?Dublin GAA: 2023 Senior Inter-County Year in Review

By Conor Martin

2023 was a year to look back on and remember fondly for our Senior Inter-county teams, as our Senior Footballers enjoyed league and Leinster Championship success, before reclaiming Sam Maguire, while our Senior Hurlers enjoyed plenty of progress under new management.

Below, Conor Martin recaps on the year that was: 

Football:

January

Our Senior Footballers warmed up for the league in the O’Byrne Cup, but were unable to defend their title despite a win against Wicklow. A defeat against Offaly saw the Faithful County advance from the group stages instead of Dublin.

Our Allianz Football League Division 2 season would get underway at the end of January against fellow Leinster men Kildare. Brian Fenton’s goal would help Dublin over the line in the hard-fought 1-11 to 0-13 win.

February

That win over Kildare would be followed up with a victory on the road in Limerick. Con O’Callaghan and Ross McGarry were impressive, while goals from Dean Rock and Fenton saw us home comfortably.

In our third league game, we were back in Munster as we took on Cork. Significant contributions came from Rock and O’Callaghan as well as Daire Newcombe, as we came out on top. The game also saw Jack McCaffrey return to action in a Dublin jersey for the first time since February 2020. David O'Hanlon, in goal for the Boys in Blue, also put in a notable performance as he frustrated Cork at the death.

February would end with a win over Clare at Croke Park. However, it wasn’t a straightforward victory for Dessie Farrell's men, trailing by six points with just over 10 minutes remaining. Fortunately, we scored seven points without reply, with the winning point coming in the 75th minute when Cormac Costello fisted the ball over the bar to ensure a dramatic comeback win.

March

Derry would hand us our first and only defeat of the league season. Dublin were in control of the match and led by five at half-time. However, Derry were much the better side in the second period and they clinched the win with the final kick of the game courtesy of Brendan Rogers.

March would end with comfortable wins over Meath and Louth, which meant we secured a return to Division 1 and booked a place in the Division 2 final.

April

We claimed the Allianz Football League Division 2 title with a win at Croke Park. With Derry just ahead when the teams went in for half-time, leading 0-6 to 0-4. Four goals in the second-half from Killian O’Gara, John Small, Paul Mannion and Lorcan O’Dell capped off an impressive showing after the break to mark our return to the top division in style.

Our Leinster Senior Football Championship journey would start later that month with a comfortable win over Laois before we edged out Kildare in the last four in what was a tense and exciting encounter. The Lilywhites pushed Dublin all the way before an insurance point from O’Dell saw us advance to the Leinster final.

May

Our Senior Footballers would win our 13th consecutive Leinster Senior Football Championship and a 62nd title overall against Louth in the decider. Dublin were in control from start to finish and they put the ball in the Louth net five times. The goals came from Seán Bugler, Mannion, James McCarthy, Paddy Small and Colm Basquel as Dublin claimed the Delaney Cup once more.

We would then advance to the group stage of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and played out a draw with Roscommon in our first group game, as Donie Smith pointed late to leave Dublin frustrated.

June

Our second group stage fixture would see us beat Kildare by nine points at Nowlan Park, while it was the same story when we played Sligo, as we stepped up a gear after a slow start to win 3-23 to 0-8, securing the top spot in Group 3 in the process, with O’Callaghan, Basquel and Eoin Murchan grabbing the goals.

July

An All-Ireland Quarter Final against old rivals Mayo awaited. Ryan O’Donoghue and Tommy Conroy, two of Mayo’s bright sparks, helped the Green and Red into the lead before Basquel’s first goal on 18 minutes.

Mayo would edge into the lead again, but McCarthy would again put Dublin ahead, meaning we had a 1-6 to 0-8 advantage as the teams headed down the Croke Park tunnel.

A dominant second half Dublin performance saw us advance with points from all over the park; it also included a well-worked goal with Costello taking advantage of a Mayo defensive error to play in Basquel, who palmed the ball home as Dublin extinguished Mayo's All-Ireland ambitions as it finished 2-9 to 0-8.

In the last four, Dublin went for the kill in the final 10 minutes and edged away from Monaghan at Croke Park and advanced to their first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final in three years.

The Ulstermen enjoyed the better first-half, but a free from Costello meant we had a one-point lead at the halfway stage.

Conor McManus was a thorn in Dublin’s side throughout, as he topped up the scoreboard as things remained all square.

Dessie Farrell’s side found another gear towards the end to get the job done. Fenton, Mannion and substitute McCaffrey all added to the Dubs tally before Rock’s late cameo saw him contribute 1-1, with his goal coming deep into injury-time to put the result beyond doubt. It meant Dublin progressed to the 2023 All-Ireland SFC Final.

In the final, we would lock horns with a familiar foe in the form of Kerry.

The first half saw conditions make life difficult for both sets of players.

We had a two-point lead when the game went into stoppage at the end of the first half, but were hit by a sucker punch of a Kerry goal right on half-time when David Clifford worked well to play in Paul Geaney, who fired home to give Kerry the lead at the interval.

Brian Howard got us level after the restart, but Kerry hit back with points from David and Paudie Clifford, with Geaney getting in on the action too.

It looked like Kerry were about to defend their All-Ireland crown, but Basquel turned the ball over excellently and played in Paddy Small, who sent Hill 16 into raptures by firing to the net and it was game on again.

As the final whistle approached, both teams topped up their tallies, while David Clifford had an excellent goal chance but could only find the side netting.

Dublin responded with a point from Mannion and a free from Rock towards the end of injury-time as Dublin dethroned Kerry to claim our 31st All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

Here's hoping 2024 will be equally successful for our footballers!

Hurling: 

January

Dublin’s small ball 2023 season and Micheal Donoghue’s reign as Dublin boss would get up and running in the Walsh Cup in early January.

We would beat Antrim and Westmeath but suffered defeat at the hands of Galway, which ultimately meant we missed out on a top-place finish and a spot in the final, which saw Galway beat Wexford to claim the cup.

February

Our Senior Hurlers got their Allianz National Hurling League Division 1B campaign underway away to Waterford, who ended the game with just 13 men on the pitch.

Stephen Bennett had racked up 2-7 before seeing red as Dublin got back into the match. Dónal Burke (1-7) would provide the heroics in the 76th minute when his effort sailed over the bar as Dublin fought back brilliantly to pick up a well-earned point on the road.

Next up were Antrim, who made the trip to Parnell Park and made Micheál Donoghue’s men work for the win as Dublin showed discipline to pick up their first win of the season. Dónal Burke, Fergal Whitely and Chris O’Leary were all impressive as Dublin held a 0-15 to 0-8 lead at the break and despite two Antrim goals, we claimed the win.

Dónal Burke would star again in our third league fixture at Croke Park against Tipperary, scoring 0-15 of Dublin’s total of 0-24, which included eight points from open play. The experienced Jason Forde led Tipp to victory with 1-10 for himself, as Tipperary recorded a five-point win.

March

After a break in the league, we were back in action at Nowlan Park as we took on Kilkenny. Billy Drennan and Eoin Cody were key to a Kilkenny win, as some missed goal opportunities proved costly for Dublin. Paul Crummey would find the net and Burke would impress again. Kilkenny knocked over additional points courtesy of Drennan, John Donnelly and Paddy Deegan to seal a convincing 2-25 to 1-17 win.

The league season would end on a high as we beat Laois at Parnell Park. Dónal Burke was once again the top scorer for Dublin, as he finished with 12 points to his name, but there was also an impressive display from Alex Considine, which saw him produce 1-3 from play. Despite dealing with a heavy breeze in the second half which saw several early efforts fly wide, points from substitutes Dara Purcell, Cillian Costello and Fergal Whitely saw us home.

Dónal Burke would finish behind Kilkenny’s Drennan in the league’s overall scoring charts, scoring 1-55 for himself throughout the league, behind Drennan’s 2-70.

April

A Cian O’Sullivan point ensured Dublin headed back to the capital with a share of the spoils in our Leinster Senior Hurling Championship opener in Belfast against Antrim- the draw coming after a thrilling encounter on a wet afternoon at Corrigan Park.

Our first Championship win came in the form of a 2-23 to 1-14 win over Westmeath at Parnell Park. Dónal Burke and Cian Boland found the back of the net as Dublin shook off a shaky start to come back and win.

May

The month of May opened with a battling 1-22 to 0-23 win over Wexford at Croke Park.

Cian O'Sullivan's first-half goal proved crucial, while Dónal Burke once again shone, as Dublin recorded back-to-back wins.

Next up were Kilkenny and despite a determined performance, Kilkenny claimed a six-point win. Dónal Burke, Danny Sutcliffe, Conor Donohue, Boland and Mark Grogan pushed Kilkenny all the way, but TJ Reid, Deegan and Tom Phelan ensured Kilkenny kept Dublin at arm's length.

Our Leinster SHC would end in frustrating fashion as Galway came from behind to seal a draw. Evan Niland scored 0-10 for himself and put the Tribesmen ahead in the 75th minute, but Dónal Burke hit back with a late, late leveller to rescue a draw, as Dublin were left to lament what could have been after being in such a commanding position.

June

In the All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-Final against Carlow, Dublin came from behind at the interval to win by 10 points. Sutcliffe and Conor Burke got us level before goals from Mark Grogan and O’Sullivan sealed a comprehensive victory.

2023 would end in defeat to Clare in the All-Ireland Quarter Final in Limerick. Dublin lost one of their key players, Dónal Burke, to injury early on and despite 11 points from O’Sullivan, a goal from Darragh Power and Considine, Clare were just too good for the Dubs.

With the 2024 season on the horizon, Donoghue’s hurlers will be keen to continue their progress from 2023!