Heffernan and Hanahoe: 1974–1986

Starting from the 1970s, the Dublin team managed by Kevin Heffernan (and briefly by Tony Hanahoe) won four All-Ireland SFCs (1974, 1976, 1977 and 1983) and seven Leinster Senior Football Championship (SFC) titles (six of which were consecutive). It was also the first team to play in six consecutive All-Ireland SFC finals (from 1974 to 1979), a feat later matched by Kerry in 2009.

In January 1986, Heffernan resigned as Dublin manager.^[3]

Post-Heffernan years: 1986–2008

Dublin and Meath were involved in one of the most famous of Leinster SFC encounters in 1991, the Dublin and Meath four-parter. The teams had to go to three replays in their Leinster SFC first round match before a winner could be found. This series of games had the added factor of Dublin and Meath being long-time fierce rivals, a rivalry that intensified when Meath won four from the previous five Leinster SFCs and two All-Ireland SFCs over the previous five years, to replace Dublin as the strongest team in the province of Leinster. Meath eventually won the series, thanks to a last-minute goal scored by Kevin Foley, and a point scored by David Beggy, in the third replay. Foley took seven steps for the winning goal.

Dublin qualified for the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final by defeating surprise Munster champions Clare in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final.^[4] However, the county was surprised itself in the final to be defeated unexpectedly by Donegal.^[5]

Dublin qualified for the 1994 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final by defeating surprise Connacht champions Leitrim in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final. However, the county lost to Down in the final on this occasion. The following year, Dublin won the 1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, defeating Tyrone by a single point.

Gilroy, Gavin, Farrell: 2008–

In the 2010s, Dublin produced the greatest teams in modern times. The Dubs won seven All-Ireland SFCs in this decade (five of which were consecutive, the first team to achieve this feat). Six of these were won without defeat (with the exception of one loss to Jim McGuinness's Donegal in the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final). Dublin limited Cork, Donegal and Kerry to a single All-Ireland SFC each during that decade.

Pat Gilroy led Dublin to the first of these All-Ireland SFCs in 2011.

Dublin against Tyrone in the 2013 National Football League final

Jim Gavin led Dublin to the next six from 2013, including the five-in-a-row from 2015 onwards.

He introduced new players to the team each year, starting with Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey in 2013, continuing with Cormac Costello and Nicky Devereaux in 2014, followed by Brian Fenton and John Small in 2015 and Davy Byrne in 2016.^[6]

On 25 March 2017, when beating Roscommon by 2–29 to 0–14 in a National League game at Croke Park, Dublin set a new record of playing 35 games in League and Championship without defeat. The previous record, held by Kerry, had stood for 84 years.

Jim Gavin continued to introduce new players, with Con O'Callaghan and Niall Scully appearing in 2017 and Brian Howard and Eoin Murchan emerging in 2018.^[6] But Gavin tended to wait one year from when he noticed them to introduce them to his team, O'Callaghan having been ready in 2016 and Howard in 2017.^[6]

Jim Gavin stood down as manager in 2019.

Alan Brogan noted in 2020: "The only year he didn't do it [introduce new players] was last year. Last year, [Jim Gavin] kept with the same players which, in hindsight, leads you to believe that maybe he had it in the back of his mind it would be his final year".^[6]

Dessie Farrell replaced him.

Mayo defeated Dublin in the semi-final of the 2021 All-Ireland SFC, ending a record run of six consecutive All-Ireland SFC titles for Dublin and marking the team's first championship loss since the 2014 semi-final. A year later, Dublin met the same fate when Kerry defeated Dublin in the 2022 All-Ireland SFC semi-final, Kerry's first victory against Dublin since 2009. Dublin were also relegated from Division one that same season but returned to top flight in 2023 beating Derry in the Division 2 league final

Kit evolution

Till 1918, Dublin wore the colours of the Club Champions as was also the case in many other counties. In 1918 they adopted the well-known sky shirt with the Dublin shield, even if the kit has been for many years different compared to the actual one: collar and shorts were in fact white and the socks hooped, white and blue. The change to the present look, with dark blue details, shorts and socks, was made in 1974.^[7] Navy sleeves on the jersey were not used from 2013 until 2023.^[8]

1918–74	1974–80	1983 [n 1]	1990s	2011 [n 1]	2013 [n 1]
2013–15	2016–18 [n 1]	2019–20 [n 2]	2020 NFL [n 3]	2023– [11]

Notes

Team sponsorship

The following is a list of sponsors of the Dublin county football team (senior).

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Dublin panel, with their most recent game supplied.

Pos.	Player	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Stephen Cluxton (c)	Parnells	v. Mayo , 19 December 2020, 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
DF	Cian O'Sullivan	Kilmacud Crokes
?	Shane Carthy	Naomh Mearnóg
?	Conor McHugh	Na Fianna	v. Roscommon , 16 May 2021, 2021 National Football League
?	Ciaran Archer	St Maur's
?	Ryan Basquel	Ballyboden St Enda's	v. Roscommon , 16 May 2021, 2021 National Football League
FW	Dean Rock	Ballymun Kickhams	v. Mayo , 19 December 2020, 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final[14]
FW	Kevin McManamon	St Jude's

Rivalries

Dublin's biggest rivalry has been with nearby Meath. Both counties were the strongest sides from Leinster during the 1970s and 1980s. The 1991 four-game tie added to the intensity between the two counties. The Dublin football team also shares a rivalry with neighbours Kildare. Lesser local rivalries exist with nearby Wicklow, Laois and Westmeath.

On a national level Dublin's rivalry with Kerry is one of Ireland's most renowned. The rivalry between the two counties intensified in the 1970s and early 1980s. Other smaller footballing rivalries have developed over the decades between Dublin and teams such as Cork, Tyrone (see Battle of Omagh), Donegal and Galway, who Dublin played in the 1983 Final known as the Game of Shame.

Notable players

Records

• Johnny Joyce, by scoring 5–3 against Longford in 1960, set a record for the highest individual scorer in any championship football match. Rory Gallagher of Fermanagh, with 3–9 against Monaghan in 2002, matched this record after 42 years. Cillian O'Connor's four goals (accompanied by nine points) in the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final at Croke Park broke that record after a further 18 years.^[20]
• In 1995, Brian Stynes became the second former AFL player to win the Sam Maguire Cup, following Dermot McNicholl in 1993.^[21]
• Dean Rock holds the record for the fastest goal scored in the history of All-Ireland SFC finals, after sending the ball past David Clarke directly from the throw-in of the 2020 final, breaking Kerryman Garry McMahon's record which had stood since the 1962 final.^[22]

Cú Chulainn Awards

Texaco Footballer of the Year

1963: Lar Foley
1974: Kevin Heffernan
1976: Jimmy Keaveney
1977: Jimmy Keaveney^2nd
1983: Tommy Drumm
1995: Paul Curran
2010: Bernard Brogan Jnr
2011: Alan Brogan

All Stars

Dublin has 146 All Stars, as of 2023. 67 different players have won, as of 2023. Stephen Cluxton has won seven All Stars, Brian Fenton and Ciarán Kilkenny have each won six.   denotes that a player also won Footballer of the Year for the year in question.

• 6 All Stars: Cluxton, Kilkenny
• 5 All Stars: Fenton, O'Leary
• 4 All Stars: B. Brogan Jnr, J. McCaffrey, McCarthy, Cullen, Flynn, Kelleher, Drumm
• 3 All Stars: A. Brogan, O'Toole, B. Rock, Redmond, O'Sullivan, O'Callaghan, D. Rock, Keaveney, Fitzsimons, Curran, Mannion
• 2 All Stars: Doyle, Howard, Mullins, Whelan, Hickey, Connolly, O'Driscoll, Hargan, Cooper, Barr, Duff, MacAuley, McMahon, O'Carroll

Note: Paddy Holden received 3 Cú Chulainn Awards, while Des Foley received 2 Cú Chulainn Awards.

All Stars Footballer of the Year

2010: Bernard Brogan Jnr
2011: Alan Brogan
2013: Michael Darragh Macauley
2015: Jack McCaffrey
2018: Brian Fenton
2019: Stephen Cluxton
2020: Brian Fenton^2nd

All Stars Young Footballer of the Year

2017: Con O'Callaghan

GPA Gaelic Football Team of the Year

2006: Stephen Cluxton, Bryan Cullen, Alan Brogan
2007: Stephen Cluxton^2nd, Barry Cahill, Alan Brogan^2nd
2010: Philly McMahon, Bernard Brogan Jnr*
2010 was the final year of the GPA Gaelic Football Team of the Year and the GPA Footballer of the Year as it was amalgamated with the All Star Awards.

GPA footballer of the year

2010: Bernard Brogan Jnr

Under 21 Footballer of the Year

2010: Rory O'Carroll
2012: Ciarán Kilkenny
2014: Conor McHugh
2017: Aaron Byrne^[24]

Under 20 Footballer of the Year

2019: Ciarán Archer

National

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
  • Winners (31): 1891, 1892, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1902, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1942, 1958, 1963, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1995, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023
  • Runners-up (13): 1896, 1904, 1920, 1924, 1934, 1955, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1992, 1994
• National Football League
  • Winners (14): 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1986–87, 1990–91, 1992–93, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021 (shared)
  • Runners-up (14): 1925–26, 1933–34, 1940–41, 1951–52, 1961–62, 1966–67, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1998–99, 2011, 2017, 2020
• All-Ireland Junior Football Championship
  • Winners (6): 1914, 1916, 1939, 1948, 1960, 2008
• All-Ireland Under-21/Under-20 Football Championship
  • Winners (5): 2003, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017
  • Runners-up (5): 1975, 1980, 2002, 2019, 2020
• All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
  • Winners (11): 1930, 1945, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1979, 1982, 1984, 2012
  • Runners-up (7): 1946, 1948, 1978, 1988, 2001, 2003, 2011

Provincial

• Leinster Senior Football Championship
  • Winners (62): 1891, 1892, 1894, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1941, 1942, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Runners-up (23): 1890, 1895, 1910, 1912, 1915, 1917, 1919, 1927, 1928, 1944, 1957, 1961, 1964, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001
• O'Byrne Cup
  • Winners (9): 1956, 1958, 1960, 1966, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2017
• Leinster Junior Football Championship
  • Winners (20): 1908, 1914, 1916, 1922, 1926, 1930, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1971, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1994, 2008
• Leinster Under-21/Under-20 Football Championship
  • Winners (16): 1974, 1975, 1980, 1984, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020
  • Runners-up (9): 1976, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2018, 2021, 2022
• Leinster Minor Football Championship
  • Winners (33): 1930, 1933, 1934, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017
  • Runners-up (16): 1929, 1935, 1947, 1950, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2019, 2021

Other

• RTÉ Sports Team of the Year Award
  • Winners (1): 2019