Cuala 0-14 Kilmacud Crokes 1-10
Cuala are Dublin senior football champions for the first time in their history, having been inspired to glory by the irrepressible Michael Fitzsimons.
They lost Con O'Callaghan to a 55th minute red card but recovered from that blow to power onto glory, with a fisted point from wing back Eoin Kennedy sealing the deal in the fifth minute of injury time.
Cuala led by 0-7 to 0-2 at half-time but a 54th minute goal from Kilmacud Crokes' sub Luke Ward dragged the four-in-a-row seekers back into it.
The task became even more difficult for Cuala moments later when O'Callaghan was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident with Kilmacud Crokes' goalkeeper Devon Burns, but Cuala were undeterred.
The game looked destined for extra-time when Paul Mannion levelled it up with a 63rd minute free after Luke Keating had given Cuala the lead moments earlier.
But a disputed late free went the way of Cuala, giving Keating the chance to win it. The breeze played its part as his effort dropped short but Niall O'Callaghan broke the ball into Kennedy's path and he fisted over.
They held out to win, with the final whistle sparking wild scenes of celebration for the south Dublin club.
Playing with the wind at their back, Austin O'Malley's side got off to a bright start streaking into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead after twenty minutes.
The energy of Con O'Callaghan and Cal Doran was instrumental in their flying start with the brilliant Fitzsimons raiding forward from full back to score two points of his own.
'It's an absolute fairytale'
Labhair an Laoch na hImeartha Michael Fitzsimons linn tar éis an cluiche ceannais.🗣️
BEO/LIVETG4 AR @TG4TV 📺 @DubGAAOfficial pic.twitter.com/CvcSxAyUR0
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) October 20, 2024
The 35-year-old was named man-of-the-match as they took the victory, describing it as 'a fairytale.'
"It's hard to believe. It showed the heart and determination of our lads, setback after setback there, to grind it out, was just incredible," he told TG4.
"There's a lot of people in the club who have made so many sacrifices for Cuala football down through the years, and I'm so happy today that we're able to do this for them."
"It's an absolute fairytale.
"We've built slowly. Austin (O'Malley) has been phenomenal. Last year was a huge disappointment, losing to Jude's it was a setback, but we grew a lot.
"We can just see the sacrifices lads have put in, like Luke (Keating) travelling from Balbriggan each session.
"We've had 9.00 sessions over in Bray because we can't get a pitch. Some of it has been tough, but that's what's driven us on.
"Dublin getting knocked out early helped myself and Con and Peadar get back a bit earlier...It's just so special."
