The Kingdom Reigns on

At half-time in the All-Ireland final, the overwhelming majority of people in my vicinity felt that the match was already won by Kerry and irretrievably lost as a spectacle; that Dublin could not possibly make a game of it, much less threaten Kerry's clear superiority.

What happened in the second half saved the match from inclusion in the permanent annals of dull and oneesided finals. For not only did Dublin threaten Kerry, they were given two chances of drawing, if not actually winning, the match. Their supporters were also left with the memory of the penalty that might have been and some frees which were not awarded, all at crucial stages of that half, to salve the sting of defeat.

The story of what was said in the Dublin dressing-room, at half-time, will undoubtedly be told some day: already we have heard rumours of much strong language being used conncerning changes and substitutions not made in the first half. What we do know is that Dublin came out transsformed and seemingly refreshed. The welcome they received from their everrloyal supporters on the Hill, even beefore the transformation was realised, must have been a consolation to them, for rarely has the Hill on All-Ireland day been as muted as it was throughhout that first half.

Dublin tore into Kerry and on two occasions came within a point of drawing level. For a team that could only manage two points in the first thirtyyfive minutes - one from a free in the second minute and one from play in the twenty-ninth - this was bordering on the miraculous.

Memories of Seamus Darby's goal in the 1982 final, that robbed them of five All-Ireland victories in a row ønot to mention that golden page in GAA history - must have been very vivid in the minds of the Kerry players when Barney Rock pointed a free in the thirty-first minute. Bad jokes about washing machines, mangles and cleaners raced through the minds of the malicious. But Kerry were not to concede another score.

Coolly, and ever so skillfully, they played their best football and scored three points in two minutes. The mannner in which these vital scores were worked, the close passing and the running of players into an open space, proved beyond all possible doubt that this Kerry team has brought real proofessionalism to a game still riddled with imperfections. When played like this it is hard to equal as a spectacle.

It was this strange combination of events that made this year's victory over Dublin the sweetest of the five that Kerry have now chalked up against them, since 1975. Nobody savoured it more than Mick O'Dwyer. His tactics worked, his substitution bore all the marks of calculation, his players had that extra edge in fitness when the final surge was called for and they played the better football all through.

In so far as the match could be seen as a contest between Ireland's two top managers, its result was a clear-cut vicctory for Mick O'Dwyer over Kevin Heffernan. Small wonder that he allowed his mind to be changed about any possibility of retiring, for at least a year, during the emotional trainnjourney back to the Kingdom on Monday night. After all, the Sam Maguire Cup is to be retired to the museum next year and replaced by a replica. Kerrymen would regard any part of their native county as a suittable site for that museum.

Earlier on Monday, in the Burlinggton Hotel, Paidi 0 Se carried the cup across the threshold and joined Brian Mullins for a drink in the bar. One Dublin supporter, who was curing a very visible hangover, surveyed the scene and said to an almost cured commpanion.

"Do you know what I'm going to tell you? If Heffo was Taoiseach there would be calls for his resignation today." ~

His companion responded by be- ~ moaning most obscenely his loss of 0 over three hundred pounds. They were is both looking across at where Brian ~ Mullins was giving a good impression ~ of affability. His departure from the .~ fray, seventeen minutes before the ~ game's end, reminded me of a day in the fifties when the great Paddy O'Brien of Meath took himself off the field and brought an era to an end.

Any serious analysis of what was a most curious game, must question the wisdom of leaving Brian Mullins so long in mid-field, of switching him to the forwards in the second half, or indeed of allowing an obviously unfit player to take his place at all. All through this season, and particuularly in the replayed semi-final against Mayo, the seeds of Mullins' decline could be seen to sprout. On his own admission, in an interview with Paddy Downey, he admitted that he was "knackered" during the final ten minutes against Mayo.

Then there were rumours of a backkinjury which later turned out to be a broken rib. The Dublin rum ourrmachine is notorious, and not until Kerry scored their first point did it become apparent that the Kerry camp, at least, took the Mullins Factor very seriously indeed.

The tactic, which was used more than half a dozen times during the first half, can be summarised: high ball into Eoin Liston, Jack O'Shea runs into open space at speed, collects Liston pass and scores. It worked, and it worked because Brian Mullins was unable to cover as he once did so effectively.

At the best of times, even after a victory, the Dublin officials are not the most forthcoming in the business. Kevin Heffernan was in no mood to answer questions after the match, so at the time of writing it is still unclear whether it was the captain who connvinced the manager that he was fit to play, or the other way around.

The arguments for taking a chance with an injured player in an All-Ireland final would be necessarily feeble. Howwever, it must be said that even a Brian Mullins playing far from the top of his form, was still making very good use of limited possession. That was clearly seen in the two games against Mayo, as well as in the Leinster final.

But after ten minutes of the AlllIreland, when Jack O'Shea converted the penalty, it was clear to most people that Mullins, no matter how hard he willed himself, was lost in the middle of the field. It was at this stage that Heffernan should have made either a switch or a substitution. Like Cyril Farrell, in the hurling final, he hesitated and lost.

It is worth considering those refereeeing decisions that denied Dublin a penalty and at least one vital free. Inndeed, it is worth devoting some space to the referees in both senior and minor finals. There was one delicious moment towards the end of the teleevision phone-in on the R TE Sports programme on All-Ireland night. AI ~i~wer, who clearly requires an immediate sight-test, phoned to conngratulate the referees. Enda Colleran and Eamonn Creagan were caught by the camera, staring at each other in sheer disbelief.

The referee in the minor match may be excused for some of his strange decisions by the fact that he comes from Antrim. Ulster referees are a breed apart and seem to ignore certain rules while being obsessed by others.

The main objection to Pat Kavaanagh's refereeing of the senior match is quite simple: he neither kept close enough to the play nor made the slighhtest attempt to consult his linesmen and umpires when they might have been of some assistance. Why these gentlemen made no serious attempt to communicate with the referee is anoother day's work, but they did not.

Jack 0 'Shea seemed to have said to the Evening Herald, after the match, that he did touch the ball on the ground in the square. But what appears in the Herald seems to be in the class of what the girl said to the soldier - clearly not evidence - and in Tuesday's papers he denied having touched the ball on the ground.

We must take his word for it, and the umpire at that side of the Railway goal did not move a visible muscle. However, in so far as the camera is a witness, the television showed the ball being touched on the ground.

The other incident happened right in front of the press box and there is not a shadow of a doubt about it. It happened in the thirty-fourth minute of the second half and Dublin were a point behind. Tom Spillane, playing brilliantly out of defence, had the ball knocked away from him near the middle of the field.

As it lay near him he spotted his brother Pat running in and he played the ball off the ground, into Pat's path, with his hand. Pat, whose marker Dave Synnott (closer to him during the course of the match than even his green and gold jersey) was out of steam at that stage, ran to within forty yards of the posts and scored a very important point.

It is only fair to say that the GAA have just announced a new scheme for supervising referees and assessing their skill and competence. The president, Dr Mick Loftus, an excellent referee in his day, is concerned about the stanndard of refereeing and the lack of uniformity in interpreting the rules. Both finals this year showed that such a move is overdue, but we must wait and see for at least a year.

Lest this be taken as a reflection on Kerry's victory, I must say that at no stage of Dublin's dramatic recovery did I foresee anything but a Kerry win. Had Dublin's goals come earlier in the second half my confidence might have been shaken; as it was I sensed that Dublin had left too much leeway to make up in the second half and burned themselves out while making up for their incredible lassitude during the first.

The RTE Man of the Match award went to Tom Spillane. Had Dublin pulled off the first miracle of this year of apparitions and rock around the statues, there is no doubt but that Noel McCaffrey would have been the winner. Personally, I would have found great difficulty in deciding beetween Jack O'Shea and Eoin Liston. It is easy to forget their contribution in the first half in the haze of exciteement created by the last twenty minutes.

Only Sean Walsh - and on one occasion, Pat Spillane - were guilty of serious lapses, if one puts out of his mind (as I am sure the perpetrator will endeavour to do) Ogie Moran's wide shot at an open goal, when a goal would have deprived us of all the later excitement.

Kerry is celebrating its twentyyninth All-Ireland. Already there is talk of trying for another "Three in a Row". Suddenly, much too suddenly, there is no talk at all of retirement. It is quite possible that only Mike Sheehy and Ger Power may decide to step down after an interval of celebrations.

Next year, I heard one knowledgeeable man announce on Monday night, the All-Ireland semi-final will be played between Kerry and Cork and the All-Ireland final between Kerry and Dublin. The Connacht and Ulster winners, who will face each other in what will be billed as an All-Ireland semi-final, may have plans for uppsetting that cozy scenario. They have the best part of a year to work it all out. Dublin have the makings of another very good team, and for the younger members the experience gained in the final will be worth months of training.

Cork see themselves as the team of the near future in Munster. Kerry may be a team of ageing tigers, in the main, but they now have one tremendous asset: they have won everything and have nothing at all to lose by resting through the winter and tearing into the championship in May ... for the last time, of course. The next one will be for Mick O'Dwyer, as a going-away present, just as this year's was really in aid of the further decoration of Paidi 0 Se's new pub.

It is all in my eye and Biddy Moriarity, but isn't it great fun? As the late Donal Foley often said, "If the GAA had not been founded, what the hell would we have to talk about between May and September?"

Kerry's contribution, to the talk as well as to the play, has been considerrable. This year may have beenthe year of knock around the statues; in Kerry it will be remembered as the Year of the Washing Machine ... and of course, the twenty-ninth visit of the Sam Maguire.