Dublin’s history-makers
An All-Ireland final that will stand in history among the most significant. A legendary Dublin team giving one more push against a Kerry side aiming to re-establish their place as the game’s pre-eminent force.
There was history on and off the field with a BBC national broadcast bringing the game to a peak audience of 800,000 across the UK to witness the closing stages. That delivered a record-breaking ninth Celtic cross for the trio of Stephen Cluxton, Michael Fitzsimons, and captain James McCarthy and one they celebrated with more fervour than most.
Born in the USA
From the final day of Championship 2023 to its very first. New York have been representing the American GAA community in the All-Ireland Championship for 23 seasons without success until their Bronx breakthrough against Leitrim.
It arrived in the most dramatic of style, too. A penalty shootout came down to a kick from one of their American-born players, Mikey Brosnan. The son of Kerry parents, his younger brother Shane, former American football punter Jamie Boyle, and Tiernan Mathers were the other home-born-and-bred representatives to start, while London native Killian Butler also played his part.
Collins’ crowning glory
The GAA’s longest-serving manager Colm Collins stepped away this year after a decorated decade in charge of the Clare footballers. There were a pair of All-Ireland quarter-final appearances but for Collins, the biggest victory of his tenure came in defeating Cork at Cusack Park in April – a performance franked by Cork’s progress later in the summer.
Cillian Rouine’s 75th-minute winner banked a first Championship win over the Rebels since 1997 and beating Limerick stamped their ticket into the top-16. Even if they would fade out of Championship thereafter, it provided an exclamation mark that Collins’ commitment deserved.
Kearns remembered
The GAA world lost one of its finest managers this year in Liam Kearns, taken last March at the age of 61. Having led Limerick and Tipperary to new heights, he had shown early signs of promise in his first year with Offaly as he targeted a potential home game against Meath that summer.
The Faithful went on to pay fitting tribute to Kearns with their finest Leinster Championship campaign in 17 years, falling just short of a final berth in extra-time against Louth. But it was that victory against the Royals which their old manager had targeted that brought Tullamore together in joy and remembrance for Kearns’ impact.
Cliffords’ tribute
The Clifford family lost their mother Ellen on the eve of the Munster final in May. David and Paudie didn’t have to line out the next day but their decision was to honour their mother the best way they know how. For the woman who would’ve taken great joy from seeing her sons win All-Irelands for county and club in the prior year, they combined for 3-6 in their moment of grief.
Captain David lifted the Munster Cup and Seán O’Shea accepted the man of the match award on his teammate’s behalf as the brothers headed straight to the dressing room after the trophy presentation, exchanging pats on the back along the way.
D-day drama
The slow-burn All-Ireland Championship ignited, at least for a while, on Sunday, 18 June. Although the top-three safety net meant that giants were wounded rather than killed, it sowed the seeds of eventual demise for some leading contenders.
Galway looked in cruise control of Group 2 but paid the price for failing to nail down top spot. Shane Walsh missed a levelling free and they were out a week later. Mayo survived a week further but they would also come to regret missing out on that bye week, denied by a Steven Sherlock-inspired Cork comeback. What’s more, Tyrone came within a John Heslin missed free of being knocked out by Westmeath.
Ageless Monaghan
Monaghan’s band of 30-somethings defied time, population, and a long-running manager search to produce another year of steely defiance. Vinny Corey, at 39, stepped up to the mark to manage many of his former contemporaries including Conor McManus (36), Darren Hughes (36), and Karl O’Connell (35 this Sunday).
It was young Ryan O’Toole who dispatched Tyrone in Ulster but back in Croker, it was the evergreen magic of McManus that dragged Armagh to a shootout and then roofed two of the bravest penalties that sent Monaghan into the last four. The good news is McManus is already confirmed for an 18th campaign in 2024.
Royals return
Colm O’Rourke’s Meath project went through some highs and lows in 2023. Praised for a derring-do League victory over Cork and lambasted as defensively lax for the remainder of the spring as they tumbled into the Tailteann Cup, it was there they would find their feet.
They turned over Down, scorers of eight goals in the semi-final, to underline their backline improvements as they climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand. An overjoyed O’Rourke, a two-time All-Ireland winner in his playing days, labelled it “as satisfying as anything I was ever involved with”.