‘Tough old year' ends sweetly for Kerry manager Jack O'Connor

Irish Times

6 days ago

At the end of a tough old year, the last word goes to
Jack O'Connor
. And if it is to be his last act as Kerry manager, as he intimated afterwards, it will be a sweet way to go. The sweetest.
O'Connor entered the press conference room with the easy gait of a man released from the pressure of a difficult year in the trenches. He might be done with all of that stuff now.
'Well, all I know is I was going out the door Thursday evening with the bag and my missus took a picture of me going out the gate,' said O'Connor when asked if he will be returning to the Kerry sideline in 2026. His latest term is now up.
'I have a fair idea now that will be up on the wall as my last hurrah, I'd say now she'll be framing that one.
READ MORE
'I think I was on record earlier in the year there that it would probably be my last hurrah, do you know.'
This is O'Connor's fifth All-Ireland senior football triumph as Kerry manager; his first was achieved 21 years ago. His place in the pantheon of GAA managers was never in doubt but this success elevates all that has been achieved before. The renaissance man.
He freshened up his back room team over the winter; the return of Cian O'Neill was seen as a big coup and so it proved as Kerry finish the season as National League, Munster and All-Ireland champions.
But it wasn't as smooth and polished a campaign as that array of silverware suggests. In the aftermath of their win over Armagh, O'Connor let loose in response to criticism of his team. He was measured and tranquil on Sunday evening. Not bullish, more relieved and reflective.
'It was a tough old year. I found this a tough year,' he exhaled. 'I was inside here a month ago and there was a lot of steam coming out of my ears. It wasn't faked or it wasn't put on, it was authentic because I felt that we were getting a lot of unfair stick and we were trying our butts off and have been from the start of the year. So, for us to finally get the reward is great.'
Kerry manager Jack O'Connor and his son Cian O'Connor celebrate at the final whistle. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
O'Connor's first Sam Maguire triumph at the helm was in 2004 with a team that included Liam Hassett, Tomás Ó Sé, Paul Galvin, Colm Cooper and Johnny Crowley.
He added to his collection in 2006, 2009, 2022 and now 2025. Three terms, five All-Irelands, spanning more than two decades: O'Connor's ability to evolve and mould new teams in different eras will surely define what, up to Sunday, had strangely been an occasionally underappreciated managerial record.
The fifth might well in time be regarded as his greatest achievement.
'They're all good because they're all hard-earned,' he replied, declining to take the bait.
'The first one here, 21 years ago, was a great one because it's the first one. The first one gives you credibility, do you know? I wouldn't have come back the second time or the third time unless I had won something previously.'
[
Jack O'Connor: 'Being involved in it so long now, I go off my instinct to know what is appropriate and what isn't'
Opens in new window
]
But there must be a deep sense of satisfaction in outwitting Jim McGuinness. This was an All-Ireland final played on Kerry's terms. They got their matchups spot on, they started the game on the front foot and they never relented until the final whistle.
Much of the prematch talk centred on how Kerry would avoid getting overwhelmed by Donegal's hard-running game but the Ulster champions were simply smothered at source.
Kerry manager Jack O'Connor commiserates with Donegal manager Jim McGuinness. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
Peadar Mogan and Finnbarr Roarty have been punching holes in opposition defences all year – but they hardly managed to get out of their own half in this final.
Like a magnet drawn to a fridge, Gavin White's supernatural ability to inhabit the space where it seemed every single breaking ball landed sucked away so much of Donegal's energy.
Kerry nullified Ciarán Moore; Shaun Patton's kick-outs were targeted. The Munster champions didn't just hammer the hammer, they nailed Donegal to the turf.
'I thought we worked the Donegal defenders and that in turn takes away a bit of their legs from going the other way,' added O'Connor.
And of course there was the influence of Paudie Clifford. The Fossa man had 76 possessions during the game and, with Donegal opting not to man-mark the Kerry playmaker, he essentially had the run of Croke Park.
It was a high-risk tactic by Donegal, who remained committed to their zonal defensive system; all the while, Clifford was able to pick passes and create chances at times from a walking pace.
Kerry manager Jack O'Connor reacts to Joe O'Connor's late goal at Croke Park. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
Before Jarlath Burns handed over the Sam Maguire to Gavin White, the GAA president lavished praise upon O'Connor – suggesting his achievements in leading Kerry to yet another All-Ireland now put him in the same bracket as the late Mick O'Dwyer.
'Sure the rest of us are only trotting after Micko,' said O'Connor later. 'He has created a great history and tradition in Kerry and the rest of us are only trotting after.
'Bit sentimental for me because I brought the cup to him and to his house in 2022 and we had a nice half-hour chat there, and there was a nice photo taken, so I treasure that because he was an idol of mine. As I say, he's created the history and the rest of us are only trotting after him.'
All future Kerry managers will now be trotting after O'Connor too. He's played his part in the proud story of Kerry football. And so it was no harm before he trotted out of the press conference room that he was able to land a little dig at the noisy neighbours, too.
'Our mantra at half-time was we weren't going to collapse like we saw with the Cork hurlers maybe last week.'
Ouch.
And with that he was gone, five All-Ireland titles and all the doubters silenced.
Not a bad way for a tough old year to end.