With a fine inter-county playing career, that featured the 1995 All-Ireland triumph as the highlight, behind him and a pair of All-Ireland U21 titles recently collected as a manager, Jim Gavin was the obvious choice to step into the breach when Pat Gilroy departed as Dublin bainisteoir last year.
Despite his excellent credentials, he assumed a role that carried great expectations. Yet he coped with those challenges and thrived in a pressurised environment. Gavin drafted in young players and put an eye-catching, offensive style of football into action.
Picking up titles in the national football league, Leinster senior championship and the All-Ireland senior championship is a testament to his superb stewardship in his debut season.
Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
2. The impact of Bernard Brogan
Three years ago Bernard Brogan was the standout footballer in the land. Despite Dublin not reaching the September decider that year, the glittering collection of displays that Brogan had accumulated made him the automatic choice for Footballer of the Year.
Three years on Brogan endured a season that featured choppy waters at stages. In Leinster, he was substituted in Dublin’s three games and was particularly quiet in the provincial final against Meath. But once he moved into the All-Ireland series he thrived.
Advertisement
Against Cork there were signs that he was impacting more and he stepped it up again in the semi-final against Kerry with a scintillating scoring display. Then there was yesterday in Croke Park when he stood tall on the biggest stage and weighed in with 2-3.
When Dublin needed their marquee forward most, he delivered in style. The Sunday Game man-of-the-match award last night was recognition of that.
Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
3. Dublin’s youth stepping up to senior
Dublin’s challenge was greatly enhanced this year by the additions of products from last year’s All-Ireland U21 winning side. Jack McCaffrey torched teams with his marauding runs from the back and grabbed a brilliant goal against Cork in the quarter-final.
Ciaran Kilkenny’s playmaking was critical as he returned from Australia and lived up to the demands of life as a senior attacker. While Paul Mannion went from being a substitute in an U21 final in May 2012 to a starter in a senior final in September 2013.
The trio injected a great burst of energy into Dublin’s side and have promising future careers. And yet there are still challenges to be faced. Their influence on games waned in the All-Ireland series and life against Kerry and Mayo illustrated that there is still development to be done at senior level.
Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
4. The increased resolve of Dublin
During that 16-year drought that Dublin endured without Sam Maguire after 1995, there were charges frequently levelled at them that they were unable to deal with hype and they crumbled when the pressure increased on summer days in Croke Park.
This current side had to absorb some of those painful lessons like the 2009 hammering against Kerry and the 2010 defeat to Cork. But they learned and improved. 2011 was reflective of that, 2013 reinforced it.
Consider that yesterday they did not hit full speed in their performance, saw key figures not dominating the game and injuries afflicting them to the extent that they only had 13 fit bodies on the pitch at the finish.
Yet they coped with the adversity that they faced, held their nerve – like they have done all summer – and got their reward. Claiming a second All-Ireland title in three years is a serious feat.
Pic: INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan
5. The road ahead for Dublin
The age profile of this Dublin team would suggest that the capacity is there for them now to kick on and claim further All-Ireland titles. They were the best team in the country in 2013 and should have the confidence to build on this.
But they will face the obstacles that afflict every All-Ireland winning side. Hunger is a live issue, injuries are another and then there are opponents who will reorganise and improve. Kerry are the only team since 1990 to do two-in-a-row and that is the trend Dublin will try to reverse.
:-( distraught again – some complain about the rugby tackles in the last few minutes but honestly i don’t think there was much between us on sunday only Dublin’s resolve came through while we just made bad choices with ball
two best teams in the country but dublin deserve their win ….
Kerry are indeed the only team since 1990 to have done it back-to-back although a change in management (a fresh voice) may have actually helped them achieve that.
McIlroy completes astonishing Masters victory in play-off win over Justin Rose
28 mins ago
43
FreeAs it happened
Rory McIlroy wins the Masters in mind-boggling drama
Gavin Cooney
1 hr ago
159
FreeAs it happened
Rory McIlroy wins the Masters in mind-boggling drama
Gavin Cooney
1 hr ago
159
Sign in or create a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 168 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.Privacy Policy
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 113 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 149 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 117 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 84 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 84 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 138 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 63 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 78 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 86 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 49 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 95 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 102 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 73 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 54 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 92 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 72 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
:-( distraught again – some complain about the rugby tackles in the last few minutes but honestly i don’t think there was much between us on sunday only Dublin’s resolve came through while we just made bad choices with ball
two best teams in the country but dublin deserve their win ….
You never mentioned the cynical , rugby tackles aka the frees against the dubs. Dont blame the ref either
Build a bridge and get over it!
Kerry are indeed the only team since 1990 to have done it back-to-back although a change in management (a fresh voice) may have actually helped them achieve that.
We’ll win 6/7 in the next decade
I doubt that very much
I’d be happy with 2 or 3 in the next decade.. Can’t win them all mate! Some good teams out there