Christ alive.
And just like that, Dublin have new leaders. Somewhere along the way, Jim Gavin has bled a new breed and he’s harnessed legends in waiting.
Paul Flynn, Bernard Brogan, Diarmuid Connolly and the like will always have their places in the heart of Hill 16 and they will always have their roles on this current panel too if they want but the most impressive thing about the All-Ireland champions is how they constantly regenerate.
Brian Fenton has only been in for the last three years but he has three All-Ireland titles and he’s established himself as a leader.
Jonny Cooper and Philly McMahon are the generals, the dogs even, keeping everyone in order whilst James McCarthy and Ciarán Kilkenny have pushed on to levels that gives others no choice but to follow them.
Through it all, Stephen Cluxton remains – as influential and as instrumental as ever.
It means Dublin can go into a championship game now without some of them best players in Ireland and they still boast the best team in Ireland with some of the toughest characters. Think of the lads they’ve lost in the last few years or even just the personnel that isn’t starting for them on Sunday in Laois against Wicklow.
Rory O’Carroll, Cian O’Sullivan, Jack McCaffrey, Denis Bastick, Diarmuid Connolly, Alan and Bernard Brogan, Kevin McManamon, Paul Flynn. It’s scary that a team can survive without those guys and still look as menacing or a squad can offload some of them and win even more convincingly.
The champions get back on the road for the summer this weekend and they’re not taking Wicklow lightly.
Here is the Dublin Senior Football team named to start against @wicklowgaa tomorrow in the @gaaleinster SFC Quarter-Final! ⚡️💥#UpTheDubs pic.twitter.com/n4ohposaGO
— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) May 26, 2018
Brian Howard makes his championship debut for the county senior side at number 12 and, although Jack McCaffrey returned for Clontarf at the weekend and is fighting fit again, Eric Lowndes and John Small retain their places in the named 15.
Last year, 11 of the 15 players who started the first day against Carlow then started in the All-Ireland final so Jim Gavin puts stock in these games.
The handicap for Wicklow in bookies tells you the distance between the Division One champions and the Division Four outfit but John Evans maintains that they’re going to give it a lash and go man for man.
1. Mark Jackson
2. Ciarain Hyland
3. Ross O Brien
4. Eoin Murtagh
5. John Crowe
6. Dean Healy
7. Saoirse Kearon
8. Rory Finn
9. James Stafford
10. Darren Hayden
11. Kevin Murphy
12. Theo Smyth
13. Mark Kenny
14. Seanie Furlong (c)
15. John McGrath
