# 2023 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

The 2023 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 136th final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the culmination of the 2023 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The match was played at Croke Park in Dublin on 30 July 2023.
Defending champions Kerry took on Leinster champions Dublin. Dublin won the final by two points, on a scoreline of 1–15 to 1–13 to claim their 31st title.
The game was televised nationally on RTÉ2 as part of The Sunday Game live programme, presented by Joanne Cantwell from the Croke Park studio, with analysis from Ciarán Whelan, Peter Canavan and Tomás Ó Sé. Match commentary was provided by Darragh Maloney, assisted by Éamonn Fitzmaurice. The game was also televised on BBC Two and internationally on GAAGO for the first time.
An average of 971,000 people watched the game, with a peak figure of 1.24 million as the match reached its climax. The game received a 77% audience share.

## Background

Kerry were aiming to retain the All-Ireland title, which they have not done since 2006–2007.
Dublin have won the last nine All-Ireland SFC finals they appeared in (1995, 2011, 2013, 2015–20); they have not lost a final since 1994.
Kerry and Dublin had met in 14 previous All-Ireland finals, with Kerry winning eight of these and Dublin six.
Between them, the two counties have the majority of All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: Kerry having 38 wins (the last in 2022) and Dublin having 30 (the last in 2020). Adding in 2023, this gives a total of 69, out of 136 years in which the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship has been completed.

## Pre-match

Demand for tickets for the final was high. The scramble for coaches and trains was also unmatched. Additional Iarnród Éireann services were added to accommodate people travelling to the final and other events taking place in Dublin during the weekend.
On 20 July, Meath's David Gough was named as referee for the decider, his second All-Ireland SFC final. Among the games Gough refereed earlier that year were the 2023 Ulster SFC final between Armagh and Derry and the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final between Dublin and Mayo, and he also refereed the 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, which was contested by Dublin and Kerry too.
Immediately prior to the match, the Galway team that won the 1998 All-Ireland final was presented to the crowd. A tribute was paid by GAA fans to Sinéad O'Connor, who died four days before the match, when "Nothing Compares 2 U" was played on the big screen at Croke Park in honour of O'Connor.

## Match
### Summary

Prior to the game, Kerry were the slight favourites to win. David Clifford had a frustrating day, with three second half wides, ending up with two points from play. Dublin picked up three first half yellow cards for Paddy Small, Colm Basquel and Lee Gannon with a lot of hard hitting but little flowing football. Paul Mannion, marked by Jason Foley, kicked two first half points, and Brian Fenton claimed another. Stephen Cluxton landed a '45 and a free, with Cormac Costello hitting one from a free near goal. Kerry found it hard to penetrate Dublin, with Eoin Murchan following Paudie Clifford and Michael Fitzsimons keeping Clifford relatively quiet but the Kerry captain suffered from a lack of supply. A tense and cagey first half ended dramatically with a Kerry goal from Paul Geaney, set up by a magical pass by Clifford from near the corner flag at the Hill 16 end, giving the defending champions a 1-04 to 0-06 lead.
The second goal of the game had come in the 46th minute. Kerry had begun the second half with more conviction, Paudie Clifford making his presence felt, and led by three points when Small struck. Killian Spillane came on for Kerry and levelled with a fine score. However, they didn't score for the next 15 minutes by which time Dublin had regained the lead in the 67th minute and Kerry's title was on the line, until a Seán O'Shea free levelled it again in the first minute of injury time. Dublin went ahead for the final time in additional time as Mannion kicked over his fifth point. David Clifford kicked his third wide of the half four minutes later and a Mike Breen foul on Basquel was penalised by Dean Rock. They had the last say with the final two scores to seal an incredible victory for Dessie Farrell, his second as manager.

### Details

* RTÉ BBC
* 30 July 2023 (2023-07-30) 15:30 IST (UTC+1) Final
* Report
| Dublin | 1–15 – 1–13 | Kerry |
| (HT: 0–6 – 1–4) |||
| Gls: Paddy Small 1 Pts: Paul Mannion 5 (1f), Paddy Small 1, Colm Basquel 2, Stephen Cluxton 2 (1 '45', 1f), Brian Fenton 2, Brian Howard 1, Cormac Costello 1f, Dean Rock 1f | | Gls: Paul Geaney 1 Pts: Seán O'Shea 5 (4fs), Paul Geaney 1, David Clifford 3 (1f), Paudie Clifford 3, Killian Spillane 1 |
* Croke Park, Dublin Referee: David Gough (Meath) Attendance: 82,300Standby: Martin McNally (Monaghan) Linesman: James Molloy (Galway) Sideline: Fergal Kelly (Longford) Umpires: Dean Gough, Eugene Gough, Stephen Gough, Terry Gough (Slane)
| Dublin | Kerry |
| GK | 1 | Stephen Cluxton |
| B | 2 | Eoin Murchan | 64' |
| B | 3 | Michael Fitzsimons |
| B | 4 | David Byrne |
| HB | 5 | James McCarthy (c) |
| HB | 6 | John Small |
| HB | 7 | Lee Gannon | 48' |
| MF | 8 | Brian Fenton |
| MF | 9 | Brian Howard | 62' |
| FW | 10 | Paddy Small | 68' |
| FW | 11 | Paul Mannion |
| FW | 18 | Ciaran Kilkenny |
| FW | 13 | Cormac Costello | 53' |
| FW | 14 | Con O'Callaghan |
| FW | 15 | Colm Basquel |
| Substitutes: ||
| | 16 | Evan Comerford |
| | 17 | Ryan Basquel |
| | 12 | Niall Scully | 53' |
| | 19 | Tom Lahiff |
| | 20 | Seán MacMahon | 62' |
| | 21 | Jack McCaffrey | 48' |
| | 22 | Ross McGarry |
| | 23 | Cian Murphy | 64' |
| | 24 | Daire Newcombe |
| | 25 | Lorcan O'Dell |
| | 26 | Dean Rock | 68' |
| Manager: ||
| Dessie Farrell ||
| GK | 1 | Shane Ryan |
| B | 2 | Graham O'Sullivan |
| B | 3 | Jason Foley |
| B | 4 | Tom O'Sullivan |
| HB | 5 | Paul Murphy | 55' |
| HB | 6 | Tadhg Morley |
| HB | 7 | Gavin White |
| MF | 8 | Diarmuid O'Connor |
| MF | 9 | Jack Barry | 66' |
| FW | 10 | Dara Moynihan | 57' |
| FW | 11 | Seán O'Shea |
| FW | 12 | Stephen O'Brien | 57' |
| FW | 13 | Paudie Clifford |
| FW | 14 | David Clifford (c) |
| FW | 15 | Paul Geaney | 63' |
| Substitutes: ||
| | 16 | Shane Murphy |
| | 17 | Adrian Spillane | 57' |
| | 18 | Brian Ó Beaglaoich | 55' |
| | 19 | Mike Breen | 66' |
| | 20 | Barry Dan O'Sullivan |
| | 21 | Ruairí Murphy |
| | 22 | Micheál Burns | 57' |
| | 23 | Killian Spillane | 63' |
| | 24 | Dylan Casey |
| | 25 | Donal O'Sullivan |
| | 26 | Ronan Buckley |
| Manager: ||
| Jack O'Connor ||
* Man of the Match:
* Paul Mannion (Dublin)

## Post-match

Dublin captain James McCarthy accepted the Sam Maguire Cup from GAA president Larry McCarthy in the Hogan Stand, becoming the first Dublin captain from Ballymun Kickhams to do so. In his post-match speech, an emotional McCarthy paid tribute to manager Dessie Farrell and admitted that the team had done a lot of soul searching in the previous two years. McCarthy joined his teammates Stephen Cluxton and Michael Fitzsimons to earn nine All-Ireland SFC medals.

### Reaction

Dean Rock and James McCarthy spoke to RTÉ after the match, both hinting that the final might be their last game for Dublin. Speaking to RTÉ Sport, McCarthy said: "It was a tough two years. We were disappointed with how we handled ourselves, disappointed with how we lost two semi-finals". Rock admitted he needed to weigh up his options: "That could be my last game in blue".
Paul Mannion speaking to RTÉ after the match reflected on another All-Ireland with Dublin: "It's so sweet to get it back. I knew we had another one in us".
Dublin manager Dessie Farrell paid tribute to his players after they showed "character in abundance" to fight back and beat Kerry. Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Farrell said: "I'm delighted for the players and their families, their partners, their wives. Huge commitment, huge sacrifice and they showed great character."
Kerry manager Jack O'Connor said Paddy Small's goal was a "huge turning point" in the match. Speaking to RTÉ Sport, O'Connor said: "We were well in that game and I thought at stages in the second half we were almost in control of the game."
Highlights of the final were shown on The Sunday Game programme which aired at 9:30pm that night on RTÉ2 and was presented by Jacqui Hurley.

### Awards

Paul Mannion won the man of the match award which was presented by GAA president Larry McCarthy at the Dublin team's celebration banquet in Dublin. Dublin captain James McCarthy won The Sunday Game Footballer of the Year award. The Sunday Game panel also picked their 2023 Team of the Year on the Sunday night programme, with six members of the Dublin team and five members of the Kerry team included.

### Celebrations

The Dublin team had a homecoming celebration the day after the final at Smithfield Square in Dublin where thousands of fans lined the streets which started at 6:30 pm, with RTÉ's Gaelic Games correspondent Marty Morrissey as MC. The Dublin team paid a visit to Temple Street Children's Hospital earlier in the day, meeting some of the young fans who were unable to make it to Croke Park. The Samuel Beckett Bridge lit up in blue to celebrate the team's achievement.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in Killarney the day after the final to welcome home the Kerry team, the runners-up.