Staycity Aparthotels are supporting Dublin GAA in all four codes of the game for the upcoming All-Ireland Championships. Pictured is Dublin footballer Brian Fenton.
By Paul Keane
Brian Fenton always figured that if he could last 10 seasons in Dublin's midfield, it would be some achievement.
He's pretty much at that point now but with seven All-Ireland medals, six All-Stars and two Footballer of the Year awards tucked away, he isn't in much of a mood for reassessment or backing off.
Sure, he's 31, and closer to the end of his Dublin days than the beginning but his appetite for destruction in blue remains insatiable.
If he needed any reminder of how much he still loves it all, and how hungry he is for it all, it came last weekend when he was forced to watch Dublin's Leinster SFC quarter-final against Meath from his sitting room, the red card he picked up in the National League final ruling him out.
"It's mad, it was probably like a window into retirement in many ways," said Fenton at an event organised by Staycity Aparthotels who support Dublin GAA in all four codes.
"I was like, 'Jesus, this is what it's all about, I used to be out there!'
"But it is weird and you watch it in a very analytical way, it's like reviewing a match afterwards. You don't watch it to enjoy it, you watch it to analyse it and break it down tactically. You're watching how things are going for us and for your opponents, kick-outs, all that kind of stuff."
It wasn't Dublin at their vintage best but Fenton did witness a comprehensive win in the end, the 16-point triumph catapulting the Leinster and All-Ireland title holders through to a provincial semi-final against Offaly back at Croke Park on Sunday week.
It would be a big surprise if Fenton isn't brought straight back into the team, allowing him to pick up where he left off with strong spring form.
"I always said that when I started out I thought, 'wouldn't it be amazing to get 10 seasons?' so we are here now and you are kind of like, 'Jesus, that's done, what's next?'" said Fenton. "But it's still very much play away and see how I am getting on and if I am starting and if I am enjoying it, then it (playing for Dublin) will probably always be the first thing, the priority on my list."
Brian Fenton celebrates after helping Dublin to victory over Kerry in the All-Ireland Final of his debut championship season in 2015.
Sunday's game then was more of a brief reset than any sort of break that he'd like to get used to.
"No, definitely not, you are writing me off already," smiled Fenton.
Where to then from here, for Fenton and Dublin?
"From our point of view, it's just about who is up next," said the Raheny man. "It's Offaly and it's literally one game at a time. I know that's very cliched but for myself, personally, I'm looking to perform well having been suspended for the first game."
Losing the Division 1 final to Derry did underline just how difficult it is going to be for Dublin to retain the Sam Maguire Cup this year. Fenton agreed with that.
"They were very good last year, they're deadly now," he said of Derry. "You could tell from the league final that they have almost every box ticked in terms of their physicality, their fitness, their key players and players coming off the bench. They just seem to have everything that you would want in a team. Obviously with Mickey Harte there, they've had a great bounce from that as well. And they were at the top table last year.
"The two lads in midfield, Glass and Rogers, they're probably the best around, the best in the business realistically, the best partnership anyway that you could probably find in the game. They're formidable. They're a scary, scary outfit."
Conor Glass of Derry and Brian Fenton of Dublin during the 2024 Allianz Football League Division 1 Final match between Dublin and Derry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Fenton nodded cautiously towards Kerry too.
"The chat has quietened a lot on Kerry and I would take that dangerously," he said. "I think it's dangerous to downplay Kerry. They're an incredible team. Similarly Mayo, we can never seem to get away from Mayo as well. There are loads of good teams out there but Derry are right up there, of course."
Dublin beat Meath by 3-19 to 0-12 at the weekend and missing out was a frustration for Fenton who'd started all eight of their league games. But he acknowledged that it was down to a loss of composure which resulted in his red card dismissal during the epic league final.
"On the day, it was just out of frustration," he said of his tangle with a Derry substitute. "As a player, I'll stand my ground but I've never been a kind of reactive player. That was probably the most disappointing thing and it was more so that we were three points down, it was before the last minute goal, so it was kind of like the game was gone from us a little bit. So yeah, it was born out of frustration really.
"I think there were loads of factors in it really. I think there was definitely a bit of playacting in many ways but it was my own fault to even get involved in it really. I suppose there are big learnings in it in that way."
