This weekend the two highest achieving teams in the GAA will face each other for the eleventh time in an All Ireland Final. With 37 and 24 wins respectively, both the Kingdom and the Capital have had their lion’s share of glory and languished through not so effective eras. But when it comes to pinpointing the reason for Dublin’s greatest success throughout the years, the arrow always point to one man.
In 1974 Dublin’s moral and prowess was at an all-time low having dropped down to Division 2 and not made a final in ten years. The catalyst they needed for change came in the form of former footballer Kevin Heffernan. A decorated and respected winner of 15 senior county football titles, Heffernan set about revolutionising the squad that would soon become known as Heffo’s Army by pushing them to their limits and developing individual skill and field tactics. The newly bolstered side featuring Jimmy Keaveney, Paddy Cullen and Sean Doherty, faced a much favoured Galway in the 1974 final and shocked spectators and pundits alike with an expected victory. Thousands of the almost 72,000 strong crowd rushed the pitch as Sean Doherty raised the Sam Maguire, chanting ‘We Want Heffo’ - celebrating the end of the county’s desertion in the wilderness and the dawning of the era of the Super Dubs.
Heffo brought his men to two more All Ireland victories and continued to devote his life to the sport until his death in 2013.
Thousands flocked to his funeral in his native Marino to pay respects to the man the GAA have credited with ‘bringing Gaelic football to the masses and bringing Dublin back from the dead.’
Kerry may be going for the double on Sunday but it was when they were in the middle of their first of two quadruple titles that the world sat up and took notice. In 1931, the Kerry team having won two All Irelands in a row decided to take a punt at world fame and headed Stateside.
They took on the New York side in Yankee Stadium with a three point victory, then came Chicago with a 13 point win, followed by two more unbeaten matches in Massachusetts.
They then braved a homeward voyage of storms and seasickness to find a hero’s welcome in Killarney and Tralee and went on to win the Sam Maguire for the third year in a row, their 10th since the GAA began. The win this year transcended sport and provided political healing in the wake of the Civil War. The team was captained by Free State Army captain Con Brosnan who had endeavoured to ensure safe passage guarantees for Republican players like John Sheedy and Joe Barrett. Their success ensured the following visit to American in 1933 was no longer a private venture but endorsed by the General Secretary Padraig O’Caoimh who travelled with the team and fortified relations with the GAA across the pond.
When the thousands of Dublin and Kerry fans fill Croke Park stadium this Sunday, there will be only two certainties. Firstly a guarantee of quality football by two titans of the championship, secondly whoever lifts the Sam will be adding yet another chapter to their county’s rich history in the sport.
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