Fri, 20th December 2024
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By Conor Martin
The long wait for the Dublin Football championship is over this weekend, as the Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship begins!
Kilmacud Crokes are the defending champions, after retaining the title for a third year in a row last year, having previously won the competition in 2021 and 2022.
Making a return to Senior 1 Football this year are Clontarf and Fingallians, who contested the Senior 2 final last year, with Clontarf winning that final by just a point.
The action in Group 1 gets underway at O’Toole Park on Saturday afternoon as Cuala take on Clontarf.
Cuala will be hoping to go a step or two further than the last eight this year. The quarter-finals ended their 2022 and 2023 championship bids.
In the group stage last year, Cuala picked up two wins and a defeat and advanced to the quarter-finals with a win over Thomas Davis in their last group fixture, which saw them progress on the head-to-head rule. They were then beaten by just a point in the first knockout round by St Judes.
Cuala are able to call upon the experience of Michael Fitzsimons, Con O’Callaghan and the midfield talent of Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne as they look to start the 2024 championship with a bang.
Clontarf had a 2023 to remember as they bounced back from relegation from Senior 1 Football at the very first attempt.
They overcame the group phase of the competition with ease, with a 100% record and reached the Senior 2 final full of confidence after some impressive performances in the knockout stages.
As mentioned earlier, they would make their return to Senior 1 football with a narrow win over Fingallians, completing a double after beating them in the group stage too.
There is a lot of talent in John Treanor’s side, including Dublin’s Jack McCaffrey and rest assured, they’ll be looking to lay down an early marker on their return to the Senior 1 Football Championship.
Also in action in Group 1 are St Judes and Fingallians as they do battle in Balgriffin late Saturday afternoon.
Judes were impressive last year as they overcame the group stage with ease with three wins from three before pulling off a gritty one-point win over Cuala in the quarter-finals. The Templeogue side were then well beaten by Ballyboden St Endas in the last four.
Captained by Dublin’s Tom Lahiff, St Judes will be looking to drive on and go one better than the semi-finals this year.
Fingallians will be hoping to make an instant impact in Senior 1 this year after a number of trying years in the Senior 2 championship.
Things really kicked into gear for the club from Swords, as they looked solid throughout their 2023 championship campaign, before narrowly losing to Clontarf in the Senior 2 final. Captained by Danny Campion, the Fins will look for a positive performance against a strong Judes team.
Raheny and Na Fianna kick off Group 2 and the Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship on Friday night at Parnell Park.
Raheny were impressive last year as they found form in the group stage and used that momentum to take it into an impressive win over St Vincents in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-finals, they would experience heartbreak at the hands of eventual champions Kilmacud Crokes, conceding a last gasp goal in injury-time before losing 5-4 in a penalty shootout after extra time.
With the talent of the likes of Darren Lunney, Cian Ivers, Brian Howard, Sean MacMahon and captain Brian Fenton, there’s a good chance Enda Varley’s men could be in for a shot at glory come the business end of the Championship.
Na Fianna will be looking to exorcise the ghosts of their 2023 championship as soon as possible when they take to the pitch.
After coming close to county glory in 2022, they failed to find any form or momentum in last year's championship.
Despite a big win over Whitehall Colmcille in their second group game, two defeats to St Judes and St Vincents saw the men from Mobhi Road fall at the first hurdle.
As well as having solid defensive options such as keeper David O’Hanlon and defender Eoin Murchan, they can rely on the attacking talent of David Lacey and Aaron Byrne to pick up vital scores as Tom Gray's side look to get their 2024 campaign off to a positive start.
Castleknock and Lucan Sarsfields are the second game in Group 2 this weekend when they play on Saturday.
Castleknock have gone out in the quarter-finals the last three years and will be hoping 2024 is the year they can jump that hurdle again and advance to the last four.
Tommy McDaniel and Ger McDermottroe are a handful on their day and the experience and quality of Ciarán Kilkenny only adds to their threat in front of goals.
Lucan Sarsfields have had a couple of challenging years in the Senior 1 Football Championship having gone out in the group stages in 2022 & 2023.
Last year, they lost all three of their group games but preserved their Senior 1 status with a 1-12 to 1-10 win over Whitehall Colmcille in their relegation playoff.
The defensive figure of Daire Newcombe could be crucial this year as Sarsfields look to make 2024 considerably better than the last couple of championships.
Ballinteer St Johns and St Sylvesters launch Group 3 action at Parnell Park this Saturday.
Ballinteer's only win came in their opening round of the Championship against Templeogue Synge St last year, before they were beaten by Ballyboden St Endas and Ballymun Kickhams.
Luke Breathnach, Donncha Carey and Liam Fenton looked handy at the best of times, as did Mark McNally.
Manager Kevin Murphy will be hoping those listed above and the rest of his senior panel can kick into gear to make Championship 2024 one to remember.
St Sylvesters managed to retain their Senior 1 Football Championship status last year after being promoted from Senior 2 in 2022.
However, their Championship campaign was a difficult one, losing all of their Group 2 games in a tough group, before beating Templeogue Synge St in their relegation play-off by 11 points to secure Senior 1 football for 2024.
Sean Guiden top scored that day for his club, whilst Dylan Connolly, Jack Hazley and Ross Keogh all rattled the net.
It’s all to play for as the two clubs go in search of an important win.
Ballyboden St Endas and Ballymun Kickhams follow up the Group 3 opener as they also take to the Parnell Pitch on Saturday evening.
These two were the top two in Group 1 last year, with Ballyboden the club advancing with a 100% record, handing Ballymun their only defeat of the group stage.
Ballyboden last won the competition in 2019 and have been close to ending that drought for county glory in recent years. They were semi-finalists in 2021 & 2022 but were beaten finalists in 2020 and last year.
The Dublin experience of Colm & Ryan Basquel & Ross McGarry will be Boden's biggest threats as they aim to keep the scoreboard ticking along nicely.
Ballymun Kickhams were well drilled last year, finishing Group 1 in second place before they exited the competition in the last eight at the hands of eventual county champions Kilmacud Crokes.
Captained by Dean Rock, Ballymun have a vast range of talent in their senior panel. Despite retiring from inter-county action, Rock hasn’t lost his ability to pick up crucial scores. Brothers John and Paddy Small provide excellent support in defence and attack, with John being a solid defensive option with Paddy adding to the Kickham’s attack.
It’s a case of Friday night lights as defending champions Kilmacud Crokes take on Skerries Harps as Group 4 gets underway.
Crokes have had a grip on the Clerys Cup and have won the Dublin Senior Football Championship four times in the last six years, making them a real force to be reckoned with in the county.
They navigated the group stage in style and managed to rally to avoid any upsets on the way to their 11th Dublin senior football title last year.
They saved their best performance of the Championship for the final, beating Ballyboden St Endas 1-14 to 0-9.
Dublin’s Paul Mannion had impressed in last year's championship and even picked up three points in last year's finale, but Crokes can also rely on captain Shane Cunningham to get himself amongst the scorers, while Galway’s Shane Walsh is undoubtedly a sharp shooter on his day.
Theo Clancy, Dan O’Brien and Andrew McGowan will be looking to hassle and frustrate forwards this championship. Rest assured, Kilmacud Crokes will be looking to carry on from where they left off and aren’t ready to give up their Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship crown.
Seasiders Skerries finished third in Group 2 last year, only picking up one win to show for their efforts, which came against St Sylvesters.
Harps’ last Championship encounter was against Kilmacud Crokes in the third round of the Championship group stage last year and they made the champions earn their eventual win.
Jack Smith and Ethan Dunne are lively options manager Anthony Malone can call upon. Forward Killian McGinnis was the top scorer for Skerries in that defeat to Kilmacud Crokes, with an impressive six points for his personal tally.
McGinnis has also impressed at inter-county level for Dublin in league and championship action this year and grabbed his first goal for Dublin in our All-Ireland Senior Football Championship encounter with Cavan.
Thomas Davis and St Vincents also take to the field in Group 4 this weekend in Balgriffin.
Thomas Davis went out in the group stage last year despite winning their first two group games against Lucan Sarsfields and Raheny. They lost 1-13 to 0-12 to Cuala and missed out on a spot in the last eight thanks to the head-to-head rule.
Conor Guilfoyle was key for the men from Tallaght last year and he and captain Adam Fallon can help their club get over last year's disappointment as they look to start the 2024 championship with a win.
St Vincents have more Dublin senior football titles than any other club (29) but haven't won the Dublin Senior Football Championship since 2015 and will be looking to end the long wait for another title this year.
They pulled off an excellent performance to beat Na Fianna to advance to the last eight last year, but saw their 2023 end at the hands of Raheny.
The likes of Cian Dunne & Gavin Burke will need to be on form if the Vinnies are to start this championship with maximum points.
