a fan, distraction levels at their absolute highest. I can safely say, that I’m looking forward to this Sunday as much, if not more than I did in 2011. I go in hope, not in expectation. I don’t subscribe to the cliché ‘It’s the hope that kills you’, more it’s the hope that keeps you going, going back time and time again, investing your soul for the love of the team and this game every year without question. Emotional investment. Every fan of every county knows this. In an All-Ireland Final, the stakes of your emotional investment are raised. You have goosebumps during the parade, you sing the national anthem like its’s your last breath. You kick every ball, you celebrate every block and turnover, you challenge every referee decision, you celebrate every point like you’ve won, you fist pump, embrace strangers, and become an alter ego of yourself. You feel the adrenalin of every moment, there is no drug like it. It’s a high like never before and we are all but football and hurling junkies whose path is chosen to follow this GAA life. Simply put, there is nothing like it. Sunday will be no different and we wouldn’t want it any other way. For those of you who have read this blog over the years, you’ll know I don’t make predictions, I don’t do arrogance, I try to embody what it is to be a Dub in the week running up to a special game, to capture the spirit of all Dubs who come in hope, not in expectation. So whilst it would appear the stars are aligning and yes I am reading the signs, I will not break tradition. I believe in this team and I hope that day will be ours, but there is no god given right in this game, and it will no doubt come down to those inches.  And as is customary as we face into another All-Ireland Sunday, here is your cupla focal for both the Dubs and my fam. Dá mhéad an chonstaic is ea is mó glóire chun é a shárú. The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. And to Sunday and those inches, let them be ours, let our alter-egos overcome us, let the intensity of it all take us over, full on immersion in the moment, as if it’s our last, for The Boys are back in Town.

COYBIB.