By Cian O'Connell

Since 2011 Dublin have won nine All-Ireland SFC titles; Brian Fenton has been an influential figure in seven of those triumphs.

For a myriad of reasons Sunday's success over Kerry at Croke Park ranks highest on the list according to the gifted Raheny midfielder.

"Anyone I’ve spoken to, I’ve just kind of summarised it as the sweetest of them all, for a number of reasons," Fenton says.

"The way we’ve performed over the last few years was disappointing all round. Got relegated from the league, disappointing results at the end of championships in ’21 and ’22, a lot of people writing us off, etc, etc.

"So, genuinely, it just helps to build the motivation and, look, we were massively helped this year by the return of the lads, the likes of Jack (McCaffrey) and (Paul) Mannion.

"It genuinely feels - I’m lucky enough to say I’ve seven All-Irelands now and it is the best, the sweetest of them all, without doubt."

The start of Fenton's senior inter-county career was during a spell of sheer Dublin dominance. Losing two All-Ireland SFC Semi-Finals hurt, but was that a demanding spell?

“Not difficult, you kind of have to remind yourself how lucky you were, and how fortunate I was personally to experience those days," Fenton responds.

"Again, it never sits well; when you’re used to winning and used to performing to a certain standard, and when you don’t hit that standard - even personally, my own performances over the last few years, it grinds at you a little bit. Just gets in on you, and you’re kind of questioning yourself a little bit.

"People say, ‘Aw, you’ve six’ or you’ve this and that and All-Stars - to be honest, you don’t give a fiddlers about that really. Because there always seems to be someone trying to drag you down. ‘He’s not what he was’ or ‘There not what they were’ – that kind of thing.

"So, as much as we try and keep it out, it filters into the squad. And genuinely for me, I know players get motivated in different ways, but for me personally I like to kind of prove people wrong a little bit as well.”

That Dessie Farrell was in charge added to Fenton's happiness. "Yeah, 100 per cent - he was like the front face of all our troubles, all our woes," Fenton says.

"Like the Covid breach, the training breach, the bad performances, the relegation, people pushing for him to step aside. Look, you’re always going to get that bit of ‘poisoned chalice’, as I’m sure you probably wrote about back in the day when he came in after Jim (Gavin).

“But I’m so happy for Dessie. And I would probably know Dessie as personally as anyone, at this stage, from U-21s. And genuinely, I’m looking at him in the dressing-room there, and you say you do it for a couple of things – you do it for yourself and your family, etc, but the likes of James McCarthy and Dessie now are huge motivators for me.”

Responding following the setbacks in 2021 and 2022 when losing to Mayo and Kerry was important too according to Fenton. “You review that naturally, the stuff that you can review and take learnings from, Jesus, it would haunt you," Fenton remarks.

"The simple mistakes that we make. Like, letting them come down the field and earn soft frees, and obviously Seán O’Shea. But that stuff genuinely haunts you. Mayo the same.

The extra-time two years ago, Rob Hennelly’s free, I genuinely get flashbacks of Diarmuid O’Connor winning that ball out in the endline. I don’t know if you remember it, but I was kind of ushering it out and Diarmuid kept it in.

“Genuinely, images like that haunt you. So, to get back and get up to the top of the hill this year, is extra sweet.”