In Kerry colours there was a league medal collected in March, bagging their only goal of the game in the process, and a Munster accolade in May when he chipped in with four points.
The ultimate honour arrived in July as part of a Sam Maguire winning setup.
October brought the glorious realisation of a long-held local dream with Dingle smashing through the county championship barrier, Geaney firing home the two crucial goals that were the catalyst for success.
December rounded it off in style, the captain for his club’s first Munster triumph and the provider of the solitary goal redcorded in Sunday’s pulsating final against St Finbarr’s in Thurles.
And yet amidst the joy of lifting those trophies, there were struggles too as he battled against a series of injuries.
“it’s been a dream year in one sense, it’s been a very hard psychological year in another sense for me personally,” reflected the 35-year-old.
“I got a bang in the head (on Sunday) and I pulled my calf as well. A tough year mentally for me, but, silverware wise very rewarding in another sense. I can’t complain with it.
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“I was injured playing the county final and that worked out for me. Like I got lucky that day. I probably touched the ball seven times, bar one mistake out of the seven, I think I did something with the other six possessions. The boys did all the work and it was incredible.
“Of course, yeah, it’s well worth it. I’ve been on the field many times when we lost the game and I played unbelievable and lost, so I’ll take this every day. Jesus, look, the trophy cabinet is very full after this year, so it’s great.”
Paul Geaney with his wife Siún Ó Sé and daughter Christine. James Lawlor / INPHO
James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO
Dingle’s climb to the summit has been painstaking and not without hardship.
Across the 2010-24 period, they lost three finals, five semi-finals and three quarter-finals in the Kerry county championship arena.
In the aftermath of last year’s county final reversal against Dr Crokes, there was a sense they were a group running out of opportunities to land the prize they craved.
They faced the hurt from that loss head-on.
“As a group, we met and we watched the Crokes game. We watched it because there was lessons there that we needed and we needed to go through the pain of it again. There were some hard questions asked that day, and fellas might have felt that we threw in the towel a bit too early again.
“This year we said whatever happens, whatever game it is, we’re playing for our people, we’re playing for our group, and we’re going to play it right to the end. And if we come up short, so be it.
“We saw that two years ago when we lost to Castlehaven, how much pride there was in the town, and how much goodwill there was from the people afterwards.
“Like there was people coming up for months afterwards saying, well done, how proud they were of us. We said we wanted that this year if we lost, we lost. But we were going to leave it all out in the field.
“I read a snippet, the Barrs pretty much the same mindset. They had the same mindset this year like that they were playing to the end and they were not shaken by what was happening on the scoreboard and they weren’t either.”
Geaney casts his mind back to another meeting their squad had, back in 2018 in the Díseart in Dingle where they set out the scale of their ambitions.
“Sean Geaney came in as a manager, my uncle, and we went to the county final that year, but we decided in the Díseart that with the group that we had and the minors that had come through and won two minor championships, that we wanted to go to Croke Park and play in Croke Park, try and win a club (All-Ireland). At that point maybe it felt a bit, you know, it was like going into space.
“The club hadn’t won a county championship. We had just won a club championship in ’15. The club probably wasn’t as big that time as it is now. Bit by bit over the years, you learn from defeats and you keep coming.”
From the podium in Semple Stadium during his acceptance speech, Geaney reeled off 19 members of their backroom team. Manager Pádraig Corcoran has steered their ship for five years, the addition of coaches Aidan O’Shea and James Weldon strengthened their hand further.
When they played the 2023 Munster club final, brothers Patrick and AIdan O’Connor were based in Canada and Australia respectively. Both started in the Dingle defence on Sunday, and they also had a towering presence at midfield.
“Every year we’re kind of hoping that Mark’s going to be available for us and he just changes our team because of his leadership and his presence and his ability.
“Ned (Ryan) and Mikey (Geaney) and Bambo (Cathal Bambury) came on there in the second half and we probably didn’t have that in years gone by as well. We felt that we didn’t have the squad.
This group has put everything into it, there’s been no stone left unturned. Everybody contributes. There was fellas at six o’clock in the summer they’re going doing skill sessions in the morning on a Wednesday with James Weldon.
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“There’s young fellas there that haven’t seen much game time this year. They’re just fully bought in, and it’s a beautiful place really for a team when everybody’s like that.
“Fierce credit to everybody involved in the club. In some shape or form financially or washing jerseys or doing the lotto, everybody’s contributed.
“That’s why it makes it so special.”
The journey will continue in early January with an All-Ireland semi-final against the impressive Leinster champions Ballyboden St-Enda’s.
“It’s a huge task. We’re definitely going to enjoy this because this is the first Munster championship. We’ll knuckle down and hopefully we get the Wrens day out of it.
“Traditionally it means so much to us, it’d nearly be more wholesome for us to enjoy that day as a group, while training through Christmas.
“It’s nice to have kind of Christmas in between. You see out 2025 now on a high, it’s great, it’s lovely.”
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Paul Geaney: 'A dream year in one sense, a hard psychological year in another'
A SEASON OF silverware for Paul Geaney.
In Kerry colours there was a league medal collected in March, bagging their only goal of the game in the process, and a Munster accolade in May when he chipped in with four points.
The ultimate honour arrived in July as part of a Sam Maguire winning setup.
October brought the glorious realisation of a long-held local dream with Dingle smashing through the county championship barrier, Geaney firing home the two crucial goals that were the catalyst for success.
December rounded it off in style, the captain for his club’s first Munster triumph and the provider of the solitary goal redcorded in Sunday’s pulsating final against St Finbarr’s in Thurles.
And yet amidst the joy of lifting those trophies, there were struggles too as he battled against a series of injuries.
“it’s been a dream year in one sense, it’s been a very hard psychological year in another sense for me personally,” reflected the 35-year-old.
“I got a bang in the head (on Sunday) and I pulled my calf as well. A tough year mentally for me, but, silverware wise very rewarding in another sense. I can’t complain with it.
“I was injured playing the county final and that worked out for me. Like I got lucky that day. I probably touched the ball seven times, bar one mistake out of the seven, I think I did something with the other six possessions. The boys did all the work and it was incredible.
“Of course, yeah, it’s well worth it. I’ve been on the field many times when we lost the game and I played unbelievable and lost, so I’ll take this every day. Jesus, look, the trophy cabinet is very full after this year, so it’s great.”
Dingle’s climb to the summit has been painstaking and not without hardship.
Across the 2010-24 period, they lost three finals, five semi-finals and three quarter-finals in the Kerry county championship arena.
In the aftermath of last year’s county final reversal against Dr Crokes, there was a sense they were a group running out of opportunities to land the prize they craved.
They faced the hurt from that loss head-on.
“As a group, we met and we watched the Crokes game. We watched it because there was lessons there that we needed and we needed to go through the pain of it again. There were some hard questions asked that day, and fellas might have felt that we threw in the towel a bit too early again.
“This year we said whatever happens, whatever game it is, we’re playing for our people, we’re playing for our group, and we’re going to play it right to the end. And if we come up short, so be it.
“We saw that two years ago when we lost to Castlehaven, how much pride there was in the town, and how much goodwill there was from the people afterwards.
“Like there was people coming up for months afterwards saying, well done, how proud they were of us. We said we wanted that this year if we lost, we lost. But we were going to leave it all out in the field.
“I read a snippet, the Barrs pretty much the same mindset. They had the same mindset this year like that they were playing to the end and they were not shaken by what was happening on the scoreboard and they weren’t either.”
Geaney casts his mind back to another meeting their squad had, back in 2018 in the Díseart in Dingle where they set out the scale of their ambitions.
“Sean Geaney came in as a manager, my uncle, and we went to the county final that year, but we decided in the Díseart that with the group that we had and the minors that had come through and won two minor championships, that we wanted to go to Croke Park and play in Croke Park, try and win a club (All-Ireland). At that point maybe it felt a bit, you know, it was like going into space.
“The club hadn’t won a county championship. We had just won a club championship in ’15. The club probably wasn’t as big that time as it is now. Bit by bit over the years, you learn from defeats and you keep coming.”
From the podium in Semple Stadium during his acceptance speech, Geaney reeled off 19 members of their backroom team. Manager Pádraig Corcoran has steered their ship for five years, the addition of coaches Aidan O’Shea and James Weldon strengthened their hand further.
When they played the 2023 Munster club final, brothers Patrick and AIdan O’Connor were based in Canada and Australia respectively. Both started in the Dingle defence on Sunday, and they also had a towering presence at midfield.
“Every year we’re kind of hoping that Mark’s going to be available for us and he just changes our team because of his leadership and his presence and his ability.
“Ned (Ryan) and Mikey (Geaney) and Bambo (Cathal Bambury) came on there in the second half and we probably didn’t have that in years gone by as well. We felt that we didn’t have the squad.
This group has put everything into it, there’s been no stone left unturned. Everybody contributes. There was fellas at six o’clock in the summer they’re going doing skill sessions in the morning on a Wednesday with James Weldon.
“There’s young fellas there that haven’t seen much game time this year. They’re just fully bought in, and it’s a beautiful place really for a team when everybody’s like that.
“Fierce credit to everybody involved in the club. In some shape or form financially or washing jerseys or doing the lotto, everybody’s contributed.
“That’s why it makes it so special.”
The journey will continue in early January with an All-Ireland semi-final against the impressive Leinster champions Ballyboden St-Enda’s.
“It’s a huge task. We’re definitely going to enjoy this because this is the first Munster championship. We’ll knuckle down and hopefully we get the Wrens day out of it.
“Traditionally it means so much to us, it’d nearly be more wholesome for us to enjoy that day as a group, while training through Christmas.
“It’s nice to have kind of Christmas in between. You see out 2025 now on a high, it’s great, it’s lovely.”
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