Boys in blue ready for Kingdom showdown

AN ALL Ireland Semi Final is not where Dublin were expected to be throughout the year but nonetheless that is exactly where they find themselves this weekend as they take on All Ireland Champions Kerry in Croke Park this Sunday.

Their recent performances have seen them kick into another gear with several locals impressing in the side.

Colm Basquel and Ross McGarry from Ballyboden St Enda’s have shown their worth to the squad over the last three games or so while Niall Scully has firmly established himself as one of the key members of the Dublin team for 2026.

It looked to be a year to forget for the Boys in Blue, a league relegation was followed by a Leinster final defeat to Westmeath which in turn was followed by a first round All Ireland defeat against Louth to put them in the loser bracket.

Fortunes began to change after this however, a game against Cavan followed where after a shaky first half, Dublin were comfortably the better side in the second and secured a big win in Breffni Park away from home.

Still, winning against Cavan was one thing, but being drawn in the next game against Donegal was another beast entirely, favourites throughout the year Donegal had reached the final the game before and had ran through the league.

After extra time and thanks to wonderful performances from the likes of Colm Basquel and Niall Scully, Dublin got over the line and qualified for the quarter final.

Again going into the game they were huge underdogs and again they would defy expectation as a late surge saw them dispatch Galway to set themselves up for an All Ireland Semi Final this weekend.

Their old rivals Kerry await them in Croke Park. Kerry themselves have shown that they are somewhat vulnerable this year with two big defeats to Donegal, one in the league, one in the championship.

Known for kicking into gear towards the business end of the competition it appears that Kerry are doing just that once again as they have shaken off the cobwebs and knocked out both Armagh and Tyrone in recent rounds.

David Clifford will of course be a major threat with the star man kicking 1-08 against Tyrone.

It is not a one man army however and Dylan Geaney was another name who massively impressed in the quarter final with the Dingleman scoring 0-08 with several two pointers thrown in there also.

Other names have come back from injury such as Paudi Clifford, Sean O Se, Gavin White and Joe O’Connor ensuring that this will be Dublin’s toughest challenge yet on Sunday.