By John Harrington

James McCarthy says it takes him a bit longer than it once did “to get the oil going through the joints”, but you wouldn’t think it.

33 years of age and in his 13th championship campaign with Dublin, he’s still playing at such an elevated level that he’s a realistic contender for Footballer of the Year.

Former team-mates and opponents alike have been tripping over one another in recent weeks to laud McCarthy as one of the greatest to ever play the game, but it comes as no shock to hear the man himself couldn’t give a damn about the platitudes.

Off the pitch McCarthy is the same sort of personality as he is on it. No faff, no fluff, a straight-talker who doesn’t varnish his opinions for the sake of a layer of gloss.

He knows a narrative around this match is that he’s one of three Dublin players who can become make history by winning a ninth All-Ireland medal, but that’s not something that’s occupied his own thoughts ahead of the game.

“I don't complicate things in my mind,” says McCarthy. “I'm pretty simple in how I go into games. I get myself in the best condition I can, focus on two or three things defensively and offensively and generally speaking it kind of helps you to perform as best you can.

“That stuff is dangling out in the air and people like to talk about it but I try to keep away from it as much as I can. A few weeks ago people were trying to retire you so things can change very quickly. If you hang your hat on that stuff it's not going to serve you well.

“Look, obviously you hear it out there…but I'll get more satisfaction getting Lee Gannon and these guys a taste of it and see how it feels to play on a big day and stuff. I think that's more important. All you want to do is win the All-Ireland and we have a massive game against Kerry, that's the focus.

“In 10 years time I'll be sitting in the Autobahn having a pint and I might reflect back on that stuff. But it's not something you hang your hat on because things can change very quickly.”

McCarthy is speaking from experience. After winning six All-Irelands in a row from 2015 to 2020, Dublin failed to make it past the semi-finals in 2021 and 2022.

A common narrative in those two seasons was that a once great team had slipped a rung or two, and that mainstays of the team like McCarthy himself were no longer at the peak of their powers.

Did he have any doubts himself about his ability to maintain the personal standards he had set throughout his career?

“You're only human, of course you think about it,” admits McCarthy with typical candour.

“Yeah, you have to reflect. You're never the complete player. You can always get better at something, particularly probably more the '21 semi-final, that was very disappointing with how I performed that day.

“You reflect and you think and you go, 'That's not going to happen again', with a few things, or maybe you get better at certain things. You have to be like that all the time if you want to be playing at the highest level.

“Yeah, you'd always be trying to chip away at things, trying to get better. Even last weekend (against Monaghan), gave away a few frees, missed a few shots and stuff like that. There's always things you can improve on.”

McCarthy’s record for Dublin in All-Ireland Finals is, frankly, ridiculous.

He’s played eight and won eight, as have both Stephen Cluxton and Mick Fitzsimons.

What qualities have made Dublin an unbeatable All-Ireland Final team throughout his career?

“It's a good question,” says McCarthy. “Like, '11, there's probably a take on '11 that we robbed that game or stole that game. I never bought into that, I thought we had the better of that game for long periods.

“We were obviously playing a really strong Kerry team back then and they obviously kicked into a really strong position, but they didn't finish us off. They left us in the game and obviously Kevin Mac had a great goal.

“Obviously winning your first All-Ireland gives you a lot of belief and we just kept building from there. It was a perfect storm between all the younger players coming through, good management, and stuff like that, so we kind of just rolled with it. It's hard to think it's that long ago now. It's just gone by in a blast.

“It's hard to know...the margins have been fine because we went to replays and won games by a point. It's very hard to capture what it is. It's about having belief in yourself and at the right times in games to go for it and go for it hard.

“I think we've been good at that, we've had different guys over the years who have been good at that. You're not always relying on the same guy which is a big string to our team.”

It’s hardly a surprise that this All-Ireland Final is being billed as a last dance scenario for a generation of Dublin footballers.

Stephen Cluxton, Jack McCaffrey, and Paul Mannion have returned to the fold, and then there’s also the trio of players aiming to make history by winning a ninth All-Ireland medal.

Those of a sentimental persuasion will view this All-Ireland Final against Kerry as the perfect opportunity for someone like McCarthy to write a fitting final chapter to his inter-county story, just don’t expect that narrative to make the man himself dewy-eyed.

“I suppose I can see how it looks like that maybe from the outside with the guys coming back in and stuff, but, no, I don't think we ever looked at it like that,” he says.

“Obviously there are a few of us that have less years ahead of us than behind us, but if you ask Mick Fitz and myself we're still really enjoying our football. You take each season on it's merit so, no, I don't think it's a Michael Jordan type thing where it's our last dance, there's no talk of that anyway, that's for sure.

To be honest with you, it's gone by fast, it's just so scary how the years flash by. Obviously starting off you have your ambitions and you have your goals but realistically you wouldn't have seen it going the way it went, no, you don't see yourself playing that long and stuff like that.

“I'd take a bit of pride in myself as well, I still want to play at this level and I'm still competing at a high level.

“You'll be finishing playing for a long time as well so if you can get the most out of yourself that you can, that's it really.”