Kerry's All-Ireland Final Squad: Profiles of Key Players Chasing Sam

London, United Kingdom Jul 23, 2026 ALN: 1. Shane Murphy

Club: Dr Crokes

Debut season: 2018

Appearances: 35 (22) championship apps in brackets

MURPHY has already played in and beaten Mayo in an All-Ireland final - he won a medal with the Kerry juniors back in 2015, scoring a point in that decider. Tadhg Morley, Killian Spillane, Gavin Crowley and Conor Cox – who’d later go to Roscommon – were on that team. The Dr Crokes man played underage for Kilcummin and won a county minor medal, but transferred to Crokes after getting stuck behind then-Kerry keeper Brendan Kealy to even play for the club. Has had a superb championship between the sticks.

2. Paul Murphy

Club: Rathmore

Debut season: 2014

Appearances: 141 (61)

THE Rathmore man will celebrate his 35^th birthday exactly a week after the final. Qualified as an accountant and is now a finance manager for Kerry Group. At U16 he couldn’t make the South Kerry team and at minor he missed out on the Kerry panel, with the feeling being that he was too small. Got his chance at U21. Won man of the match in his first senior final back in 2014. Captain in 2021, lost his place for the 2022 final but was back in the corner last year on Oisin Gallen.

3. Jason Foley

Club: Ballydonoghue

Debut season: 2017

Appearances: 114 (57)

THERE is a very understated quality to Jason Foley. Teams and inside forwards are so frightened of his pace that they won’t kick the ball near him. Until he was called into the Kerry minors by Jack O’Connor in 2014, Foley was a very promising sprinter with the athletics club in Listowel, running for Ireland in 2013 and 2014. He won the 110m hurdles at both national indoor and outdoor championships at U18 that year. Works as a special needs assistant in Milltown, following a long traditional on the maternal O’Donovan side of the family. His grandmother fostered children in inner-city Cork and his mother was a childcare nurse.

4. Dylan Casey

Club: Austin Stacks

Debut season: 2022

Appearances: 52 (23)

CASEY went travelling last October with plans to spend three months in South America. He was there less than a fortnight when Austin Stacks reached the county final, so he flew home from Columbia, played the game and then flew back out a day later. Was back in good time to get in at the start of the league and has started every game this season. Turned 26 the day before the Dublin game. Quantity Surveyor for PST Sport, where he works with clubmate Kieran Donaghy.

5. Graham O’Sullivan

Club: Dromid Pearses

Debut season: 2019

Appearances: 84 (33)

It took a while for O’Sullivan to force a breakthrough. He played almost no football in his first three seasons with Kerry. Has since developed into a versatile operator who has played everywhere in defence and at half-forward. Opened up in late 2022 about having suffered a panic attack the week of that year’s All-Ireland final. Fifth class teacher at St Oliver’s Primary School.

6. Mike Breen

Club: Beaufort

Debut season: 2021

Appearances: 43 (27)

Breen is regarded as an old-style centre-back with the traditional Kerry values of always looking for the kick pass. Won two All-Ireland minors and had made an impression in the 2021 season, starting the All-Ireland semi-final loss to Tyrone. Lost the guts of three years with injury troubles that began when he suffered a bad hamstring tear the following season. Graduated in Animal Science from UCD and last year formed an agri consultancy business.

7. Gavin White

Club: Dr Crokes

Debut season: 2018

Appearances: 77 (52)

LAST year’s Kerry captain had played in his first All-Ireland final before he’d ever played a league game for Kerry. The 2019 decider with Dublin, where he was detailed to mark Jack McCaffrey, was his 13^th championship appearance but he only made his league debut the following spring. One of several teachers on the Kerry squad, White works out of St Brendan’s Killarney alongside David Clifford. Helped coach the school’s team that reached the Hogan Cup final in 2022.

8. Mark O’Shea

Club: Dr Crokes

Debut season: 2025

Appearances: 22 (15)

ONLY made his proper Kerry debut last season at the age of 26. Had played one McGrath Cup game a few years back when the senior squad were in holiday mode. O’Shea took a growth spurt in his late teens that he said took him “from about five-nothing to 6’2” or 6’3”.” A lot of his skillset is credited to his basketball background. It’s often noted that he’s a nephew of Pat, but Mark’s own father Seánie had a serious career with Kerry on the hurling field. A good footballer with Dr Crokes himself, Seánie was part of the team that famously beat Waterford in 1993.

9. Sean O’Brien

Club: Beaufort

Debut season: 2024

Appearances: 33 (16)

HAD the distinction of captaining Kerry U20s for two years running. ­Picked up the man of the match award on his McGrath Cup debut for the seniors against Tipperary two years ago. Injuries offered him an opportunity last year and alongside Mark O’Shea has built a partnership that few predicted being this successful. Landed two points in last year’s final and popped up with the second goal against Dublin in the semi-final this season.

10. Joe O’Connor

Club: Austin Stacks

Debut season: 2021

Appearances: 56 (25)

A PAINTING enthusiast, he took up classes at the start of this year where his teacher didn’t have any clue who he was. She later asked him to open their summer exhibition. Works for clothing company MFC Sports as their Munster Area Development Manager having qualified as a financial advisor from IT Sligo. Was at the hub of the Munster U18 rugby team’s first interprovincial success for 13 years back in 2016, but decided to go the Kerry route instead. Was officially captain for the 2022 All-Ireland although he hadn’t properly broken through and shared trophy-lifting duties with on-field leader Seanie O’Shea.

11. Paudie Clifford

Club: Fossa

Debut season: 2020

Appearances: 81 (39)

OVERLOOKED at minor, U21 and briefly even with Kerry juniors – who let him go after a trial in 2017 – and having struggled to make school teams at St Brendan’s, the elder Clifford is a live player in the debate as to whether he’s more important to them than his sibling. Had his golf handicap down to four. Spent a while working as an electrician in New York when he was younger. Now a Business Development Executive for a recruitment firm.

12. Diarmuid O’Connor

Club: Na Gaeil

Debut season: 2019

Appearances: 107 (41)

ANOTHER of the teachers, O’Connor works in the PE department at all-Irish speaking school Gaelcoláiste Chiarraí. Known to be a big advocate for the language. Had brief discussions at the end of his minor days about a move to the AFL but they went nowhere. Was in outstanding form last spring, arguably the standout player in the country during the 2025 league, before injuries took hold. He’s been plagued ever since.

13. David Clifford

Club: Fossa

Debut season: 2018

Appearances: 102 (52)

WHEN he was finding his feet, Clifford said his hero “had to be” Colm Cooper because “he is just the greatest forward that has ever played the game.” He has since set about making that a statement of the past tense. On Sunday, Clifford will almost certainly surpass his hero on the all-time championship scoring list. He needs four points to go ahead of the Dr Crokes man, which would take him second behind Cillian O’Connor. Footballer of the Year three times in the last four. Two All-Ireland medals seems scant. Teacher at St Brendan’s Killarney, where he coached the Frewen Cup winning team last year.

14. Paul Geaney

Club: Daingean Uí Chúis

Debut season: 2011

Appearances: 130 (66)

THE longest-serving member of the Kerry panel, he scored a winning goal off the bench in his league debut against Cork back in 2011. Dipped out for a while but got in during the 2014 season, where the aerial mismatch against Paddy McGrath was used to brilliant effect in the game’s opening minutes. His aerial ability is badly under-appreciated. Has declared himself fit after a calf injury that ruled him out of the semi-final. Owns the bar that bears his name on Dingle’s main street. Married to Paidí Ó Sé’s daughter Siún, and grandson of Paudie Fitzgerald who was a prominent cyclist in the 1950s, winning the Rás Tailteann in 1956.

15. Dylan Geaney

Club: Daingean Uí Chúis

Debut season: 2024

Appearances: 34 (17)

WILL this weekend join the handful of Kerry players who have played more championship games than league games for the county, a subtle indication of their contrasting approach to the two competitions. A talented badminton player in the footsteps of his mother’s clan, the Sheehys, he won two county titles in the sport and was a handy soccer player. Cousin of Paul. Hadn’t missed a shot until the Dublin game and the first one he did led to Seán O’Brien’s goal.

16. Shane Ryan

Club: Rathmore

Debut season: 2019

Appearances: 74 (39)

HASN’T kicked a ball all year with a quad injury. Was in the 26 for Armagh but dropped back out again for the semi-final after suffering a setback. Went on trial at Nottingham Forest but lasted four days before coming home again. Another teacher, working at De La Salle across the Cork border in Macroom.

17. Evan Looney

Club: Dr Crokes

Debut season: 2026

Appearances: 16 (12)

KNOWN on a wider scale for his tenacious corner-back play, Looney was actually the playmaking star at centre-forward when Kerry won the Munster U20 title in 2022. Was small all the way up through underage and struggled to make teams but has filled out and come to the fore. Likely to become a defensive mainstay at some point in the near future.

18. Tony Brosnan

Club: Dr Crokes

Debut season: 2016

Appearances: 60 (30)

LUCK hasn’t been all that kind to Brosnan. Ten years after his debut, he’s yet to play a single minute of the four finals Kerry have been in since then. Wasn’t there in 2019, didn’t get off the bench beyond the quarters in 2022, and just when he hit form in 2023 and was certain to play a part, his lung collapsed the week of the final and he missed out against Dublin. Played in every game in ’24 only for Kerry to lose the semi-final after extra-time to Armagh. Dropped out after the Meath game last year. Hasn’t been seen since Armagh this year. Works for St John of God Services, an organisation that provides help for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

19. Keith Evans

Club: Keel

Debut season: 2025

Appearances: 18 (8)

IF Kerry do win Sam, the Keel man’s block from Michael McKernan will go down as one of the year’s key moments. Only the second man from his club to play in an All-Ireland final after Tom Prendergast, who played in four. Management graduate from MTU.