Paudie Clifford teases David over childhood nickname during hilarious RTE interview after All-Ireland heroics

The Irish Sun

28-07-2025

PAUDIE Clifford may have to look up to make eye contact with David but he very much lives up to the older brother stereotype.
The older Clifford is the more verbose of the two and drove most of their post-match interview
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Paudie, 28, did most of the talking while David, 26, was happy to play second fiddle
Credit: @TheSundayGame
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He had a whopping 76 possessions during Sunday's All-Ireland final win
Credit: @TheSundayGame
Some of the highlights included him noting that they were on the same teams growing up despite the age gap as their community of Fossa is so small that playing numbers were often tight.
The playmaker also joked about his 76 possessions over the course of
Harking back to the widely lauded Football Review Committee, he quipped: "Jim Gavin and Eamon Fitzmaurice probably didn't envision me soloing the ball on the spot about 100 times when they drew up the new rules!"
The best moment, however, was a classic case of a big brother slagging his younger sibling.
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Asked if they'd always had an innate on-pitch chemistry, Paudie shot back: "The chemistry wasn't great now, we fought every day for about two years straight!
"Mom was just sick of us...Sick of dealing with David crying every two minutes. They actually used to call him watery eyes because he used to cry so much! So that was the chemistry now."
While Paudie was all smiles and in relaxed form by that stage of the day, the his immediate post-match interview
He vented: "I suppose as a team, we would feel disrespected because we were in three of the last four All-Irelands and we've won two of them now.
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"And to be called a one-man team when I see myself some of the work that our lads put in…
'Like, Joe O'Connor, the turnovers, winning balls, scoring, Jason Foley, Brian Ó Beaglaioch, Gavin White – I'm only naming a few. I see the work that they put in every day.
Cork hurlers catch strays during Jack O'Connor's triumphant RTE interview after Kerry outclass Donegal
'To be called a one-man team then, it's nearly like it's disrespectful. It's kind of personal. I suppose that's the angle we were coming from.
'We were close against Armagh last year and we'd be our own worst critics as well. We admitted that we've under-performed definitely as a team over some of the years.
'But I suppose with the work we put in and the players we have there, for them things to be said, it's not nice to hear it."
Still, with David on course to be named Footballer of the Year for the third time in four seasons, Clifford recognises greatness when he sees it.
He said: "Obviously he's a top, top player and one of the greatest players ever. I suppose the new rules have probably given him a new lease of life. But he's had an unbelievable year. Delighted for him."
MEATH MELTDOWN
Kerry's response was impressive after their status as All-Ireland contenders took a battering when they suffered a nine-point defeat to Meath in the group stages.
Paudie, who missed that game through injury, said: "I suppose there's a worry that you wouldn't be battle-tested. Usually that's the kind of talk about us.
'But we were definitely-battle tested and we had a lot of injuries. Losing to Meath probably ended up being the best thing that ever happened to us.
'Obviously with the new rules, we had basically the same kickout strategy, we had basically the same, say, defensive strategy since we won the league.
'Everyone was only figuring things out and fair play to the lads. After the Meath game, we kind of realised that structurally in a few areas, we probably weren't where we should be.
'Once we fixed that and once we saw Croke Park and started getting bodies back all the time, it led from there."
A fourth All-Star award could now be in store for Clifford, who has looked as good as ever since his half-time introduction in the quarter-final against Armagh.
The 28-year-old said: "Obviously I had a good league but I just couldn't get a hamstring injury right for a while. In the lead-up to the Armagh game, I just didn't feel great that week even.
'So I suppose I'm just delighted really that everything worked out for myself and us obviously. We put a lot of work into it all year so I'm just delighted that it worked out for us.'