The 2011 All-Ireland Football Final was the 124th event of its kind. It was the culmination of
Gaelic football's premier competition, the
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...
, and was played between
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...
and
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
on 18 September 2011 at
Croke Park,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
.
Dublin were victorious by a single point, achieving their first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title since
1995. This was the first Kerry–Dublin final since
1985. History was made as the winning point was scored by a goalkeeper,
Stephen Cluxton of Dublin, the first time this had ever happened in the final.
Cluxton's point gave the title to Dublin as, with the teams level, the match would have had to be replayed at a later date had it ended with both teams on the same score.
["All-Ireland Football Final: Dublin 1–12 1–11 Kerry"](_blank)
. ''BBC Sport''. 18 September 2011. RTÉ called it "one of the most gripping
Sam Maguire Cup
The Sam Maguire Cup ( ga, Chorn Sam Mhic Uidhir), often referred to as Sam or The Sam , is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competiti ...
deciders of the modern era" and the BBC said it was a "dramatic comeback victory."
Going into the 2011 Championship
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
were the defending champions after defeating
Down in the
2010 final.
However, Cork were eliminated in the quarter-finals in 2011 by
Mayo Mayo often refers to:
* Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo"
* Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States
Mayo may also refer to:
Places
Antarctica
* Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land
Australia
* Division of Mayo, an Aust ...
. On 30 August 2011, Joe McQuillan was confirmed as the referee for the senior final. This was his first time to referee an All Ireland Senior Football final. Ahead of the game, Irish politicians
Leo Varadkar and
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (; born 22 July 1976) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay North constituency since the 2020 general election, and previously from 2011 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Ce ...
were censured by officials for flying unauthorised flags from their car windows in public. The flags favoured the Dublin team. After the game, Dublin captain
Bryan Cullen
Bryan Cullen (born 7 April 1984) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played as a left wing-forward at senior level for the Dublin county team. Cullen announced his retirement on 9 January 2015. He stated 'I would like to extend my sincer ...
was offered the role of coaching
Leinster Rugby's academy players.
The 2011 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final attracted an audience share of almost 75 per cent, with three quarters of the available audience watching the final from beginning to end. This compared with an audience share of just over 65 per cent who watched the shock
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
victory over
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
at the
2011 Rugby World Cup in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
the previous day. In 2018,
Martin Breheny
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, death_place =
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listed this as the twelfth greatest All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.
Paths to the final
Kerry defeated
Tipperary
Tipperary is the name of:
Places
*County Tipperary, a county in Ireland
**North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh
**South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel
*Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...
,
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
and
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
to win the
Munster Senior Football Championship
The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It ...
. They went on to defeat
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
for a second time in the All-Ireland Quarter final and then
Mayo Mayo often refers to:
* Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo"
* Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States
Mayo may also refer to:
Places
Antarctica
* Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land
Australia
* Division of Mayo, an Aust ...
in the semi final.
Dublin defeated
Laois
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
,
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
and
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
to win the
Leinster Senior Football Championship
The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GA ...
. They went on to defeat
Tyrone in the All Ireland Quarter Final and
Donegal in the semi final. The Donegal versus Dublin football semi-final had the largest crowd attendance of the season prior to the final (81,436).
History
This was the 12th time
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...
and
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
met in an All-Ireland football final and the first since 1985. Kerry had won eight of the previous meetings, and Dublin had won three.
Kerry are the most successful Gaelic football team taking part in the
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...
, having previously won 36 and taken part in 55 All Ireland Football finals since the competition's inception in 1887. Dublin are the second most successful team, having won 22 and taken part in 35 finals prior to this match.
The first senior final meeting between Dublin and Kerry was in
1892. Dublin defeated Kerry in the
1923 final but would not do so again until the
1976 final. The 1970s was a particularly important time in the history of the rivalry between the sides due to the regularity with which the teams encountered one another. In the decade before the 2011 final Dublin and Kerry had met on five occasions, with Kerry regularly dispatching Dublin aside with ease. Their previous meeting (in the quarter-finals of the
2009 championship) saw Kerry defeat Dublin by 17 points.
Pre-match
Team selection
On 13 September 2011, Kerry manager,
Jack O'Connor named an unchanged team from that which had played Mayo in the semi final. There was some concern that
Eoin Brosnan
Eoin Brosnan,born c.1980,is an Irish Gaelic football player who plays at centre forward. He is a former member of the Kerry senior county team and plays his club football for Dr Crokes. As of late 2021, he was a practicing solicitor, working f ...
would be unable to play following an ankle injury, but he had recovered sufficiently to be named on the starting team. Three days later,
Pat Gilroy
Pat Gilroy (born 3 November 1971) is a former Gaelic footballer and manager, who most recently managed the senior Dublin county team (2009-2012). A former Dublin footballer himself, he led Dublin to their first All-Ireland Senior Football Champ ...
, the Dublin Manager, named his starting 15, which also featured no changes since their semi final match against Donegal. Following a
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction.
Red card may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers
* Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...
for striking Donegal player
Marty Boyle
Marty Boyle is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team.
In 2005, Boyle played for his club in the final of the Donegal Senior Football Championship. He played (and scored) for hi ...
in the semi final, Dublin's
Diarmuid Connolly
Diarmuid Connolly (born 7 July 1987) is an Irish Gaelic footballer. His National Football League (Ireland), league and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, championship career at senior level as a forward playing for the Dublin county footb ...
was initially ineligible to play in the final. Having appealed this decision to the CHC, he was, however, cleared to play.
Minors
Prior to the senior final,
Tipperary
Tipperary is the name of:
Places
*County Tipperary, a county in Ireland
**North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh
**South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel
*Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...
defeated Dublin in the
minor final to take their first minor football title since 1934, it was an extraordinary 3–09 to 1–14 comeback after the Dublin minors appeared to have them dead and buried with Tipperary coming from six points behind at one stage in the second half.
Match
Summary
First half
Kerry were the first team to score, after just two minutes of the match, with
Declan O'Sullivan
Declan O'Sullivan (born 18 December 1983) is an Irish former sportsperson. He last played Gaelic football with his local club Dromid Pearses, his divisional side South Kerry and at senior level for the Kery county team between 2003 and his r ...
fisting the ball over the bar. Nine minutes later, after several wides from both sides,
Alan Brogan
Alan Brogan (born 11 January 1982) is a Gaelic footballer from the St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh club who played for the Dublin county team from 2002 until his retirement in 2015. He can play in the full forward line but usually played cen ...
curled a shot inside the upright to equalise.
Paul Flynn was booked for a high challenge on
Aidan O'Mahony
Aidan O'Mahony (born 8 June 1980, in Tralee) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays at senior level for the Kerry county team. He has 5 All-Irelands, 3 NFLs, 10 Munster Championships, 1 County Senior Championship, 1 Senior Club County Champio ...
a minute later. In the 15th minute, Alan Brogan scored his second point of the match to give Dublin the lead. Two minutes later,
Darren O'Sullivan
Darran O'Sullivan (born 3 May 1986 in London, England) is a Gaelic footballer. He plays Gaelic football with his local club Glenbeigh-Glencar, his divisional side Mid Kerry and at senior level for the Kerry county team from 2005 until 2018. O ...
broke through the Dublin defence and offloaded the ball to
Colm Cooper
Colm "the Gooch" Cooper (born 3 June 1983) is an Irish Gaelic footballer whose league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned fifteen years from 2002 to 2017.
Born in Killarney, County Kerry, Cooper was born ...
who put it past
Stephen Cluxton to score a goal for Kerry. With the score at Kerry 1-01 – 0-02 Dublin,
Bernard Brogan got his first point of the day from a free. In the 24th minute,
Rory O'Carroll
Rory O'Carroll (born 30 November 1989) is a footballer and hurler with Dublin and Kilmacud Crokes. He lined out as the full back on the Dublin senior football team. He is the brother of inter-county footballer and hurler Ross O'Carroll, inter-co ...
was given a yellow card for an off-the-ball incident with Darren O'Sullivan. A minute later, Kerry made their first substitution, bringing on
Paul Galvin for corner-forward
Kieran O'Leary
Kieran O'Leary (born 28 July 1987) is an Irish Gaelic footballer. He plays at U21 and senior levels with the Dr Crokes club team and the Kerry county team. With Dr. Crokes he reached the 2007 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship fin ...
. In the 28th minute, goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton scored for Dublin from a free and then Bernard Brogan scored his second and third points, giving Dublin a two-point lead. Substitute Galvin then scored his first point, leaving the score Kerry 1-02 – 0-06 Dublin at half time.
Second half
Three minutes into the second half, Kerry midfielder,
Bryan Sheehan
Bryan Sheehan (born 25 August 1985) is an Irish Gaelic footballer with the St Mary's club in Cahirciveen, South Kerry divisional side and, formerly, the Kerry county team. He won five All-Ireland SFC medals (2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014).
...
was given a yellow card for an unfair challenge on
Michael Darragh MacAuley
Michael Darragh MacAuley is a Gaelic footballer who plays club football for Ballyboden St Enda's and inter-county for Dublin county team from 2010 until 2020. He plays his club football with Ballyboden St Enda's, with whom he won the 2016 Al ...
. Bernard Brogan scored the free from a relatively easy position. Two minutes later, Brogan combined with
Denis Bastick to give Bastick his first point of the afternoon. In the 42nd minute, Sheehan was fouled 15m out from goal, giving Kerry their first score of the half. They followed this up with a fisted point from
Kieran Donaghy
Kieran Donaghy (born 1 March 1983) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and basketball player. He plays for Tralee club Austin Stacks and, formerly, at senior level for the Kerry county team. Donaghy won four All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ...
a minute later, and a free from
Colm Cooper
Colm "the Gooch" Cooper (born 3 June 1983) is an Irish Gaelic footballer whose league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned fifteen years from 2002 to 2017.
Born in Killarney, County Kerry, Cooper was born ...
after
Ger Brennan was booked for fouling
Declan O'Sullivan
Declan O'Sullivan (born 18 December 1983) is an Irish former sportsperson. He last played Gaelic football with his local club Dromid Pearses, his divisional side South Kerry and at senior level for the Kery county team between 2003 and his r ...
. Six minutes later, Sheehan went around three men to score another Kerry point and leave the score at Kerry 1-06 – 0-08 Dublin. At this point, both sides made a substitution. For Dublin,
Kevin McManamon came on for
Paul Flynn and for Kerry,
Barry John Keane
Barry John Keane (born 1 May 1990) is an Irish Gaelic footballer with Kerry GAA and has played with them at minor Under 21 and senior level. He is the grandson of the famous former Kerry player John Dowling. He plays with the Kerins O'Rahil ...
came on for
Donnacha Walsh. The teams swapped frees, with Sheehan scoring at one end and Brogan at the other. In the 56th minute, Sheehan scored another free and Dublin introduced
Eoghan O'Gara
Eoghan O'Gara (born 24 September 1985) is a Gaelic footballer who played as a forward at senior level for the Dublin county team. O'Gara attended St. Josephs BNS primary school in Terenure.
Playing career
O'Gara made his Championship debut fo ...
, replacing
Barry Cahill. Cooper then scored another free and another point from play to give Kerry a 4-point lead with 10 minutes left in the match. In the 64th minute, Alan Brogan fed the ball through to McManamon, who rounded his marker and put the ball past goalkeeper,
Brendan Kealy
Brendan Kealy (born 1 January 1986) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played as a goalkeeper at senior level for the Kerry county team.
Career
Born in Killarney, County Kerry, Kealy first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age o ...
for a Dublin goal and to reduce the gap to a single point. A minute later,
Kevin Nolan
Kevin Anthony Jance Nolan (born 24 June 1982) is an English former professional footballer and current first team coach for Premier League club West Ham United. He has represented England at under-21 level.
After growing up in Toxteth, Live ...
scored the equaliser and in the 68th minute, Bernard Brogan put Dublin a point ahead. Entering injury time,
Kieran Donaghy
Kieran Donaghy (born 1 March 1983) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and basketball player. He plays for Tralee club Austin Stacks and, formerly, at senior level for the Kerry county team. Donaghy won four All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ...
levelled the scores again with a point from 35 metres out. With seconds left on the clock, McManamon was fouled leaving
Stephen Cluxton to convert a free kick to make Dublin All-Ireland champions for the 23rd time.
Details
Post-match
Trophy presentation
The trophy was presented from the Hogan Stand to Dublin captain
Bryan Cullen
Bryan Cullen (born 7 April 1984) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played as a left wing-forward at senior level for the Dublin county team. Cullen announced his retirement on 9 January 2015. He stated 'I would like to extend my sincer ...
by GAA president
Christy Cooney
Christy Cooney ( Irish: Críostóir Ó Cuana, born 1952 in Youghal, County Cork, Ireland) is a Gaelic games administrator, who served as the 36th president of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was elected president at the annual GAA Congress o ...
. After the presentation the Dublin team and management went on a lap of honour around the Croke Park pitch. Along the way, they met former Dublin manager,
Paul Caffrey
Paul Caffrey is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Na Fianna club and for the Dublin county team. He is also a former manager of his county team and is a Dublin-based Garda.
Background
Caffrey grew up on Dorset Street on the Nor ...
, who was on duty in his capacity as a
garda.
A Dublin fan also sneaked onto the pitch to celebrate. He put on
Eamonn Fennell's discarded tracksuit top after joining the substitutes' bench and was seen on live television and in photographs.
Man of the match
Dublin's
Kevin Nolan
Kevin Anthony Jance Nolan (born 24 June 1982) is an English former professional footballer and current first team coach for Premier League club West Ham United. He has represented England at under-21 level.
After growing up in Toxteth, Live ...
was named as the official GAA
man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
on
RTÉ's ''
The Sunday Game
''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 1 ...
'' programme on the evening of the match. Other publications selected different players. For example, the ''
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' selected
Kevin McManamon.
Homecoming
On the evening of their victory,
Lord Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...
Andrew Montague invited the winning Dublin team to the
Mansion House the following evening for a civic reception in their honour. The public was welcomed. An estimated 35,000 people turned up to the homecoming at
Merrion Square
Merrion Square () is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre.
History
The square was laid out in 1752 by the estate of Viscount FitzWilliam and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. The demand fo ...
.
References
;Timelines
As It Happened: Dublin Win SamRTÉ Sport, 18 September 2011
External links
* Official team websites
DublinKerry
Official GAA website
"Tomás Ó Sé on the story behind an iconic photo"
RTÉ Sport. 7 April 2020.
{{Kerry county football team matches
Final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, 2011
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Finals
Dublin county football team matches
Kerry county football team matches