YOU HAVE TO lose one to win one, or so the old saying goes.
When Kevin McManamon bounced up the steps of the Hogan Stand to reacquaint himself with Sam Maguire, the disappointment of 2014 made this latest success that little bit sweeter.
After slogging it out in the rain in an utterly forgettable final, Dublin triumphed over old foes Kerry once again and clinched a third All-Ireland title in five seasons.
“It’s hard to compare them,” McManamon said yesterday at a reception hosted by sponsors AIG.
It had that bit of sweetness. We had the real, real downer last year when we were really built up, whereas in 2013 we were never really favourites I suppose. Maybe (there was) that bit of redemption from last year.
“To compare them, I wouldn’t really. I suppose the first one was very, very special for all of us. Personally as well. I don’t think it ever reached the heights of 2011 but, no, it was very nice – a rainy day, to win an ugly one was nice.”
It’s a distant memory now but Dublin’s shock defeat to Donegal in the 2014 semi-finals caused a deep wound.
While the celebrations kicked off around him, James McCarthy called out the critics who had thrown ‘slurry’ at Jim Gavin’s men and questioned their mettle.
For McManamon, the problem was never one of character. It was that the media had hyped their credentials out of all proportion.
“We were literally built up to be so good – and I think a lot of us knew that we weren’t ever that good.
“I remember reading something about Michael Darragh being this Hercules warrior running through the middle of the park.
“I started laughing and said, ‘Mick, did you read that?’ and he lied and said, ‘No.’
You know what I mean? I remember reading it and I just said, ‘How can anyone big us up to be that good after one All-Ireland and a Leinster?’
“But, sure enough, we had the fall then. We were built up and we had the fall.”
For better or for worse, McManamon knows Dublin’s heavyweights tag is one that is here to stay.
They have already been installed as the evens favourites to retain their title in 2016 — despite the fact that only Kerry have managed back-to-back titles in the last 25 years.
On top of that, no Dublin manager has masterminded the feat since the legendary Kevin Heffernan in the late 1970s.
Another win would surely see this current crop eclipse Heffo’s greats but McManamon says the hype won’t go to their heads.
“What do I think it will be like next year in terms of bigging us up? I don’t know, I assume we’ll be one of the favourites.
“We’ll just kind of take it on the chin. When we’re in season, we are good and we’re getting better at sheltering ourselves, keeping the head down in the bunker.
“You’d like to think that it won’t get to us.”
