AIB has placed the managers, coaches and support teams behind Kerry and Mayo at the centre of its build-up to Sunday’s GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final at Croke Park.

Former Kerry midfielder David Moran and former Mayo goalkeeper David Clarke joined the Championship sponsor this week to highlight the increasingly significant role played by the extensive teams working behind the players at inter-county level.

The activation forms the concluding part of AIB’s Championship campaign celebrating the coaches, medical teams, analysts, strength and conditioning specialists, mentors and volunteers whose work is rarely visible to supporters.

It comes ahead of a final carrying considerable historical weight for both counties.

Kerry are seeking a 40th All-Ireland football title and a first successful defence of the Sam Maguire Cup since the county’s back-to-back victories in 2006 and 2007.

Mayo, meanwhile, are attempting to end a 75-year wait for a fourth title, having last been crowned champions in 1951. They have since lost 11 All-Ireland Finals and drawn two, making Sunday another potentially defining day in the county’s sporting history.

This will be the fifth time the counties have met in an All-Ireland Final. Kerry won the previous four encounters, in 1932, 1997, 2004 and 2006.

The commercial build-up comes during AIB’s 11th year as a sponsor of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship and its fifth supporting the Tailteann Cup.

The bank has renewed its sponsorship of both the inter-county football Championship and the AIB Club Championships until 2028. Its wider portfolio also includes the AIB Camogie and Ladies Gaelic Football Club Championships, making it the only brand supporting championship competitions across all four principal Gaelic Games codes.

We are also proud to have them as the long-term supporter of Sport for Business coverage of Gaelic Games.

This year’s campaign has allowed AIB to align its sponsorship message with one of the defining features of the modern inter-county game: the expertise and collective effort required beyond the starting 15.

That theme has been reinforced by a Championship in which both finalists have needed to recover from significant setbacks.

Mayo lost to Roscommon in the Connacht Championship before beginning the All-Ireland series with a narrow victory over Monaghan. A defeat to Tyrone followed, while Andy Moran’s side then came from ten points behind against Meath to keep their season alive.

They subsequently defeated Cork in the quarter-final before producing their most convincing performance of the summer in a 3-23 to 0-15 semi-final victory over Louth.

Kerry also suffered an early setback, losing to Donegal by 2-20 to 0-16 in the opening round of the All-Ireland series. Jack O’Connor’s team responded by scoring seven goals across victories over Kildare and Armagh before edging a high-scoring quarter-final against Tyrone and defeating Dublin by 2-18 to 0-20 in the semi-final.

The unpredictable journeys taken by both teams have provided strong material for AIB’s focus on the people responsible for maintaining confidence, managing preparation and helping players respond to defeats, injuries and changing tactical demands.

 

 

David Moran pointed in particular to the experience and composure of Jack O’Connor, who will manage Kerry in an All-Ireland Final for the ninth time.

Moran said the manager’s familiarity with difficult Championship campaigns had been important following Kerry’s League Final and Championship defeats to Donegal.

“As a manager, he’s quite calm,” Moran said. “I don’t see him getting panicked that much. His natural tendency to be relaxed would have helped. He’ll have seen the big picture, and he’d be quite level-headed in that regard.”

Moran also highlighted the contribution of the Kerry medical and coaching teams in navigating a campaign during which several senior players were unavailable through injury.

 

 

David Clarke spoke about the influence successive coaches have had on Mayo football and the willingness of the county’s players and managers to seek knowledge and expertise from outside the county.

David Clarke also highlighted the understated influence of Paddy Tally within Andy Moran’s management team. Tally is one of the most experienced coaches in the inter-county game, having contributed to Tyrone’s breakthrough All-Ireland success in 2003, Down’s run to the 2010 final and Kerry’s Sam Maguire victory in 2022, as well as managing Down and Derry.

His presence provides an intriguing additional dimension to Sunday’s final. Having worked as head coach under Jack O’Connor in Kerry, Tally brings Mayo considerable knowledge of their opponents, their leading players and the structures that helped turn Kerry into All-Ireland champions.

Clarke described him as a quiet figure who commands respect without seeking the limelight, providing experienced support around Moran while allowing the Mayo manager to remain the central voice on the training field and sideline.

“AIB knows that while the players will rightly command the spotlight in Croke Park, their achievements are shaped by a collective effort,” said AIB Chief Executive Colin Hunt.

“That is why our campaign proudly champions the relentless dedication of the managers, coaches and support networks who work behind the scenes to turn ambitions into reality.

“It is their unwavering commitment that lifts these teams and inspires their communities.”

GAA President Jarlath Burns said the campaign recognised the structures that make the performances witnessed at Croke Park possible.

“Behind every player who steps onto the field on Sunday is an extraordinary network of managers, coaches and support staff who guide and prepare them,” he said.

“By celebrating the backroom teams who lift our players, AIB highlights the very essence of community spirit that defines the GAA.”

The Kerry-Mayo final throws in at 3.30 pm at Croke Park on Sunday, July 26th, with Monaghan referee Martin McNally taking charge of his first senior All-Ireland Final.

 

 

 

 

AIB, The GAA and Kerry GAA are full members of Sport for Business.

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Image Credit: AIB, Wilson Hartnell and Inpho.ie Dan Sheridan

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