Kerry SFC Final: Geaney stars in Dingle triumph

Kerry SFC Final

Dingle 2-13 Austin Stacks 1-12

By Paul Brennan at Austin Stack Park

Two late goals from Paul Geaney helped deliver the Kerry SFC title to Dingle to end a 77-year wait since the championship was last in the West Kerry town.

Having lost the 2024 final to Dr Crokes – and two others since 2012 – this was a sweet victory for a Dingle team and club that had been the bridesmaid too many times. And that it was Geaney – a bona fide hometown hero for his exploits with the county team as much as anything – who delivered the coup de grace will only embellish the legend of this win over time.

For Austin Stacks this was a tough defeat, having led from the second minute to the 52nd only to see it all snatched from them by Dingle’s resilience and Geaney’s lethal eye for goal.

Geaney’s Kerry team mate Tom O’Sullivan played his part too, sending in the two long balls that Geaney so brilliantly capitalised on, while the defender also scored two points in that devastating period when Dingle feasted on 1-4 without reply to go from 0-11 to 0-9 behind to take a five-point lead in the 56th minute.

Stacks then won and scored a goal from a penalty– Cian Purcell coolly slotting his spot kick past Gavin Curran after Colm Browne was taken down by the goalkeeper – but it was brief respite from a Stacks team on the rocks.

Another long ball in from Tom O’Sullivan was fed off to Paul Geaney by Ned Ryan and the three-time All-Ireland winner seldom passes up those chances for goal. He didn’t here.

When they reflect on it, Stacks – senior champions in 2022 and intermediate champions last year – will know their half time lead wasn’t enough having played the first half with a huge wind behind them.

Dylan Geaney opened the scoring for Dingle, but Armind Heinrich’s two-pointer in the second minute gave Stacks a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for 50 minutes.

Dingle’s Mark O’Connor received a black card in the third minute, and when he returned Stacks were 0-6 to 0-1 ahead, Paddy Lane, Ben Murphy and Joe O’Connor (two-pointer) doing the scoring.

It took until the 18th minute for Dingle to get their second score, from Conor Geaney, but another from him, and a fourth from Paul Geaney, left Dingle a manageable four adrift at the break, 0-8 to 0-4.

Stacks had the first point of the second half but Dingle remained composed, and as the game hit the 50-minute mark they were just one behind, 0-10 to 0-9. Then, Paul Geaney made this final his own.

Stacks rocked, Dingle the champions. More to come from them, and Geaney, in Munster and beyond.

Scorers for Dingle: P Geaney 2-2, C Geaney 0-4 (1 tpf, 1f), D Geaney 0-3 (1 tpf), T O’Sullivan 0-2, Brian O’Connor 0-1, T De Brún 0-1

Scorers for Austin Stacks: B Murphy 0-3, P Lane 0-3 (1f), C Purcell 1-0 (pen), A Heinrich 0-2 (tp), J O’Connor 0-2 (tp), J Kissane 0-1, G Horan 0-1 (f)

Dingle: Gavin H Curran; Padraig O’Connor, Aidan O’Connor, Tom O’Sullivan; Tom Leo O’Sullivan, Conor Flannery, Brian O’Connor; Billy O’Connor, Niall Geaney; Tadhg de Brún, Paul Geaney, Mark O’Connor; Conor Geaney, Matthew Flaherty, Dylan Geaney.

Subs: Darragh O’Sullivan for P Geaney (temp, 7-13), Ned Ryan for Billy O’Connor (51), Mikey Geaney for T De Brun (51), Cathal Bambury for C Geaney (57), Seán Óg Moran for T Leo O’Sullivan (58).

Austin Stacks: Michael Tansley, Colin Griffin, Joey Nagle, Niall Fitzmaurice, Eoghan Carroll, Armin Heinrich, Ronan Shanahan, Joe O’Connor, Ben Murphy, Michael O’Donnell, Conor Horan, Daniel Kirby, Paddy Lane, Cian Purcell, Jordan Kissane.

Subs: Jack O’Shea for E Carroll (ht), Dylan Casey for N Fitzmaurice (37), Greg Horan for C Horan (42), Ronan Carroll for J Kissane, Colm Browne for M O’Donnell, Jack Murphy for C Griffin (temp, 56-ft).

Referee: Sean Joy.