It is a pointless exercise to try pinpoint the end of a team because, by its very nature, sport doesn’t allow such a neat distinction to exist. Players move away but teams move on.
Nevertheless, Croke Park last June was peppered with all the trappings of a last stand. Dublin went down swinging. Still, down they went. As the Galway players celebrated an All-Ireland quarter-final victory, their Dublin counterparts shuffled towards the tunnel with little fuss or fanfare.
The end is rarely ever soundtracked by acclaim or victory.
That evening marks the last time James McCarthy, Michael Fitzsimons, Brian Fenton, Jack McCaffrey and Paul Mannion pulled on a Dublin jersey.
In the media room tucked under the Hogan Stand afterwards, Dessie Farrell admitted: “We won’t pre-empt anything but it’s probably the end of an era.”
The fall of the empire.
Eight players from Dublin’s match-day squad against Galway last summer are no longer involved. With no more worlds left to conquer, the aforementioned quintet decided to settle for a collective haul of just the 38 All-Ireland SFC medals.
Killian O’Gara, Daire Newcombe and David O’Hanlon have not been involved this year either.
In comparison, all of Galway’s starting 15 from last year’s quarter-final win over the Dubs remain part of the Tribesmen’s squad, with only two from the 26-man panel – Niall Daly and Eoghan Kelly – not currently involved.
At the start of the year Farrell called up 16 new players.
Dublin have so far used 36 players this season and handed out nine competitive debuts – Alex Gavin, James Madden, Gavin Sheridan, Davy Keogh, Conor Tyrrell, Kevin Lahiff, Niall O’Callaghan, Hugh O’Sullivan and Nathan Doran. Dual star Eoghan O’Donnell also played league football for the first time having previously made a brief cameo appearance in the 2022 championship.
But Farrell’s rebuilding project was shaken to its foundations three weeks ago when Dublin suffered a first Leinster SFC defeat since 2010. That streak was always going to end eventually, but few predicted it would be this summer.
With the longest day of the year still a month away, Dublin are now staring at the possibility of a very short summer. Unless they win Sam Maguire this will be the first time in 15 years the Dublin senior footballers finish a season without any silverware.
And if the Galway defeat last year signalled the end of one era, the loss to Meath this season has raised concern in the capital as to what the next era might hold because the mythical conveyor belt that was to produce an endless supply of talent has seemingly reduced its output.
Just six days before that senior defeat to Meath, the Dublin under-20 footballers lost to Louth at the semi-final stages of their provincial championship.
A week after the senior loss, the Dublin minors lost to Louth in a Leinster semi-final.
I think there is concern around Dublin right now that the players aren’t coming through at underage like they had been in previous years. I think they are definitely worried about it
— Brian Talty
Dublin have not won an All-Ireland minor title since 2012; they haven’t won an under-20/21 crown since 2017.
Brian Talty was part of Dublin minor and under-21 management teams under Alan Larkin in the past – coaching the 1994 Leinster winning side. He later linked up with Paul Caffrey to work with the Dublin senior footballers.
Talty also happens to be one of Galway’s most iconic footballers but having spent most of his working career teaching in St David’s CBS Artane and coaching teams in the capital, he has witnessed the impact of Dublin’s development squads system.
“I think there is concern around Dublin right now that the players aren’t coming through at underage like they had been in previous years. I think they are definitely worried about it,” says Talty.
“Obviously the most important long-term aspect of those teams is developmental, in terms of bringing the players along and preparing them for senior level.
“But I can tell you when we were in charge of those teams we wanted to win and that would be no different for any minor or under-20 management team. When you are given that responsibility, of course you want to win.”
Farrell has managed Dublin to the county’s last All-Ireland titles at all three grades – minor (2012), under-20/21 (2017) and senior (2023). He also remains the last man to guide the county to a Leinster under-20/21 triumph, which was also garnered in 2017.
Damien Fennelly is the other Dublin manager to have wrestled silverware back to the capital in recent years – the Clontarf man led the Dubs to their last Leinster minor title in 2023.
“The more you look at it now with the six-in-a-row achievement, the more it seems Dublin really did get several generational players come along at the same time,” adds Talty.
Given all the recent retirements, the 2017 All-Ireland winning under-21 team now backbones the senior side – players like Evan Comerford, Eoin Murchan, Seán MacMahon, Cian Murphy, Brian Howard, Colm Basquel, Con O’Callaghan and Paddy Small.
But form has been a problem for Dublin this season. The Meath performance wasn’t an outlier – it was actually their third straight lacklustre display after a miserable showing in their last league game away to Tyrone, which was followed by an unimpressive win over Wicklow in Aughrim.
For three consecutive matches now Dublin have been unable to find a spark.
Their problems start at home base where it is now five games and counting since they have had the same goalkeeper between the sticks for successive outings. Over the course of those five games Dublin have used four different goalkeepers – Evan Comerford, Stephen Cluxton, Gavin Sheridan and Hugh O’Sullivan.
Such chopping and changing is completely at odds with other teams.
Defensively, Dublin have also looked vulnerable and they ended the league with the third highest concession rate in Division 1.
It says much about their inability to stem the bleeding that John Small, who only rejoined the squad after the league and hadn’t played since the defeat to Galway last June, started at centre back against Meath three weeks ago.
The hole left by James McCarthy and, in particular, Brian Fenton at midfield is one Dublin simply have been unable to fill. They have tried various combinations but the Dubs continue to struggle for a strong presence in the middle of the field.
Up front, O’Callaghan and Kilkenny remain two of the best players in the country and this is one area of the pitch where Dublin still have some x-factor. But the duo need to be supported by Cormac Costello showing consistency with placed balls and Basquel rediscovering his blistering 2023 form.
At its most fundamental, Dublin’s problem is the players entering the dressingroom have not been as good as the players exiting.
The Dubs have also struggled on the road this year – all four of their defeats in 2025 have come outside of Croke Park.
And they also stand on the precipice of making some unwanted history this weekend – the county has never lost consecutive senior football championship matches in the same season.
Since the introduction of the qualifiers, whenever Dublin lost in Leinster they have always managed to bounce back with a win in their next outing.
“I think Dublin will have to deliver a better performance in Salthill than we have seen from them so far in this year’s championship,” adds Talty.
Speaking on Off The Ball’s Football Pod this week, former Kerry forward James O’Donoghue said “Dublin’s knees are wobbling”, while his Kingdom counterpart Tomás Ó Sé told RTÉ’s GAA podcast that “the fear factor is gone, they are not the same team they were”.
But perhaps they don’t need to be.
Dublin’s away form might be poor but they did still beat Kerry in Tralee this year.
And while they have lost several seasoned veterans, 14 of the 20 players used by Dublin in the 2023 All-Ireland final remain available.
Their three league defeats were to Donegal, Armagh, and Tyrone. Donegal and Armagh are among the top three or four All-Ireland contenders and chances are Tyrone will yet have a big say in this year’s championship.
As for that 2017 All-Ireland under-20 triumph, Dublin beat Galway in the final. It was a Galway team that included Dylan McHugh, Cillian McDaid, Seán Kelly, Cein Darcy, Rob Finnerty, Kieran Molloy and Peter Cooke.
Traditionally, Dublin have Galway’s number – in their 11 previous senior championship meetings, the Dubs have won eight.
“There are still a lot of very good and very experienced players on that Dublin team, players who know what it takes to win All-Irelands” says Talty. “Galway must be careful because Dublin will be determined to show they remain one of the top teams.”
A pause on any epitaphs for now, so.
In Salthill today the empire attempts to strike back.
