Ger Brennan is a manager on the rise and it could bring him all the way back to Dublin

Extra.ie​

08-05-2025

There will come a time, and it could be sooner than later, when Ger Brennan's name is central to the discussion of who becomes the next Dublin manager.
Dessie Farrell is in year six of a reign that has eked two All-Ireland titles from the remnants of a legendary group.
Their Leinster semi-final loss to Meath showed that reliance on what's left of the old masters to compensate for inexperience and gaps in quality elsewhere won't work any longer. Ger Brennan. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
It means the long-mooted restoration work on the Dublin footballers will have to become more intensive.
That's a process Farrell may well undertake while trying to guide his team through the Group of Death in the All-Ireland series.
But it also raises questions about what comes next, and whether he will decide that six seasons is enough in charge of the most scrutinised team in Gaelic Games.
When the vacancy arises, be that this winter or the next one, Brennan's name will top the list of contenders.
He is a charismatic figure, a teak-tough defender who won an All-Ireland as part of the Pat Gilroy breakthrough in 2011, as well as leading his club St Vincent's to club glory.
Brennan is an independent thinker, too, true to his beliefs and also a coach and communicator good enough to step into the Louth breach after Mickey Harte left to take charge of Derry two seasons ago. Ger Brennan. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
It was a daunting place to take, but Brennan has been outstanding. He consolidated their place in Division 2 last year and did the same this spring. It was in last year's Championship that he won the hearts of Louth fans, though.
They ran Dublin to four points in the Leinster final, before an All-Ireland group stage odyssey that saw the county finish second in a group topped by Kerry, with Monaghan third and Meath bottom and out.
They recorded a famous win over the Royals in Inniskeen that was Louth's first Championship victory over their great rivals in 49 years, before drawing with Monaghan in Clones.
They followed all that with a one-point win over Cork in a preliminary quarter-final, with Donegal eventually ending their remarkable summer in the last eight.
The run showed the quality of player available after years of underage nurturing; it illustrated the work done by Harte in his vibrant spell, but it was also clear proof of how good Brennan is. It helps that he gets the importance of a local rivalry.
'Between my time in Louth this year and last year, what I have come to appreciate is that there is a very healthy hatred between Meath and Louth, similar to what it was with Dublin (and Meath) in the '90s and that four-in-a-row back then,' he says. Ger Brennan. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
'It has kind of softened over the last five years with Dublin dominance. Now there is a real kind of healthy hatred between both counties (Louth and Meath), so it is something I am feeding off myself, and I am enjoying.'
Brennan is a confident figure, a meticulous coach who built up a bank of knowledge at club level, managing Bray Emmets in Wicklow and then Moorefield in Kildare, while also being part of the Carlow set-up under Niall Carew.
His extensive playing experience at the highest level is significant, too, as he alludes to when discussing Louth's win over Meath last summer, a result they followed up in the Allianz League in March.
'Getting results against teams that you hadn't beaten for decades,' he starts, before recalling how Dublin did it. Even back to my own playing time with Dublin, (we beat) Kerry in the National League down in Fitzgerald Stadium in 2009, and then we beat them two years later in the All-Ireland final.
'So it probably does help when you break the hoodoo. I think going into this game, it will be fairly evenly matched. Both groups of players know each other quite well.'
He speaks about Meath's unexpected win against his native county with notable detachment. His views are all the more intriguing given that he could possibly be managing the Dublin transition in the future. Ger Brennan. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
'I think we'd all agree that the gap has closed between the chasing pack in Leinster. That outrageous talent that began to come through as I was finishing up, are those same fellas coming through?
'They're not, and the gap has closed. To be fair to Robbie Brennan, the way he got the lads playing against Dublin the last day, they were worthy winners'.
Brennan is impressed by the extensive spread of good facilities at club level in Louth. That points up a growing issue in Dublin: the space for clubs to emerge or expand in a city where land is scarce and expensive.
'The facilities of Louth clubs are far superior to the facilities of Dublin clubs, by a huge amount,' he says.
'You only have to look at the bit of messing between Ballinteer St John's and Kilmacud Crokes,' he says, referencing the battle between two clubs on the south side of the capital for 15 acres.
'In rural counties, there is obviously a bit more space and then with the generosity of local land-owners, a lot of clubs can put more of their funds raised into the infrastructure.'
It's in actual playing numbers that Dublin enjoys an inevitable advantage, he says, but for this summer at least, Dublin's advantages are not up for discussion in Leinster final week.
They won't be long out of the headlines, though – and nor, one suspects, will Brennan, a once and future hero of the Hill.