Dublin's Dessie Farrell has claimed that it could be the last time we see some of the current Dublin team after their shock loss to Galway in their senior football championship quarterfinal on Saturday.
Galway managed to beat Dublin in Croke Park by 0-17 to 0-16 points in one of the results of the decade.
The win is massive for Galway, for obvious reasons. The Tribesmen yesterday ended a 90-year wait to beat the Dubs in a championship game; their last was in the 1934 All-Ireland final.
The result also means that it will be the first time in 15 years that Dublin hasn’t at least made the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Dublin veterans Stephen Cluxton, Mick Fitzsimons, and James McCarthy are all in the twilight of their careers, and it wouldn't be surprising if some, if not all, called it a day after the Galway defeat. Farrell admitted this could be the case after the game on Saturday.
"It could be the end of an era for some of those Dublin players," said Farrell. "I’m not going to pre-empt anything, but if it is, they have been wonderful servants, and they died with their boots on.
"We’ll all take stock and see where we are."
Ciarán Whelan, the former Dublin footballer, spoke on the Saturday game and agreed that it could be the end for some of the Dublin panel.
"You know, we're not going to pre-empt anything, as Dessie Farrell said, but he did mention it could be the end of an era for some," Whelan said.
"There’s a lot of legends, and it's the first time they haven't reached the semi-finals since 2009. They've gone to the well so often in the past. There are a lot of legends in that dressing room.
Con O'Callaghan of Dublin is in action against Cian Hernon of Galway during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Dublin and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile via Getty Images) )"Last year's All-Ireland was such a massive victory. It really endorsed the work that Dessie had done after everything. They got such a lift out of it, and there was huge momentum within the group to try and push on again, so everybody kind of stayed.
"Last year, it was deemed "one more year," but they all came back.
"There are guys and legends in that dressing room who have tonnes of medals and have emptied the tank for Dublin. They've been massive warriors, and we probably will lose two or three; there's no doubt about it."
Whelan also believes that Farrell may consider his future as well.
"Even Dessie, you know, I think there was probably a bit of persuasion last year for him to give one more year. He might consider his future, so there could be a lot of change."
Reflecting on the game afterwards, Dublin boss Farrell also claimed that there was room for hope and positivity despite the loss to Galway. Farrell now claims they will go back to the drawing board and let the players decide what the best course of action to take is.
"It was a disappointing finish to the season, but there is some room for hope and optimism for what lies in the future, whoever may be involved at that point in time," he added.
"We'll reflect on things and see where we are, and I’m sure many of the players will think about their own futures as well."
