The 2014 All-Ireland Football Final, the culmination of the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

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 21 September 2014. Ulster champions

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

, last champions in

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took on Munster champions

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 ...

, last champions in

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. Both sides defeated the previous year's finalists

and

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 their semi-finals to set up this match between "the two great football outposts of the west-coast extremities". This was their first encounter on All-Ireland final day, and only the second in 127 years of Championship history, Donegal having defeated Kerry in their previous encounter at the 2012 quarter-final stage. Kerry narrowly won a close game which ended with a scoreline of 2-9 to 0-12. The game was televised nationally on

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched in 1978 as the Republic of Ireland's second television channel. History In the 1970s, the Iri ...

as part of ''

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 197 ...

'' live programme, presented by

Michael Lyster Michael Lyster (born 11 April 1954) is an Irish radio and television broadcaster who works for RTÉ. He mainly covers sporting events, such as Gaelic games and Olympic Games. He is best known for presenting '' The Sunday Game Live'', which he h ...

from Croke Park, with studio analysis from

Joe Brolly Joe Brolly (born 25 June 1969 Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Gaelic football analyst, former player and barrister who played at senior level for the Derry county team. Brolly played for Derry in the 1990s and early 2000s ...

Ciarán Whelan Ciarán Whelan (born 28 February 1976 in Raheny, County Dublin) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for the Raheny club and, formerly, for the Dublin county team. He is right-footed but can kick with both feet and usually plays in midfield. He wa ...

and

Colm O'Rourke Colm O'Rourke (born 31 August 1957) is a Gaelic football manager, former player, retired secondary school principal, sports broadcaster and columnist. He has been manager of the Meath county team since 2022. O'Rourke's league and championship ...

— the last time until

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that the Brolly-O'Rourke-

Pat Spillane Patrick Gerard Spillane (born 1 December 1955), better known as Pat Spillane, is an Irish former Gaelic football pundit and player. His National Football League (Ireland), league and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, championship career ...

axis was broken up for live coverage of an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.

Paths to the final

Donegal defeated

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Antrim and

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

to win the

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

. They defeated

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

in the All-Ireland quarter-final and the reigning champions

in the semi-final. Kerry defeated Clare 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 i ...

. They overcame

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

in the All-Ireland quarter-final and

in the semi-final after a replay which went to extra time.

Tickets

Demand for tickets was even higher than the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Alan Milton, the GAA's Head of Media Relations, said he believed the stadium could have been sold out two times over. The reasons he suggested for this included, "a) it's a novel pairing b) the semi-finals were of a such a high standard that there's big neutral interest and c) the numbers from each county who will travel back to Ireland – both Kerry and Donegal have a very strong overseas presence in the United States particularly but also farther afield.".

Kits

After Donegal's defeat of All-Ireland champions Dublin confirmed the teams for the final, there was speculation that the counties would wear alternative kits due to the similarities in their traditional county colours. The last time this had occurred on All-Ireland Final day was

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

when

and Down came to a similar arrangement to what occurred when they played in a semi-final of the 1994 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. 2010 represented the first occasion since Kerry and

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

played in the 1982 final that both teams playing in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final donned alternative strips, while the 1996 final was the last time one team ( Meath) wore an alternative strip (versus

). In the event, on 2 September 2014, it was announced that Donegal and Kerry would wear their traditional jerseys.

Team selection

Both teams announced two changes to their starting line-ups. Kerry announced their team on 18 September, with

Marc Ó Sé Marc Ó Sé (born 25 April 1980) is an Irish sportsman. A teacher by profession, he works in the CBS in Tralee Co. Kerry, he played Gaelic football for the Kerry county football team, Kerry county team from 2002 until 2016 and played with his l ...

being recalled to the starting line-up and

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 ...

starting at full-forward. Stephen O'Brien came into the half forward line in place of Michael Geaney. Donegal announced their team on 20 September, with

Christy Toye Christy Toye (born 10 March 1983) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for St Michael's and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. He captained his county in Brian McIver's first season in charge (2005). Along with his fellow club ...

and

Patrick McBrearty Patrick McBrearty (born 5 August 1993) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cill Chartha and the Donegal county team. He is usually selected in the full-forward line for his county, often flanking Michael Murphy with Colm McFadden (be ...

in for

Rory Kavanagh Rory Kavanagh ( ga, Ruairí Ó Caomhánach; born 23 August 1982) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player with St Eunan's and the Donegal county team. He currently manages the St Eunan's club. Alongside Colm McFadden and Christy ...

and David Walsh. On the day, Toye and McBrearty were named on the bench – though both featured, and indeed scored, later in the game – while Kavanagh and Darach O'Connor started in their place. Six players from the 2006 All-Ireland minor semi-final meeting of the counties at Croke Park featured in the 2014 senior final. These were

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

Leo McLoone Leo McLoone (born 1989) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and also, formerly, the Donegal county team. A versatile player, often employed as a forward, he has been an important source of goals for club and county. McL ...

and Martin McElhinney (Donegal) and

Shane Enright Shane Enright (born 12 June 1988 in Tralee) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for his local club Tarbert and, formerly, for the Kerry county team from 2011 to 2020. He played for the Kerry minor team in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, he won a ...

, David Moran and

Johnny Buckley Johnny Buckley is a legendary Irish boxing manager and promoter from Boston, Massachusetts mostly during the first half of the 20th century who has handled some of the most famous boxers in the world including 3 World Champions. He guided Jack Sh ...

(Kerry).

Match

Summary

Kerry got off to a great start with a goal from Paul Geaney within 60 seconds of the throw-in. Afterwards, a couple of points by both teams kept it a close game with Kerry always up a point or two. Near the end of the first half, Donegal tied it up. After a minute of extra time in the first half, it was 1–3 Kerry to 0–6 Donegal at half-time. Heading into the second half, Donegal took the lead with another point from team captain

, but Kerry quickly answered. Kerry eventually built a small lead and with a one-point lead at ten minutes left, Kerry scored a goal making it 2–6 to 0–8. Donegal responded with three quick points making it 2–6 to 0–11. Kerry hit a couple points in response, and it was 2–8 to 0–12 when two minutes of injury time started. Kerry scored another point to extend their lead to three points. Donegal almost forced a replay when

Colm McFadden Colm Anthony McFadden ( ga, Colm Antóin Mac Pháidín; born 1982/3) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays at full forward for St Michael's and, from 2002 to 2016, for the Donegal county team. McFadden is Donegal's most-capped Championship ...

hit the goalpost in the last minute but Kerry clung on the win by 2–9 to 0–12.

Details

Celebrations

The Kerry team celebrated the night of the final at the Clyde Court Hotel where Paul Murphy received his man of the match award. The next day the team departed

Heuston Station Heuston Station ( ; ga, Stáisiún Heuston; formerly Kingsbridge Station) also known as Dublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largest railway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated by Iar ...

at 1.45 pm for their first stop at Rathmore for the homecoming celebrations before proceeding to

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

at 6.10 pm and then on to

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

at 9.00 pm.

Broadcasting

The match was broadcast live internationally.

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