Dublin and Kerry have dominated in terms of All-Ireland wins but a few northern lights have shone through and demand a place in the greatest XV of the last 25 years
We start the countdown to our Gaelic Football Team of the 21st Century, by selecting the goalkeeper and full back line. There were contenders galore across the last 25 years for the three defensive positions on offer, although the goalkeeper pretty much picked himself.
GOALKEEPER
STEPHEN CLUXTON
Let’s be honest about it, the goalkeeper position is probably the easiest to pick on the entire team, given that Stephen Cluxton debuted for Dublin in 2001 and is still playing. While Donegal’s Paul Durcan was one of the original new breed of goalie with his excellent placed kickouts, Cluxton was the man who revolutionised the position and the game.
He’s a six-time All-Ireland winning captain, who has played for 23 seasons for Dublin, winning nine Sam Maguires – a record along with Michael Fitzsimons and James McCarthy.
After Dublin’s six in a row he didn’t make himself available for the next two seasons and Dublin lost both years in the All-Ireland semi-final. He returned in 2023 and they regained the Sam Maguire.
Cluxton didn’t lose a Championship game in 10 seasons, between the All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Donegal in 2014 and the 2024 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat by Galway.
He’s 43 now, has just been named in Ger Brennan’s backroom team and could still turn out for his county next year with no official retirement announcement made.
Some of the new breed are outstanding, including Monaghan’s Rory Beggan, with his immense dead ball kicking skills and Donegal’s Shaun Patton with his arrow-like kicks.
Kerry’s Shane Ryan has a magnificent all round game and Ethan Rafferty brings serious attacking flair to the position.
Niall Morgan was the best around for the couple of years Cluxton didn’t play for Dublin (2021 and 2022), but Cluxton is the king.
FULL BACK LINE
Marc O’Se (Kerry)
The Footballer of the Year in 2006. No mean feat for a corner back to win the biggest individual award in the game. O’Se was consistently Kerry’s go to man for the opposition’s most dangerous player and he rarely disappointed.
He has admitted that Dublin’s Bernard Brogan gave him problems, but problems to O’Se meant three points from play, with opponents rarely managing to slip him for goals.
O’Se went where Kerry’s need was greatest, particularly after the retirement of Seamus Moynihan, but the feeling in the county and beyond is that he could have been a devastating wing back or centre half back.
The 45 year old played for 15 seasons for Kerry, making his debut under his uncle Paidi O’Se. He went on to win five All-Ireland titles and three All Stars, establishing himself as one of the top defenders in the game.
Some of the other players in contention for corner back spots included Mayo’s Keith Higgins, Tyrone’s Ryan McMenamin, Westmeath’s John Keane and Dublin duo Philly McMahon and Michael Fitzsimons, with O’Se just getting the nod ahead of Fitzsimons.
Fitzsimons wasn’t always first choice for Jim Gavin during the five-in-a-row, but he became a key part of the Dublin machine, going on to win nine All-Ireland titles. On this year’s form with his club, he would still be good enough to play with Dublin.
Seamus Moynihan (Kerry)
Rather than pick three specialist man markers or corner backs we wanted someone who played at number three. The late Cormac McAnallen looked set for a long career at full back before he tragically passed away in 2004, while Fermanagh’s Barry Owens was an outstanding number three, winning two All Stars in his time with the Erne County.
Rory O’Carrol was rock on the edge of the square in Dublin’s breakthrough All-Ireland win in 2014, but he took a lengthy break from the game, while three-time Donegal All Star Neill McGee was one of the best of this century to date.
In the end it was hard to look past the outstanding Moynihan, whose move to full back was a key part of Kerry’s All-Ireland victory in 2000. It was a real problem area for the county but one that he shored up.
Moynihan was an outstanding half back for Kerry in the latter half of the 1990s, but showed his versatility and footballing ability to move to full back. Nicknamed ‘the Pony’ he was a Rolls Royce of a player, who played from the front.
Probably retired too soon, at 32, and could have won another All-Ireland to go with his four, calling it a day after the 2006 Sam Maguire win over Mayo.
Lee Keegan (Mayo)
In our opinion Keegan is the greatest Mayo player we’ve ever seen – comfortably – and many in the county would say the greatest ever. No Mayo player deserved that All-Ireland more than the relentless Westport man, whose never-say-die attitude and the way he played with a smile on his face endeared himself to fans nationwide.
Behind the smile was serious steel. Some will remember him for his jersey ripping battles with Diarmuid Connolly, lobbing his GPS at Dean Rock as he struck the winning free in the 2017 All-Ireland Final, and the fact he didn’t win an All-Ireland. But this is reductive nonsense for simpletons, particularly the latter.
For two or three years he was Mayo’s best man marker and also their biggest attacking threat, despite playing in defence.
He was the man who led the charge against the greatest team ever.
The goals he scored in the 2016 and 2017 All-Ireland Finals against Dublin showcased his ability to produce absolutely top drawer quality on the biggest days.
And Mayo fans might well wonder about the very harsh black card he got in the 2016 replay from Maurice Deegan, and what might have happened if he’d stayed on the field.
(At the time you were gone for the rest of the game but could be replaced by a team mate).
Some of the top players blotted out of games by Keegan included Connolly, Ciaran Kilkenny, Sean Cavanagh, Enda Smith and Michael Quinlivan. Renowned as a wing back, but also about as good a man marker as we’ve seen in the last decade.
Half back line
James McCarthy (Dublin)
The true greats are at their best when the chips are down. McCarthy was the man driving his team forward at the end of the 2022 All-Ireland semi-final with Kerry – ably abetted by Ciaran Kilkenny – as Dublin just came up short in their bid to salvage the game.
Of all the Dublin greats over the past decade and a half, there’s little doubt that McCarthy is the fans’ favourite.
An outrageous athlete, who had a heart to match, his two points from two shots in the second half of the 2017 All-Ireland final were vital to staving off Mayo’s biggest challenge of that era. He was awarded man of the match that day.
He went off injured in his first final, 2011, where Dublin defeated Kerry, but was a mainstay for well over a decade before retiring at the end of last season with a record nine All-Irelands to his name and five All Stars.
Also played at midfield regularly for Dublin, particularly in his latter years and as a man marker on big powerful men like Michael Murphy.
But it was at number five where he played his best football. No-one broke lines better, bar Jack McCaffrey, and his finishing ability was underestimated.
He just edges out Tomas O’Se for this position, with the Kerry five-time All-Ireland winner and five time All Star perhaps the unluckiest player not to make the side.
Galway’s Declan Meehan was another outrageous five from the early part of the century.
Kieran McGeeney (Armagh)
The talisman for the first breakthrough All-Ireland winning side of the century, McGeeney skippered Armagh to Sam Maguire glory in 2002. After debuting for Armagh seniors in 1992, it was a decade in the making. Without McGeeney, it’s hard to imagine the Orchard County would have got over the line.
A testimony to his resilience is that he played with a ruptured cruciate knee ligament for years, instead building up the muscle around the knee to play on, before finally retired at 37 in 2007.
We could have shimmied a bit here and moved James McCarthy across and slotted Tomas O’Se in, but we went with an out and out six.
Not as dynamic as a Seamus Moynihan, but McGeeney developed himself into an exceptional foot passer in the latter half of his career who controlled the game, and his iron will was legendary.
Some of the other great number sixes of the past 25 years included Donegal’s Karl Lacey, who was also an exceptional man marking corner back and Dublin’s Cian O’Sullivan, who went there after the defeat by Lacey’s Donegal in 2014 and was a master reader of the game with pace to burn.
The other top drawer sixes of the era included Tyrone’s Conor Gormley, who operated anywhere from number two to number nine for the county to great effect and is unfortunate not to edge into this team, Cork’s spiritual leader Graham Canty and Laois man Tom Kelly.
Jack McCaffrey Dublin
No doubt some will feel he may be fortunate to be in here ahead of the likes of Tomas O’Se and Conor Gormley, as he missed out on a few seasons with Dublin. But can anyone really argue with what he brought when he was there?
After being removed at half-time in the 2013 All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Kerry and rupturing his cruciate early in the 2017 decider he more than atoned for those disappointments in other big games.
McCaffrey won Footballer of the Year in 2015, and was man of the match in the 2018 All-Ireland Final win over Tyrone and the drawn 2019 All-Ireland Final with Kerry when he hit 1-3 from wing back.
Around 2016/17 Mayo were man marking Con O’Callaghan and McCaffrey as Dublin’s two greatest goal threats.
Probably the best attacking wing back of the entire era, ahead of Lee Keegan and James McCarthy. His searing pace and stamina made him unstoppable.
McCaffrey also knew his limits. Long range scores weren’t for him, but the frees he won, the scores he created, the goals he finished and set-up were massive.
Dublin were at their absolute peak as an attacking unit with Clontarf flyer McCaffrey and James McCarthy at 5 and 7. Different gears. Different gravy.
Other class number sevens from the era included four-time Tyrone All Star and three-time All-Ireland winner Philip Jordan and Mayo’s four-time All Star Colm Boyle.
Kerry’s force of nature Aidan O’Mahony, who started in defence at 35 for his county and even won Dancing With the Stars, as well as five All-Irelands and two All Stars was another excellent defender, as was Donegal’s Kevin Cassidy.
MIDFIELD
Darragh Ó Sé (Kerry)
Ó Sé emerged as a young dynamo to help Kerry end ‘the famine’ in 1997 – and was a key cog in the All-Ireland triumphs in 2000, 2006, 2007 and 2009. He missed the 2004 Sam Maguire win due to injury. The 50 year old made his Championship debut in 1994, going on to play for 16 years at senior level for Kerry.
He was still going strong in 2009 when he started at midfield to claim a sixth All-Ireland medal to go with his four All Stars.
Perhaps his defining moment was the second half of the 2006 All-Ireland quarter-final against Armagh when he took over a game where Kerry trailed by five points at half-time to guide his side home with an imperious display.
After the All-Ireland final defeats by Armagh and Tyrone (2002 and 2005), and a semi-final defeat by Tyrone (2003), there were serious question marks against Kerry’s ability to deal with Ulster’s top sides.
By midfield standards, not a man mountain, but as good in the air as anyone from that era with his spring and timing.
Also a top drawer foot passer and shooter and never found wanting in the physical stakes – on and off the ball – O’Se had it all for a midfielder.
Other great midfielders from that era included Galway’s Kevin Walsh, who won three All Stars and retired in 2004, and Derry’s Anthony Tohill, who retired in 2003.
Armagh’s Paul McGrane was the other rock of that great side along with Kieran McGeeney, while Tyrone’s Kevin Hughes was a vastly underrated cog in their success in the noughties and Dublin’s Ciaran Whelan was as strong in the air as any of them.
Brian Fenton (Dublin)
This one was a no-brainer. To many he is Dublin’s greatest ever midfielder, ahead of the revered late Brian Mullins, and to some Fenton is simply the greatest of all time. Others will say it’s Jack O’Shea.
The best athlete we’ve seen in the position in modern times. His ability to really turn the screw in the final 15 minutes of games showed not only this but the mental strength and leadership skills he developed as the seasons passed by.
Worked hard to gain a good left foot shot and increase his general range of shooting to around 40 metres as he developed into the complete midfielder, often putting in game saving tackles and making big turnovers.
Outstanding in the air and excellent in tight areas, his skill set was/is outrageous.
Fenton came into the Dublin midfield in 2015, the year after their shock All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Donegal, and the county didn’t lose another Championship game until the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo.
He played every minute in Dublin’s six-in-a-row. Nominated for Footballer of the Year four times, he is a two time winner (2018 and 2020).
Still only 32 the Raheny man has six All Stars and seven All-Irelands and Dublin fans will be hoping Ger Brennan can tempt him to return to the fold.
Other top drawer midfielders from the era included Kildare’s Dermot Earley, who was a beast in the second half of his career and Dublin’s irrepressible 2013 Footballer of the Year Michael Darragh Macauley.
Louth All Star Paddy Keenan, Limerick’s John Galvin, Derry’s Fergal Doherty, Donegal’s Neil Gallagher, Westmeath’s Rory O’Connell, Fermanagh’s Martin McGrath, Cork’s Nicholas Murphy and Aidan Walsh, Galway’s Paul Conroy and Kerry’s David Moran were/are serious operators.
Half forward line
Ciaran Kilkenny (Dublin)
The competition in the half forward line was immense with some huge names just missing out. Ciaran Kilkenny is a player who divides opinion as he’s the epitome of control and playing the percentages, which plenty don’t like. But in our eyes, he’s close to the ultimate team player.
The 2019 All-Ireland final and replay probably sum it up best. After he scored four points from play in a man of the match display in the replay, Kilkenny revealed that his coaches had told him after the drawn game to be more direct and go at his man.
The fact he had it in the locker to do that so effectively tells you about the quality he possesses.
It may or may not be a coincidence that when Dublin were shocked by Donegal in the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final and chaos reigned in the second half, Kilkenny wasn’t on the field as he sat out most of that year with a ruptured cruciate knee ligament.
Control versus chaos, that’s what he brings and why managers love him.
In 2021 and 2022, when Dublin had slipped back into the pack and didn’t win the All-Ireland, Kilkenny won All Stars, to take his tally to six. Most feel he should have at least one Footballer of the Year award, probably in 2018.
This year he was reinvented as a midfielder and although not as consistent as other years, the Castleknock man still delivered some stellar displays.
Michael Murphy (Donegal)
If Michael Murphy had a euro for every time someone said he should play inside, he’d be a very wealthy man. It was the perennial debate surrounding the big Glenswilly man. Donegal needed two of him.
Not unlike Ciaran Kilkenny in the control he could bring and influence he could exert from a deeper role, Murphy was also devastating inside.
His goal early in the 2012 All-Ireland final against Mayo showcased his natural power and skill – and is the stand out moment of his career.
Murphy though has been so much more than that, as the spiritual leader of an entire county, on and off the field.
Maybe not an out and out centre half forward in the mould of a Brian McGuigan, a Ciaran McDonald, a Declan O’Sullivan, an Alan Brogan or a Paudie Clifford but his playmaking skills were also top drawer.
It also says a lot that after returning from two years out of the inter-county game, at 35, he was Donegal’s top performer for most of this year’s Championship and shouldered much – too much – of the attacking burden.
Now sixth on the all-time championship appearance record – just two behind Tomas and Marc Ó Sé and three behind Sean Cavanagh. He could pass these out next year to go third.
As his side’s outstanding player for over a decade, perhaps unlike some of the top Dublin and Kerry players, he was generally afforded the opposition’s top man marker every day he went out and shipped plenty of punishment.
Generally his temperament was impeccable, as was his ability to deliver under pressure.
Sean Cavanagh (Tyrone)
The two defining tactical switches of the era were Kieran Donaghy to full forward for Kerry in 2006 and Sean Cavanagh to full forward for Tyrone in 2008. Tyrone had been crying out for a target man inside for a while but Mickey Harte resisted, such was Cavanagh’s value out the field as a half forward or midfielder.
The Red Hand men would win the All-Ireland in 2008 with Cavanagh Footballer of the Year at full forward and man of the match with five points from play in the decider win over Kerry. That says it all really.
Cavanagh holds three All-Irelands and five All Stars and was a key cog in the Tyrone side that won their first Sam Magurie in 2003. He also captained his county and his country.
In a 16 year Tyrone senior career he played 89 Championship games and is third on the all time appearance records, behind Stephen Cluxton (128) and Aidan O’Shea (96).
You knew it was coming, but no one could stop that shimmy and step from the left half forward position, onto his right foot to shoot for a point. It was one of the stand out moves of the era. There were plenty of other big names that lit up the wing forward role in the last 25 years.
They include Dublin trio Paul Flynn, Diarmuid Connolly and Paul Mannion, Tyrone’s Brian Dooher, Kerry’s Paul Galvin, Sligo’s versatile Eamonn O’Hara and Galway’s Michael Donnellan, but for his impact and longevity Cavanagh gets the nod here.
Full forward line
Colm Cooper (Kerry)
The Gooch had a Croke Park baptism of fire against Armagh in 2002 and Tyrone in 2003, but he would go on to win five All-Irelands, hitting 1-5 against Mayo as he won his first medal in 2004. He also scored goals in the 2006 and 2007 All-Ireland Finals as Kerry went back to back, hitting 1-2 and 1-5 respectively in the wins over Mayo and Cork.
Cooper also scored six points in the 2008 All-Ireland Final loss to Tyrone and 1-8 in the ‘startled earwigs’ All-Ireland quarter-final victory over Dublin in 2009.
One of the main reasons he can’t be left out of this side is how consistently outstanding he was at Croke Park, to the point where he won eight All Stars, although he was never crowned Footballer of the Year.
Not the fastest and most powerful ever, but what made him so good was a skill set and vision that not even David Clifford can match. And the fact that the man in the best position always got the ball, despite Cooper’s outrageous natural ability.
Kieran Donaghy was the perfect foil for him and his trademark was the rolled left foot finish to the corner of the net. The ultimate baby faced assassin, he had ice in his veins.
Cooper gets in ahead of top inside forwards like Tyrone’s outstanding Stephen O’Neill, Armagh’s 2003 Footballer of the Year Steven McDonnell and Dublin’s Bernard Brogan, the 2010 Footballer of the Year.
David Clifford (Kerry)
Clifford may only have been around for Kerry at senior level since 2018, but he looks odds on to land a record third Footballer of the Year award this season, at just 26 years of age. We got a flavour this year of the type of damage Clifford would have done if he was about in the noughties, with the three-up rule making him almost unmarkable.
He hit nine points from play in the All-Ireland Final win over Donegal from seven shots – three two pointers and three singles.
Clifford commands so much attention, that even when he’s not firing he opens up space for others. He’s like a Gooch skills wise, only with awesome physical power, serious pace, height and a longer shot.
The Fossa man now had two All-Ireland senior titles, having famously burst onto the scene with a 4-4 from play haul in the 2017 minor decider win over Derry.
He went straight into the Kerry senior side, and it is no exaggeration to say he is already one of the all time greats. If he stays injury free Clifford looks set to add at least two or three more All-Irelands to his CV, with the new rules appearing to suit himself and Kerry down to the ground.
Other outstanding full forwards of the era included Kieran Donaghy, Padraic Joyce, Ronan Clarke and Andy Moran.
Peter Canavan (Tyrone)
We debated this one long and hard as a lot of Canavan’s best football was played in the 1990s, but he was so good and so important to Tyrone’s emergence as a football powerhouse that despite retiring in 2005 he had to make the team. It was a very tight call between Canavan and Con O’Callaghan, Dublin’s current captain and outstanding forward.
O’Callaghan has an edge in what he can do around the field in terms of tackling, tacking, catching kickouts and in physical power. But Canavan’s smarts around the goal, cool finishing and range of shooting was as good as almost anyone.
Before Tyrone’s 2003 All-Ireland victory many regarded Canavan as the greatest player – certainly modern day player – not to have won a Celtic Cross.
He was captain in 2003, starting the final despite a serious injury, coming off at half time and coming on with 10 minutes to guide his side to the promised land. Earlier in the campaign he dragged Tyrone to a draw from nine points behind in their Ulster Final tie with Down.
In 2005, Canavan was often used as an impact sub, but struck the famous winning free to end the three-game saga with Armagh, and rolled in the vital goal in Tyrone’s All-Ireland final win over Kerry.
The 2003 Footballer of the Year is Ulster’s record All Star winner with six.
Other superb corner forwards of the era included Tipperary’s double All Star Declan Browne, Wexford’s prolific Matty Forde and Monaghan dead eye Conor McManus – and that’s only for starters.
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