A PARNELL PARK rout, King Con O’Callaghan and Cuala back on their throne. A second Dublin SFC title for the Dalkey club in three seasons and the potential for further gains in the coming weeks.
Dublin superstar O’Callaghan netted twice as Cuala eased to a surprisingly comfortable final win, laying the platform for victory with an unanswered 1-9 in the first half.
O’Callaghan finished with 2-5 for Derek Dunne’s crew, who trailed briefly early on before hitting the afterburners and burning off a Castleknock side that had no response to the onslaught.
Jamie Conroy grabbed the other goal for Cuala, but it came in the closing minutes of the second half and, in truth, the game was over at that stage.
Dublin duo Eoin Kennedy and Charlie McMorrow contributed two points apiece, while veteran Sky Blues icon Michael Fitzsimons, wearing his usual number three, added a brace of points on a famous day for the club.
With the Cuala hurlers also preparing for a senior county final, a dream double of titles remains on the cards.
The footballers, All-Ireland champions as recently as early 2025, will have high hopes of going deep into the AIB Leinster club SFC too, and perhaps even the All-Ireland series again.
They will return to Parnell Park on 1 November for a provincial clash with Offaly champions Tullamore.
And they will hope for just as powerful a first-half display on that occasion as they enjoyed here as they quickly got on top of Castleknock.
Castleknock got little joy off their own kick-outs, and as Cuala enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, they reeled off 1-9 without reply between the fifth minute and half-time to put themselves in a terrific position.
Castleknock set up with Dublin great Ciarán Kilkenny in his usual quarter-back slot, just between the midfield and defence.
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They got it going briefly too, scoring the first two points of the game.
But they struggled to break down Cuala’s defence after that, failing to score for the remainder of the opening half and not actually splitting the posts again until early in the second half.
Time and again, Castleknock sought to run at the Cuala defence and pick the lock with hard runs and speedy offloads, but the Dalkey men stood firm.
Twice in the opening 10 minutes, Castleknock were pulled for over-carrying as they tried desperately to find a way through the mass of red bodies.
Cuala, in contrast, were keen to begin their attacks with long kick-passes where possible, like the long pinged kick from defence that began the move which led to Con O’Callaghan scoring their third point in the 13th minute.
That score put Cuala ahead for the first time, 0-3 to 0-2, and they didn’t look back.
County man Kennedy, their semi-final star, drilled a two-pointer in the 21st to stretch Cuala’s lead to four points and with each score they registered, extra pressure came on Castleknock goalkeeper John Vahey’s restarts.
Unfortunately for Vahey, things went awry with the Mayo native finding blue and yellow jerseys with just eight of his 12 kick-outs in the first half. Castleknock lost seven of their last eight kick-outs in the first half.
In the middle of that difficult period, a Vahey kick-out was gobbled up by a red shirt and the ball worked in towards O’Callaghan, who was fouled by Andrew Hughes for a penalty.
O’Callaghan dusted himself off and slammed the ball to the roof of the net. By the time Ian Howley blew for half-time, and Cuala lifted the siege, they were 1-9 to 0-2 ahead.
It was hard to see a way back for Castleknock, who made two changes at half-time, and another early in the second half.
But the kick they got from the bench in the semi-final defeat of Thomas Davis, when they came from behind to win with a burst of scoring, wasn’t there this time.
Rob Shaw pulled back a point for Castleknock, but a subsequent point attempt was blocked by McMorrow, summing up the ferocity of the defence they faced.
Cuala, meanwhile, continued to pick off points from Con and Eoghan O’Callaghan. Evergreen Fitzsimons chimed in with a third to move them a dozen clear.
Castleknock pulled a goal back through Kevin Stephenson – a close-range finish after a long delivery wasn’t dealt with by Cuala – but it was a brief reprieve.
A second Con O’Callaghan goal from a penalty, well, kind of – his penalty kick came back off the bar, and he converted the rebound – was followed by a third goal from sub Conroy two minutes from time.
And that was pretty much that as the south side outfit franked their excellence with a winning margin that climbed well into double digits.
Cuala scorers: Con O’Callaghan 2-5 (1-0 pen, 0-4f), Jamie Conroy 1-1, Eoin Kennedy 0-2 (1 tp), Charlie McMorrow 0-2, Michael Fitzsimons 0-2, Dan O’Sullivan 0-1, Eoghan O’Callaghan 0-1, Niall O’Callaghan 0-1.
Castleknock scorers: Kevin Stephenson 1-0, Ger McDermottroe 0-2 (1 tp), Conor Chawke 0-2, Lenny Cahill 0-1, Rob Shaw 0-1.
CUALA
1. Darragh O’Dowd
2. Danny Conroy
3. Michael Fitzsimons
4. Eoghan O’Callaghan
5. Eoin Kennedy
6. Charlie McMorrow
7. David O’Dowd
8. Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne
9. Peter Duffy
10. Cillian Dunne
11. Cal Doran
12. Dan O’Sullivan
13. Conor O’Brien
14. Con O’Callaghan
15. Niall O’Callaghan
SUBS
23. Conor Groarke for O’Sullivan (41)
17. Jamie Conroy for Niall O’Callaghan (45)
18. Daniel Drummond for Danny Conroy (53)
19. Killian O’Shea for Dunne (55)
24. Luke Tracey for Eoghan O’Callaghan (56)
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CASTLEKNOCK
1. John Vahey
2. Andrew Hughes
3. Rob O’Shea
4. Tom Quinn
9. Kevin Stephenson
8. Ciarán Kilkenny
6. Dylan Clarke
5. Rob Shaw
11. Senan Forker
15. Conor Chawke
7. Shairoze Akram
12. Eoin Walsh
13. Lenny Cahill
14. Eoin Sawyer
10. Ben Galvin
SUBS
17. Shane Boland for Walsh (HT)
18. Ger McDermottroe for Cahill (HT)
19. Cian Boyle for Galvin (35)
24. Darragh Warnock for Hughes (42)
21. Eoin O’Brien for Quinn (56)
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Con O'Callaghan stars as Cuala ease to victory in Dublin senior final
Dublin SFC final:
Castleknock 1-6
Cuala 3-15
Paul Keane reports from Parnell Park
A PARNELL PARK rout, King Con O’Callaghan and Cuala back on their throne. A second Dublin SFC title for the Dalkey club in three seasons and the potential for further gains in the coming weeks.
Dublin superstar O’Callaghan netted twice as Cuala eased to a surprisingly comfortable final win, laying the platform for victory with an unanswered 1-9 in the first half.
O’Callaghan finished with 2-5 for Derek Dunne’s crew, who trailed briefly early on before hitting the afterburners and burning off a Castleknock side that had no response to the onslaught.
Jamie Conroy grabbed the other goal for Cuala, but it came in the closing minutes of the second half and, in truth, the game was over at that stage.
Dublin duo Eoin Kennedy and Charlie McMorrow contributed two points apiece, while veteran Sky Blues icon Michael Fitzsimons, wearing his usual number three, added a brace of points on a famous day for the club.
With the Cuala hurlers also preparing for a senior county final, a dream double of titles remains on the cards.
The footballers, All-Ireland champions as recently as early 2025, will have high hopes of going deep into the AIB Leinster club SFC too, and perhaps even the All-Ireland series again.
They will return to Parnell Park on 1 November for a provincial clash with Offaly champions Tullamore.
And they will hope for just as powerful a first-half display on that occasion as they enjoyed here as they quickly got on top of Castleknock.
Castleknock got little joy off their own kick-outs, and as Cuala enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, they reeled off 1-9 without reply between the fifth minute and half-time to put themselves in a terrific position.
Castleknock set up with Dublin great Ciarán Kilkenny in his usual quarter-back slot, just between the midfield and defence.
They got it going briefly too, scoring the first two points of the game.
But they struggled to break down Cuala’s defence after that, failing to score for the remainder of the opening half and not actually splitting the posts again until early in the second half.
Time and again, Castleknock sought to run at the Cuala defence and pick the lock with hard runs and speedy offloads, but the Dalkey men stood firm.
Twice in the opening 10 minutes, Castleknock were pulled for over-carrying as they tried desperately to find a way through the mass of red bodies.
Cuala, in contrast, were keen to begin their attacks with long kick-passes where possible, like the long pinged kick from defence that began the move which led to Con O’Callaghan scoring their third point in the 13th minute.
That score put Cuala ahead for the first time, 0-3 to 0-2, and they didn’t look back.
County man Kennedy, their semi-final star, drilled a two-pointer in the 21st to stretch Cuala’s lead to four points and with each score they registered, extra pressure came on Castleknock goalkeeper John Vahey’s restarts.
Unfortunately for Vahey, things went awry with the Mayo native finding blue and yellow jerseys with just eight of his 12 kick-outs in the first half. Castleknock lost seven of their last eight kick-outs in the first half.
In the middle of that difficult period, a Vahey kick-out was gobbled up by a red shirt and the ball worked in towards O’Callaghan, who was fouled by Andrew Hughes for a penalty.
O’Callaghan dusted himself off and slammed the ball to the roof of the net. By the time Ian Howley blew for half-time, and Cuala lifted the siege, they were 1-9 to 0-2 ahead.
It was hard to see a way back for Castleknock, who made two changes at half-time, and another early in the second half.
But the kick they got from the bench in the semi-final defeat of Thomas Davis, when they came from behind to win with a burst of scoring, wasn’t there this time.
Rob Shaw pulled back a point for Castleknock, but a subsequent point attempt was blocked by McMorrow, summing up the ferocity of the defence they faced.
Cuala, meanwhile, continued to pick off points from Con and Eoghan O’Callaghan. Evergreen Fitzsimons chimed in with a third to move them a dozen clear.
Castleknock pulled a goal back through Kevin Stephenson – a close-range finish after a long delivery wasn’t dealt with by Cuala – but it was a brief reprieve.
A second Con O’Callaghan goal from a penalty, well, kind of – his penalty kick came back off the bar, and he converted the rebound – was followed by a third goal from sub Conroy two minutes from time.
And that was pretty much that as the south side outfit franked their excellence with a winning margin that climbed well into double digits.
Cuala scorers: Con O’Callaghan 2-5 (1-0 pen, 0-4f), Jamie Conroy 1-1, Eoin Kennedy 0-2 (1 tp), Charlie McMorrow 0-2, Michael Fitzsimons 0-2, Dan O’Sullivan 0-1, Eoghan O’Callaghan 0-1, Niall O’Callaghan 0-1.
Castleknock scorers: Kevin Stephenson 1-0, Ger McDermottroe 0-2 (1 tp), Conor Chawke 0-2, Lenny Cahill 0-1, Rob Shaw 0-1.
CUALA
1. Darragh O’Dowd
2. Danny Conroy
3. Michael Fitzsimons
4. Eoghan O’Callaghan
5. Eoin Kennedy
6. Charlie McMorrow
7. David O’Dowd
8. Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne
9. Peter Duffy
10. Cillian Dunne
11. Cal Doran
12. Dan O’Sullivan
13. Conor O’Brien
14. Con O’Callaghan
15. Niall O’Callaghan
SUBS
23. Conor Groarke for O’Sullivan (41)
17. Jamie Conroy for Niall O’Callaghan (45)
18. Daniel Drummond for Danny Conroy (53)
19. Killian O’Shea for Dunne (55)
24. Luke Tracey for Eoghan O’Callaghan (56)
CASTLEKNOCK
1. John Vahey
2. Andrew Hughes
3. Rob O’Shea
4. Tom Quinn
9. Kevin Stephenson
8. Ciarán Kilkenny
6. Dylan Clarke
5. Rob Shaw
11. Senan Forker
15. Conor Chawke
7. Shairoze Akram
12. Eoin Walsh
13. Lenny Cahill
14. Eoin Sawyer
10. Ben Galvin
SUBS
17. Shane Boland for Walsh (HT)
18. Ger McDermottroe for Cahill (HT)
19. Cian Boyle for Galvin (35)
24. Darragh Warnock for Hughes (42)
21. Eoin O’Brien for Quinn (56)
Referee: Ian Howley (O’Dwyer’s).
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Castleknock GAA Champions Con O’Callaghan Cuala GAA dublin sfc final GAA