The dominance had to come to an end at some point.
And Dublin’s first championship defeat since 2014 arrived on Saturday, as it was Mayo, somewhat fittingly, that ended the Sky Blues 45-match, seven-year unbeaten run.
Of the capital’s starting team on Saturday evening, Evan Comerford, David Byrne, John Small, Eoin Murchan, Brian Fenton, Brian Howard, Paddy Small, Niall Scully and Con O’Callaghan all tasted defeat in the championship for the first time.
With the panel having lost so much experience to retirements and other departures in recent years, are they now set for a period of transition?
“I think we’re always in a state of transition. Players come and go. That’s been the case. There’s been a significant amount of that over the last two seasons,” reflected Dessie Farrell.
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen next season. Some individuals will reflect on where they’re at, and can they go again? It’s not easy to keep going to the well, but that will be a decision for some individuals. But there’s a lot of new blood in there that need time, and need exposure. I’m sure there’s a lot of fellas that will be looking forward to getting that type of time in National League, whenever that comes around.”
Dublin football has enjoyed unprecedented success over the past decade, winning eight of the last 10 All-Ireland titles. But the barren years between 1995 and 2011 are still fresh in the memory, when the Sam Maguire Cup’s only visits to the capital were to sit in the Hogan Stand once a year on All-Ireland final day.
“Dublin supporters, by and large, they’ll still remember when there was a dearth of success in this county. And that’s not too long ago. So I’m sure they appreciate what has gone on in the last number of years. And I’m sure they will afford the team and these players whatever level of patience or courtesy that’s going to be needed over the next period of time,” Farrell noted.
“But who knows what lies ahead. While there’s transition and the team continues to evolve, there’s still a lot of young, good blood in there that will be excited about what the future holds for them. And it’s important for us I think, as management, county board, supporters, not to quench those dreams and to try and facilitate and encourage an environment where those individuals can flourish and step up to have the same success as a previous generation.”
As ‘The Green and Red of Mayo’ blared around Croke Park after extra-time on Saturday night, it was unfamiliar territory for the majority of the Dublin team as they dealt with defeat.
“There’s massive disappointment, obviously. What that group has achieved, or the vast majority of them, has been tremendous,” Farrell continued.
“They’ve managed to date to keep going back to the well and keep doing it and keep doing it. Which I can assure you isn’t easy when you know the hours that goes into it and the commitment that’s required and the detail in behind it. A lot of people see players turn up here on a Saturday or a Sunday and don’t really understand how it takes hold of your life outside of that. For them to be able to consistently do that over the last five, six years, the bulk of them, that’s been a phenomenal achievement. Some of them have experienced this before. A lot of them haven’t. But overwhelmingly it’s disappointment, and that’s natural enough.”
McGuinness: Tell-tale signs have been there
So is it the end of an era in Dublin? And how did they finally get reeled in by the chasing pack?
“The tell-tale signs have been there all year,” said Sky Sports pundit Jim McGuinness, the last manager before James Horan to defeat Dublin in the championship.
“We’ve had a team (Mayo) that has come in here tonight that hasn’t played well, particularly in the first half, grew into the game in the second half, and dominated the extra-time. But they brought everything that they have been through the wringer with over the last 10 years. Those guys are battle-hardened.
“Lee [Keegan] made the point about the physical aspect of it that they’ve been working on. But they’re mentally strong as well. They have been at the hands of Dublin so many times, and they knew what this was all about coming in here. It was just a matter of trying to find that moment where they could make that count. And it took a hell of a long time to get to that point. But when they did today, they didn’t let them off the hook.”
“We agreed that the last quarter was going to be the most important, because nobody was ever able to crack Dublin in the final quarter,” added Peter Canavan. “And we witnessed tonight that Dublin did things that they never did before, overcarrying the ball, Davy Byrne soloing it out for the 45 which gave Mayo the chance to get a draw.”
And Kieran Donaghy opined that Dublin’s lack of depth, compared to recent years, was a telling factor.
“If you looked at them in the first half, they were playing it on their own terms,” said the Kerry native.
“Mayo came out and ramped up the pressure. However calm James Horan might have been at half-time, he definitely emphasised to push on a small bit. That put a bit more pressure on Comerford’s kick-outs. They started going 50:50, they started getting more possessions.
“But for Dublin, they had 10 wides. We flagged it before the game, their shot selection was a bit off. It wouldn’t be like them to have 10 wides in a game.
“Jim talked about a possible vulnerability in Dublin. Their bench definitely wasn’t what it used to be. We said before the game that if Mayo could hang in there and stick around, Dublin didn’t have this onslaught of All-Stars that were going to come on and put so many teams to bed like they have done over the last decade. That wasn’t there. I don’t think they got scores from the bench.
“That was the difference. Mayo got a good pump from their bench and good energy. I don’t think Dublin did.”
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