James McCarthy admitted it was “maybe” his final time in a Dublin jersey after his side’s All-Ireland final win over Kerry saw him make history.
McCarthy and teammates Stephen Cluxton and Mick Fitzsimons now stand alone as the only three players in the history of the game to have won nine All-Ireland senior football medals.
Their tally of nine betters that of Kerry’s Pat Spillane, Paidi O Se, Mikey Sheehy, Ogie Moran, and Ger Power by one and it came about after a pulsating decider which remained in the balance right up until the dying minutes.
With the sides level at 1-13 apiece heading into stoppage time, substitute Dean Rock saw his goalbound effort pushed away by Kingdom goalkeeper Shane Ryan before Colm Basquel picked up the pieces and fed Paul Mannion who tapped over the go-ahead score.
Rock then pointed a free moments later to widen the gap to two and that was how it remained as David Gough’s full-time whistle soon sounded and confirmed Dublin as champions for the 31st time.
Afterwards, captain McCarthy admitted Dublin had been less than pleased with their performances in the years since their 2020 All-Ireland win.
He told RTE: ‘We had to fight hard for that. It was a tough two years.
‘It was only on the players, nothing to do with management.
‘We were disappointed with how we handled ourselves, disappointed with how we lost two semi-finals.
‘There was something different in the air this year. We got together, we worked hard and we went for it every game.’
The legendary half-back became the first Ballymun Kickhams clubman to lift the Sam Maguire and after the thrill of a record-setting triumph he admitted it may have been his last time in the blue jersey.
He said: ‘It all came together perfectly in the end, didn’t it?
‘It’s a huge honour. Maybe it’s my last time, I need to reflect over the next few months.
‘But if it is, it was truly special. This place is special. Croke Park is an amazing place to play sport.’
