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Your GAA championship weekend review

Dublin and Kerry served up the game of the championship yesterday.

NOW, THAT’S HOW you play Gaelic football!

Dublin and Kerry served up what was variously labelled the ‘game of the decade’, ‘the best match ever’ and ‘an exhibition in how to play’. And it’s hard to disagree.

Ultimately, thanks to some impressive cameos and a late, late show that Gay Byrne of which would’ve approved, Dublin march deeper into September and an All-Ireland decider with Mayo.

Here’s how the weekend unfolded.

Happy days

Normally in these pages we feature the angry faces of those crowbarred into the RTÉ studio at GAA HQ. But the mood amongst Joe Brolly, Pat Spillane and Colm O”Rourke was a lot different on Sunday.

The trio were almost tipsy on the first 35 minutes of champagne football that was uncorked before them.

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And afterwards it seemed they’s been up late watching old Westerns or Zorro films. That slumber party would be fun.

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We think the Gooch is more like Marty McFly in Back To The Future II, obviously.

Interested spectators

One again, in the stands, sat the great and good of Irish sport.

WWE star Sheamus supplexed himself into a tight-looking Dubs jersey as he enjoyed the knock-down, drag-out top-rope action on the pitch.

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Pic credit

Elsewhere in the shadows of the famous venue, sat Mayo’s mastermind manager, James Horan. Though he too  looked like he was ready to run, like Jerry ‘the Brain’ Heenan, into the ring at any stage and have some say in the Dublin-Kerry showdown.

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Enda Kenny could fill the Vince McMahon role, if we haven’t already choked the life our of the wrestling analogy. Here he is surveying Mayo’s next opponents. He looks confident:

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Pic: Inpho

Talking points

  • What now for Kerry’s old guard? The Kingdom may face into a winter in which some of their all-time greats — Tomás Ó Sé, perhaps? — decide to at last fold away the green and gold. Eamonn Fitzmaurice urged any of those in the losing dressing-room on Sunday to ‘chill’ before making a decision. “Today’s not a day for thinking about things like that,” Fitzmaurice told RTÉ after the game. “Some of those lads are among the best players to ever play the game, never mind for Kerry, so they’ll probably have a chill now and think about it.”
  • Will Dublin bate Mayo? Those in the west are probably (?) happier to face the Blues in September rather than the Munster kingpins again. Jim Gavin, for his part, insisted his side would go into the Sam Maguire decider as underdogs. The bookies disagree; they have the 2011 champions at evens.
  • I love it when a plan comes together: Pat Spillane made a point of singling out Jim Gavin for praise because he ‘stuck to his guns’. The Dubs boss, it’s true, didn’t deviate from the philosophy or plan which got his team to this point, with the result being that epic end-to-end game. Gavin said afterwards that he never felt panicked. ““The game ebbs and flows and we accept that these things will happen. We just need to keep at and keep to the gameplan and even at half-time there was no sense of panic; it was very calm actually and focused,” he told RTÉ.

No Minor matters

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Red tide: Tyrone’s David Mulgrew, Tiarnan Donnelly and Lee Brennan celebrate after the game. Pic: INPHO/Cathal Noonan

Tyrone’s senior stars may have fallen just short last week, but the Red Hand will be represented on Gaelic football’s blue-riband day afterall. The county’s minor stars booked a spot against Mayo in the All-Ireland MFC final on 22 September after a two-point win over Roscommon

Sportsmanship

Inpho snapper Donall Farmer captured this great picture of rivals, Bernard Brogan and Marc Ó Sé.

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Ladies first

Before the action at Croke Park, there was the matter of a Ladies football semi-final to be played out. Monaghan came through a real battle against Galway to book their place in the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies SFC decider at HQ on 29 September. Here’s how.

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Monaghan’s Ellen McCarron celebrates at the final whistle. Pic: INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan

It’s science

The wisdom of crowds, eh? We asked you on Sunday morning who you thought would come out on top at Croker. A massive 73% or so backed the Munster champions.

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So… who do we fancy for the hurling, internetland?

(Don’t feel bad; Pajo The Psychic Calf was wrong too, the eejit)

Tweets of the week

Bernard Brogan was taken off before the conclusion of the action. But he’ll be back…

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And MDMA was last seen in Coppers doing his best Miley Cyrus impression. And why not.

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In fair Drumcondra, where we lay our scene

As two houses, both alike in dignity, met on the pitch, this young couple showed their true colours.

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Sarah Grace from Dun Laoighaire with her boyfriend Oisin Brogan from Farranfore, Kerry. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie

Hill 16 is Dublin only?

So say these lads. But this YouTube video from the game with Kerry shows the rest of us what it’s like on the famous terrace on big days like Sunday.

YouTube: Sliimbo96·

Pure class

If anyone didn’t already know it, Sunday confirmed that Colm Cooper is just pure class. Check out this foot-pass in the build-up to the Kingdom’s second green flag.

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Gif: Balls

Sealed with a kiss?

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Pic: INPHO/Cathal Noonan

That couple weren’t the only ones sharing a kiss on Jones’ Rd yesterday. Oh no, sir. Dublin’s Paul Flynn landed a smacker on his team-mate Kevin McManamon in celebration after the game.

But didn’t he deserve it?

McManamon, of course, struck a crucial goal against Kerry in the 2011 All-Ireland decider. On Sunday, he reprised that hero’s role, when he came off the bench. Check out his late, stunning goal:

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Gif: Balls.ie

What’s next then?

Very glad you asked. Clare and Cork face off on Sunday in an intriguing All-Ireland hurling final. Expect a week filled with:

a. Pictures of animals in county colours

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Pic via Paul Collins

b. All-Ireland final songs. Here’s the new video for GMC’s JBM tube:

YouTube: gmcbeats

c. A cracking game on Sunday. We can’t wait.

What did you think of the weekend action?

8 defining moments from ‘Game of the Decade’ as Dublin defeat Kerry

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