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Alexander the Great was reputed to have cried when he realised his army had no more worlds to conquer. By the time of his death at the age of 32, the Macedonian king was head of the largest empire the world had seen. The Dublin footballers are unlikely to have shed the same tears September before last when they broke through the barrier to claim the GAA s first All-Ireland inter-county senior men s five-in-a-row, masters of all they surveyed at that point. Because for some, on a personal level, there are still other worlds to conquer. On Saturday, seven Dublin players will bid to write themselves into the record book as joint-holders of the most All-Ireland senior football medals. ....
Stephen Cluxton has no more records to break. Having become the first hurler or footballer to make 100 appearances last summer, Cluxton is set to play his 111th championship game for Dublin in next Saturday’s All-Ireland final. He has rewritten the goalkeeping manual, turning the position into one of the most significant on the field, as the precision of his restarts has effectively transformed him into a GAA version of an American Football quarterback. Others have tried to copy his approach – but, so far, none have surpassed him. He has kept a remarkable 63 clean sheets and is one game away from completing a first-ever championship season without conceding a goal. ....
In Dublin s last two matches alone, their marauding wing-back has teed up a point-blank goal for Seán Bugler against Meath; and then, against Cavan, he has pounced on defensive dithering to create another (unconverted) goal chance for Niall Scully, scored a point in either half and ghosted into attack for his team s only goal. On a day of peak Brian Fenton, RTÉ named Dublin s No 7 as their man of the match. There is life after Jack McCaffrey, after all. Meet Robbie McDaid, Dublin s overnight sensation at the age of 27. Robbie who? the naysayers were asking a few months ago. Now they are just as likely to utter: Jack who? ....
In some ways, Stephen Coen is to the manor born when it comes to All-Ireland finals. Along with the likes of Diarmuid O’Connor, Conor Loftus and Michael Plunkett, their formative football years would fly in the face of the Garden variety Mayo football experience and be based on All-Ireland final wins. That group were minor All-Ireland champions in 2013 after seeing off a Tyrone team powered by Conor McKenna and Cathal McShane. They repeated the dose three years later beating Sean Powter’s Cork in the U21 decider. Coen was captain for both successes, and James Horan there thought enough of him to bring him straight into the senior squad when he was just out of minor. ....