Seán O’Shea’s iconic winner for Kerry in Sunday’s All-Ireland final draws to mind similarly mammoth efforts from dead balls from over the years that are etched in football history.
We’ve singled out five of them from the last few decades - four of which involve Kerry and Dublin.
Éamonn McEneaney, Monaghan v Kerry, 1985 All-Ireland semi-final
Monaghan may have been reigning National League champions but their chances of upsetting Kerry in the 1985 All-Ireland semi-final weren’t rated particularly highly.
Ulster football was largely in a slump at the time and Kerry hadn’t been unduly troubled by a northern team since Down had beaten them in the All-Ireland final 17 years earlier. Indeed, they had 22 points to spare in Monaghan when they previously appeared in a semi-final in 1979.
But with time almost up, Kerry led by a point when Monaghan won a free outside the 45 and away to the Hogan Stand side of the field. Éamonn McEneaney, future Monaghan and Louth manager, made light of the distance and beautifully stroked the ball over Charlie Nelligan’s crossbar into the Canal End to secure a draw.
Kerry won the replay by six points and it remains the closest Monaghan have come to an All-Ireland final since 1930.
Derek Duggan, Roscommon v Mayo, 1991 Connacht final
Liam McHale looked to have hit the winning point for Mayo in the last minute of normal time in Castlebar only for them to concede a free from Gay Sheerin’s subsequent kickout.
Up stepped the emerging star of Roscommon football, Derek Duggan, though, much like O’Shea’s effort against Dublin, the distance seemed prohibitive.
Not a bit of it. Duggan boomed the ball between the posts from near halfway for his sixth point of the day to secure a 0-14 each draw.
He hit 0-8 in the replay back at Hyde Park as Roscommon retained the title on a 0-13 to 1-9 scoreline.
Maurice Fitzgerald, Kerry v Dublin, 2001 All-Ireland quarter-final
All of Dublin and Kerry’s previous Championship meetings had been in All-Ireland semi-finals or finals but in the first year that quarter-finals were added in 2001, they clashed at that juncture in two memorable ties in Thurles.
Kerry were All-Ireland champions and appeared to be comfortably dealing with Dublin’s challenge before they were rocked by Vinnie Murphy and Darren Homan goals and found themselves trailing with time almost up.
But Maurice Fitzgerald, by now operating in an impact sub role for Kerry, arced over one of the most celebrated scores in GAA history from a sideline ball to secure a replay for his side, which they won by three points.
Stephen Cluxton, Dublin v Kerry, 2011 All-Ireland final
This one doesn’t quite compete with the others for difficulty and distance and, indeed, for a kicker of Cluxton’s ability, was relatively routine with it being on the right-hand side for a left-footed kicker.
But with all that was at stake as Dublin chased a first All-Ireland in 16 years and a first victory over Kerry since 1977, along with the oddity of a goalkeeper being entrusted with kicking the winning score, it demands inclusion, particularly given how it juxtaposes with O’Shea’s kick, which may now usher in a new era in this rivalry.
The free came about after Barry John Keane was adjudged to have fouled Kevin McManamon, whose goal minutes earlier had reignited Dublin’s challenge. From around 45 metres, Cluxton made no mistake to win the All-Ireland.
Dean Rock, Dublin v Mayo, 2017 All-Ireland final
Again, for a kicker of Rock’s talent, it wasn’t the most testing but the stakes were incredibly high as he stood over a free, won by Diarmuid Connolly after a challenge by Chris Barrett, with the allotted six minutes of injury time just up and the sides tied at 1-16 each.
It was probably the most absorbing of all the Dublin-Mayo clashes from 2012 on, with Mayo arguably the better side for the most part of a bruising encounter that had seen John Small and Donal Vaughan dismissed.
From more than 40 metres out on the angle, Rock stroked it between the posts to secure the three-in-a-row for Dublin, the first time it had been done since Kerry in 1986.
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