It was the year that Mickey Harte finally landed his dream job, Dublin won six in a row, and Donald Trump lost the presidency.
Trump s America is ending as it began. A sociopath, after all, cannot change his sociospots. Last week, his favourite lawyer, Lin Wood, claimed that the US Supreme Court s Chief Justice John Roberts was a murderer and paedophile. He also tweeted that Jeffrey Epstein is alive! Interestingly, Elvis said exactly the same thing to me when I bumped into him outside Tesco on the Lisburn Road on Friday.
On Wednesday, Trump attacked Georgia s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensberger, tweeting that Brad s brother Ron works for China. So disgusting! When it was pointed out to him that Brad does not have a brother called Ron and he has never been in China, Trump called it fake news . Wouldn t it be nice to be standing behind Trump as a high-dropping ball came into the crowded square?
The year after Hogan retired, Kilkenny completed another All-Ireland back-to-back.
It meant an 11th title as manager for Brian Cody, and his eighth alone from the previous 10.
The average age of his starting team in 2015 was just over 26 - younger than the Dublin football team that completed an historic six-in-a-row last Saturday.
You could have made a cogent argument, back then, that Kilkenny were set to reign on . . . yet they have failed to land another All-Ireland.
What the history of the last five years has underlined is that even a manager as renowned as Cody cannot do it all alone. Hogan was one of six players to retire in the months that followed that 2014 success; they included Tommy Walsh, JJ Delaney and Henry Shefflin.
The inter-county football season has come to an end with the familiar feeling of recent years as Sam Maguire will reside in the capital till next summer at least.
Look into the West and it’s an equally familiar feeling for Mayo’s players and supporters who face going to the well for another year to try and break what has now ticked over to a 70-year hoodoo.
Yet, while the margin of defeat may have been greater than last time out three years ago, David Brady feels that his former side are well placed to build something on what was achieved this season with this being potentially a start rather than an end of an era as 2017 proved.
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Ruthless Dublin always find a way to win and end any dreams of a 2020 sporting breakthrough
Mayo had drawn level in the 50th minute but Dublin were not to be stopped. By Fintan O Toole Sunday 20 Dec 2020, 10:38 AM Dec 20th 2020, 10:38 AM 6,291 Views 17 Comments
Image: James Crombie/INPHO
Image: James Crombie/INPHO
THIS TIME there was no wild outbreaks of joy, a communal celebration in front of a packed Hill 16, like they did back in 2011 when this run of domination began or in 2019 when they achieved the immortal feat of five-in-a-row.
Post match in Croke Park was a private affair for the Dublin footballers last night, a new experience for a team so accustomed to success. They looked around at the empty stands and terraces, watched as the new man that has guided them in 2020 got his hands on Sam Maguire a quarter of a
RTÉ Sport Reporter
James Horan was businesslike and matter-of-fact after Mayo s latest All-Ireland final defeat, their fifth in the last nine years.
Saturday s All-Ireland decider offered far less ceremonial glitter than we re used to, with the Dublin players gamboling around an empty Croke Park in what was ultimately a private party.
For Mayo, with no fans around the place, conspicuous displays of heartbreak were in short supply. Horan was never too free with his emotions after previous final defeats and he wasn t about to let it all out in an empty stadium.
As expected, the Mayo boss was inclined to hone in on the nitty-gritty, citing an inability to mind the ball at times, along with the relatively slight impact of the subs bench as reasons behind the loss.