It was billed as a battle between fellow Dublin All-Stars Ciarán Kilkenny and Diarmuid Connolly but in the end a Mayo man tipped the balance in Saturday’s county final.
For the second time in 24 hours, Kilkenny lost out to a Westerner. Following on from Lee Keegan trumping the Castleknock star and Brian Fenton to Footballer of the Year, another Mayo panel member stole the show in Dublin SFC decider.
A sun-drenched Parnell Park was the venue for the clash of behemoth St Vincent’s and first-time finalists Castleknock. In the end the Marino club claimed their 28th title, winning 0-15 to 0-10, thanks in part to four points from Mayo inter-county star Enda Varley.
After his starring role in the semi-final Vincent’s captain Connolly was a more peripheral figure in the decider, with one of his newest team-mates picking up the scoring slack.
A teacher in Dublin for several years, Varley only transferred from his home club Garrymore in March and has been rewarded with a county medal at his first attempt.
“It is my first year,” he told Oisín Langan on Dublin GAA’s Mixlr page. “I was delighted to just get on the team. I set myself small goals. It is a great feeling to win a county championship.”
With four points from play, Varley’s performance certainly caught the eye.
https://twitter.com/Woolberto/status/794940026727596032
Man of the match performance from Enda Varley in the Dublin club final #MOTM pic.twitter.com/MOMyWLr4e8
— Shane P (@aboluteshambles) November 5, 2016
Well done to former @MayoGAA star @EndaVarley on winning the @DubGAAOfficial County title today with @StVincentsGAA1 @Garrymoregaa 👏
— John Brennan (@jbrennan713) November 5, 2016
Congrats @EndaVarley 1st County title with @StVincentsGAA1 👌
— javarley (@JarlathVarley) November 5, 2016
St Vincent’s will face Carlow champions Palatine next Sunday in the AIB Leinster club football championship.
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