Written off in mid-summer, Kerry won their 39th All-Ireland title with a bravura display of attacking football to overcome a Donegal side whose characteristic efficiency deserted them.
The victory was built on a blistering opening quarter, Kerry establishing total dominance in midfield and building up a 0-13 to 0-04 lead before the 20th minute.
Their intent was evident from the first throw-in. The inspirational Gavin White racing onto the break and knifing in as far as the 21m line to set up a score for Dylan Geaney after 13 seconds.
White, who finished with 0-03 altogether, was superbly influential, feeding on breaking ball, while Joe O’Connor solidified his burgeoning folk hero credentials among the Kerry support with another towering display in the middle third.
David Clifford, who finished with 0-09 altogether, swung over a two-pointer with his first touch of the game and would add two more before the half was out. Typically, many of his scores were assisted by his older brother, Paudie directing operations in the Kerry attack.
Donegal, who never led at any stage and trailed by at least four points for most of the game, were gasping for air from early on and were guilty of sloppiness in possession, possibly for the first time this year.
It marks a fifth All-Ireland title for Jack O’Connor in his 11th season in charge across three different spells. The manager hinted strongly afterwards that it would be his last, though stopped short of being definitive.
And it’s one of the most satisfactory of triumphs for Kerry, having disposed of the leading lights of Ulster football en route to the title.
They started with the kind of purpose and accuracy reminiscent of their third quarter against Armagh.
After White had assisted Geaney for the opening point, Oisin Gallen responded with Donegal’s opener with the match a minute old.
Paudie Clifford tried the first of many of two-point shots in the first half, the ball dropping short, where Sean O’Brien had ghosted into the square. The midfielder rose above Shaun Patton to punch over the score.
White had two points to his name after five minutes, both of them after cutting inside from the left wing and racing through to the 21m line. His second, struck under severe pressure, could have wound up under the crossbar but, to the relief of Patton, landed on top of the net.
Scores from Caolan McGonagle, a late but expected inclusion in place of Hugh McFadden, and a tap-over free from Michael Murphy kept the scoreboard ticking over for Donegal but they were struggling to get their hands on the ball and were being devoured on breaks.
Alongside that, the Ulster champions, usually so scrupulous in minding the ball, were giving away scores on turnovers. After Paudie Clifford had curled over the first of his three points, he intercepted a loose kick-pass from Caolan McColgan.
He quickly transferred the ball to David Clifford, who threw his left leg over his shoulder and the ball sailed over the bar for the first orange flag. It was the two-time Footballer of the Year’s first touch and it lifted the roof off Croke Park.
Who scored the first two-pointer in an All-Ireland?
David Clifford, in style
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— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2025
Another followed two minutes later and already the alarms were sounding for Donegal. This one was very deliberately orchestrated as a two-pointer, Kerry briefly invading the arc before shifting the ball back to Clifford, who was coming around on the loop. From the wrong side, his left-footer curled inside the posts.
Sean O’Brien pushed Kerry’s tally into double-digits before the 15th minute mark before Gallen replied with a very timely score for Donegal.
Kerry sought to orchestrate yet another two-pointer for Clifford but he was fouled by Brendan McCole. This allowed Sean O’Shea an easier opportunity for a double, the Kenmare star swinging over his first score.
Paudie Clifford, immense in and out of position, got his hands on another loose handpass out of the Donegal defence, starting an attack which resulted in another score for his younger brother.
The gap was now 13-4 and Donegal were taking on water. To make matters worse, two-point specialist Ciaran Thompson hobbled off on the 20 minute mark, replaced by Daire Ó Baoill.
Brian Ó Beaglaioch pursued by Jason McGee and Finnbarr Roarty
When a simple free for Murphy came back off the right-hand post, there was a sense of panic spreading through the Donegal ranks. However, improbably, this precipitated their best spell as they rattled off the next four points.
Gallen drilled over his third – and last – of the game to stem the flow of blood and they won a rare kickout on the next play, Conor O’Donnell raiding up the right flank to score.
The Donegal support really began to find their voice as Murphy swung over the next two points from play in quick succession.
After an O’Shea free, Kerry worked a fine score for Geaney, Paudie Clifford finding him in acres of space with a diagonal ball. The O’Donnell brothers responded with a brace of scores, Conor with his second and then Shane slipping over his first.
A five-point deficit would have been a result for Donegal in the circumstances but there was sting in the tail. Boos rained down as Kerry transparently dawdled in possession while awaiting the hooter. After it sounded, there was the customary injection of pace, the Cliffords combining again, Paudie slipping a pass to David to swing over his third of the half.
Kerry are punishing Donegal. Paudie picks out David as the Cliffords combine.
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— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2025
There was a sense that Donegal needed a quick start to the second half but Kerry hit the throw-in at breakneck speed again, Seanie O’Shea landing his only score from play of the game.
Murphy rose among a throng of blue bodies to contest Patton’s subsequent kickout but could only tap it down to the waiting White. Kerry worked another score, McCole slipping at the wrong moment as Paudie Clifford found the now unmarked David to push the margin out to nine points.
Murphy’s Law was in application now as Ryan McHugh, a veteran of 2014, was called ashore with an injury and replaced by Jason McGee.
Though Donegal would rally over the next 20 minutes, gaining sustained supremacy in the middle third for the first time.
Murphy frees accounted for their opening three scores of the half, the second one fortuitous after Gallen was given a pass under pressure from a combination of Foley and O’Connor, the corner forward being bailed out with a debatable free.
Shane Ryan put Paul Murphy in bother with a short kickout which didn’t clear the arc. The corner-back wisely opted to concede the free rather than the goalscoring chance. His namesake from Donegal curled over the free from a tight angle.
The O’Donnells came to the fore, registering three of the next four scores of the game, all of them worked into high-percentage shooting positions. Geaney’s third point for Kerry interrupted the sequence but the Donegal crowd sensed they were beginning to find their groove despite all the hardships.
Their two-point threat remained close to non-existent, Michael Langan snatching at one under pressure and sending it wide. Ó Baoill wound up for another one but telegraphed it far too easily and it was blocked away for a sideline.
White broke through for his third point of the game, a trademark fisted effort after racing up the end-line from the left.
On 58 minutes, a pivotal swing moment. Conor O’Donnell, reliable in front of goals until now, missed a straightforward chance to make it a one-score game. From Kerry’s next attack, Paudie Clifford was bundled over by Peadar Mogan right on the edge of the arc.
Goalkeeper Ryan had slipped when taking a similar effort two minutes earlier and, after reaching as far as the 65 metre line, was sent back to his goal by O’Shea, who was intent on taking charge of this one. Taking from the hands, he swung over a vital score to make it a six-point game.
The decibel levels rising, Kerry kept their boot on the throat, winning the next kickout, Paudie Clifford clipping over a point from the 21m line to make it 25-18.
Donegal’s shooting was getting increasingly ragged. Even their last remaining point was a bizarre one, Ó Baoill skying his shot awkwardly, the ball somehow dropping over the bar.
David Clifford had been relatively quiet in the second half but his 64th minute point already had the air of an insurance score, the Fossa star racing up the left sideline, cutting inside and swinging over a point. In keeping with his form during 2025, he punched the air in exultation.
A minute later, he almost put the tin-hat on it with a goal, carrying the ball left of the advancing Patton but his low shot was stopped on the line by the retreating Conor O’Donnell.
But Kerry would have their All-Ireland final goal, waiting until the final minute to bury it. Fittingly, it was O’Connor, one of the breakout stars of the year, who buried it.
Joe O’Connor puts the cherry on the cake for the Kingdom
Moments later, Kerry are crowned champions pic.twitter.com/NDNV8aGsDv
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2025
The midfielder had blazed over numerous attempts for points against Tyrone. This time, he finished off a final move up the right flank, ramming his shot to the roof of the net. The final whistle hadn’t gone yet but in the stands and on the sideline, the party had started.
Kerry: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian O Beaglaoich, Mike Breen, Gavin White (0-03); Sean O’Brien (0-02), Mark O’Shea; Joe O’Connor (1-00), Séan O’Shea (0-06, 2tpf, 1f), Graham O’Sullivan; David Clifford (0-09, 3tp), Paudie Clifford (0-03), Dylan Geaney (0-03).
Subs: Diarmuid O’Connor for O’Brien (49), Killian Spillane for Geaney (54), Evan Looney for Ó Beaglaoich (62), Tadhg Morley for Breen (65), Micheál Burns for O’Sullivan (68)
Donegal: Shaun Patton; Finnbarr Roarty, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ryan McHugh, Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Caolan McColgan; Caolan McGonagle (0-01), Michael Langan; Shane O’Donnell (0-02), Ciarán Thompson, Ciarán Moore; Conor O’Donnell (0-04), Michael Murphy (0-08, 6f), OisÃn Gallen (0-03).
Subs: Daire Ó Baoill (0-01) for Thompson (22), Hugh McFadden for McColgan (35), Jason McGee for McHugh (40), Paddy McBrearty for Gallen (49), Jamie Brennan for Gallagher (58)
