By the numbers: How many All-Ireland football final meetings have there been between Kerry and Galway?

Eleven years since Jack O’Connor’s last All-Ireland final as a manager and other trivia

The Sam Maguire paraded around Croke Park by the Kerry team. Photograph: Donall Farmer/Inpho
The Sam Maguire paraded around Croke Park by the Kerry team. Photograph: Donall Farmer/Inpho

0 — All-Ireland winners in the Galway panel. All of them will be playing in their first All-Ireland final.

1 — Galway All Star in the past 19 years. Ian Burke was named at corner-forward on the 2018 selection. Otherwise, you have to go back to Kevin Walsh’s third midfield All Star in 2003.

2 — Sets of brothers involved. Paudie and David Clifford for Kerry, Seán and Paul Kelly for Galway. The last final not to feature a set of brothers at any stage was Cork v Meath in 1999.

3 — Goalless games in the 2022 championship. That’s down from four last year and six the year before. There have been 43 matches so far — that’s up from 30 in each of the Covid-affected seasons.

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4 — All-Ireland winners involved for Kerry. David Moran, Paul Murphy, Paul Geaney and Stephen O’Brien all played against Donegal in 2014. Moran is the only player involved who has two Celtic Crosses, having come on in the 2009 final for Tommy Walsh.

5 — Different teams in All-Ireland finals over the past three seasons. The last time there was such flux over a three-season stretch was 2001 to 2003 when Galway, Meath, Armagh (twice), Kerry and Tyrone all made finals.

6 — Points needed for Seán O’Shea to draw level with Shane McGuigan as the 2022 championship’s top scorer. It would be the first time any player has been top scorer in back-to-back seasons since Cillian O’Connor in 2014 and 2015. O’Connor was also top scorer in 2013.

The Kerry team celebrate victory in 2000. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho
The Kerry team celebrate victory in 2000. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho

7 — All-Ireland final meetings between Kerry and Galway. The score stands at 4-3 to Kerry. Two of them have gone to replays, with Galway winning 2-4 to 0-7 in 1938 and Kerry coming out on top by 0-17 to 1-10 in 2000.

9 — All-Ireland final wins for Galway. Last one in 2001.

13 — All-Ireland final defeats for Galway. Last one in 2000.

37 — All-Ireland final wins for Kerry. Last one in 2014.

23 — All-Ireland final defeats for Kerry. Last one in 2019. They are miles ahead at the top of the list of final defeats. Cork are next on 16, Mayo are third on 15.

10 — Clubs represented in the Kerry likely starting 15. Rathmore, Dingle, Kenmare, Fossa and Na Gaeil all have two starters each.

11 — Years since Jack O’Connor’s last All-Ireland final as a manager. Billy Morgan went 14 years between final appearances from 1993 to 2007.

12 — Clubs represented in the Galway likely starting 15. Corofin have three starters, Mountbellew-Moylough have two.

13 — Years since the team that outgoaled the other in the final didn’t win. Kerry beat Cork in 2009 by 0-16 to 1-9. The last time the team that scored the first goal didn’t win was the 2016 replay between Dublin and Mayo. Lee Keegan scored the first goal that day but a Diarmuid Connolly penalty levelled the books and Dublin came through in the end.

19 — Number of Munster-Connacht clashes in All-Ireland finals. The score stands at 13-6 to the Munster teams. The last Connacht win over a Munster county in an All-Ireland final was in 1965 when Galway beat Kerry by 0-12 to 0-6.

21 — Age of Jack Glynn, who will be the youngest player on the pitch when the ball is thrown in. If Galway win, Glynn, Matthew Tierney and Patrick Kelly will add a senior All-Ireland to the under-20 title they won two years ago.

34 — Age of David Moran, who will be the oldest player on the pitch. This will be his sixth All-Ireland final, having appeared in 2009 as a sub and started in 2014, 2015 and both matches in 2019.

Malachy Clerkin

Malachy Clerkin

Malachy Clerkin is a sports writer with The Irish Times