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| Event | 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship | ||||||
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| Date | 21 September 2014 | ||||||
| Venue | Croke Park,Dublin | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Paul Murphy[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Eddie Kinsella (Laois)[2][3][4] | ||||||
| Weather | Partly cloudy 17 °C (63 °F)[5] | ||||||
←2013 2015 → | |||||||
The 2014 All-Ireland Football Championship final, the culmination of the2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played atCroke Park inDublin on 21 September 2014. Ulster championsDonegal, last champions in2012 took on Munster championsKerry, last champions in2009.
Both sides defeated the previous year's finalists,Dublin andMayo, in their semi-finals to set up this match between "the two great football outposts of the west-coast extremities".[6][7][8] 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 the2012 quarter-final stage.[9] Kerry narrowly won a close game which ended with a scoreline of 2–9 to 0–12.[10][11]
The game was televised nationally onRTÉ2 as part ofThe Sunday Game live programme, presented byMichael Lyster from Croke Park, with studio analysis fromJoe Brolly,Ciarán Whelan andColm O'Rourke — the last time until2019 that the Brolly-O'Rourke-Pat Spillane axis was broken up for live coverage of an All-Ireland SFC final.[12]
Donegal defeatedDerry,Antrim andMonaghan to win theUlster Senior Football Championship. They defeatedArmagh in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final and the reigning champions Dublin in the semi-final.Kerry defeatedClare andCork to win theMunster Senior Football Championship. They overcameGalway in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final and Mayo in the semi-final, after areplay which went to extra time.
Demand for tickets was even higher than the2012 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.".[13]
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 was2010 whenCork andDown came to a similar arrangement to what occurred when they played in a semi-final of the1994 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.[14][15] 2010 represented the first occasion since Kerry andOffaly played inthe 1982 final that both teams playing in an All-Ireland SFC final donned alternative strips,[16] whilethe 1996 final was the last time one team (Meath) wore an alternative strip (versusMayo).[15] In the event, on 2 September 2014, it was announced that Donegal and Kerry would wear their traditional jerseys.[17][18][19]
Both teams announced two changes to their starting line-ups.
Kerry announced their team on 18 September, withMarc Ó Sé being recalled to the starting line-up andKieran Donaghy starting at full-forward. Stephen O'Brien came into the half forward line in place of Michael Geaney.[20] Donegal announced their team on 20 September, withChristy Toye andPatrick McBrearty in forRory Kavanagh andDavid Walsh.[21][22][23] 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.[24]
Six players from the2006 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship semi-final meeting of the counties at Croke Park featured in the 2014 senior final. These wereMichael Murphy,Leo McLoone andMartin McElhinney (Donegal) andShane Enright,David Moran andJohnny Buckley (Kerry).[25]
Kerry playerPaul Geaney scored a goal within 60 seconds of the throw-in. Afterwards, a couple ofpoints 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.[26]
Heading into the second half, Donegal took the lead with another point from team captainMichael Murphy, 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 whenColm McFadden hit the goalpost in the last minute but Kerry clung on the win by 2–9 to 0–12.
Donegal | 0–12 – 2–9 | Kerry |
|---|---|---|
| M. Murphy (0–4, 3 frees) C. McFadden (0–1, 1 free) P. McBrearty (0–2) O. Mac Niallais (0–1) K. Lacey (0–1) N. McGee (0–1) D. Molloy (0–1) C. Toye (0–1) | Report | P. Geaney (1–2, 1 free) K. Donaghy (1–2) B. J. Keane (0–2, 2 frees) P. Murphy (0–1) B. Sheehan (0–1, 1 free) J. Buckley (0–1) |
          Donegal |    Kerry |
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Linesmen:
Marty Duffy (Sligo)
Pádraig Hughes (Armagh)
Sideline Official
Rory Hickey (Clare)
The Kerry team celebrated the night of the final at the Clyde Court Hotel wherePaul Murphy received his man of the match award. The next day the team departedHeuston Station at 1.45 pm for their first stop atRathmore for the homecoming celebrations before proceeding toTralee at 6.10 pm and then on toKillarney at 9.00 pm.[29][30]
The match was broadcast live internationally.
All that remained were the increasingly frantic efforts by Dublin to score something but so wild was the finishing that wides outnumbered scores – a sobering end to what had been expected to be the county's first back-to-back season in 37 years. Instead the two great football outposts of the west-coast extremities will meet for the first time in an All-Ireland final.
Last Sunday week [1 September 2019] was the first time since 2014 that the long-standing triumvirate of Brolly, O'Rourke, and Pat Spillane was broken up. For the Kerry-Donegal decider five years ago, Whelan took the place of Spillane on the live panel alongside Brolly and O'Rourke.
The point about worldwide exposure is a moot one when, thanks to Australia's terrestrial Channel 7, all 45 Championship games can be watched free of charge there. [...] but why do Irish people there have gratis coverage when those at home don't?
