FOOTAGE HAS EMERGED from the 2015 All-Ireland senior football final in which Kerry captain Kieran Donaghy claims that he WAS eye-gouged by Dublin defender Philly McMahon.
The controversial flashpoint took place in the second half of the Croke Park decider, and in a fascinating documentary – All-Ireland final day – referee David Coldrick is mic’d up and at the heart of the action.
The documentary, which will air next Monday evening on RTÉ One, provides definitive proof that Donaghy felt he was the victim of a McMahon eye gouge, even though the Tralee man later played down the incident.
McMahon was booked earlier in the game on the advice of an umpire, for persistent fouling.
“Number 4 (McMahon), persistent fouling, yellow card,” is the advice that reaches Coldrick’s earpiece.
“Look, he is doing it in the middle of the field.”
McMahon is not happy with the award of a yellow card, and protests to the referee.
“It’s always the back, It’s always the back,” the Ballymun Kickhams man says.
Coldrick replies: ”Why are you giving them an opportunity?”
McMahon issues the following response: ”Donaghy is hitting me when I am trying to make a block. David, I swear to God I didn’t do anything. I didn’t do anything.”
Coldrick tells McMahon: ”You’re holding him the whole time.” But McMahon is not happy.
“I’m not holding him! F**k sake!”
“I’ll watch Philly, but you were doing it there. You were doing it there,” Coldrick insists.
As the clock ticks down, the flashpoint episode occurs.
“He gouged my eye on the ground, Dave,” Donaghy claims.
“I didn’t see that now, Kieran,” Coldrick says.
“That was just two lads competing, that’s all.
“Lads, lads. It’s okay. It’s alright. It’s alright, Philly,” Coldrick adds.
Sideline official Derek Fahy suggests allowing a sub on to settle things down.
“Yeah, let’s go sub. Just relax lads, okay?” Coldrick pleads.
Earlier in the game, Coldrick was told to keep an eye out for McMahon.
“David, watch 4 for Dublin, that’s all the time,” Coldrick is told in his earpiece.
“Ok.” “Watch him David!”
“Philly, come on. It’s just a warning, Philly, that’s all,” says Coldrick as he trots by the Dublin defender.
Later in the first half, Diarmuid Connolly is booked for a lunging tackle after losing possession.
“Dave, did you see all of that? Conor here. Rough play for me, Dave from Dublin 11,” says linesman Conor Lane.
“Yellow card, Dublin 11.” Coldrick takes the appropriate action.
All-Ireland Day features not only contributions from Coldrick, but from other key figures involved in the biggest day of the Gaelic Football year.
RTÉ commentator Darragh Maloney takes us through his day, as does legendary Radio Kerry radio broadcaster Weeshie Fogarty.
But it’s the Coldrick footage that provides the most incredible insights into the intensity of a Dublin-Kerry All-Ireland final clash.
All-Ireland final day goes behind the scenes with some of the key protagonists as they prepare for and experience the biggest day of their sporting lives.
It airs next Monday evening at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.
Philly is just a dirtbag
He’s our dirtbag
and you would know with a name like Fred west.
Sure what would you expect from a Dublin knicker! Imagine the out roar if it had been a Tyrone player!
I’ve good time for Donaghy. Of course he said it to the ref mid game as anyone would but after the match he took the defeat like a man and deflated the situation. Philly owes him a pint.
Sure it’s obvious he was!
So if something similar was the happen to a Dublin player next year I assume all the Dublin posters saying to get over it, move on etc will be saying the same thing then? Or will it be a different story when it’s a Dublin player involved?
If 99 out of a 100 players came to me and said “I was eye gouged” I’d fully support them no matter who the played for. But it’s Kieran Donaghy for god sake, he’s a bandit.
I don’t have much time for Donaghy, quite the opposite actually, but that’s not the point. It could have been any player and to suggest people should just get over eye gouging on the field is lunacy. Apart from the outcome, he should have got a red card in an all Ireland final – would he still have an all star and player of the year nomination.
No one will have much sympathy for the nipple cripple king.
Hardly the point, and to see that thuggery rewarded with an all star , does not send the right signals to our young players, ah but who cares? Win at all costs , fill the coffers , twill be grand.
Will some one please think of the children.
the all star was for having oshea donaghy and Cooper in his hip pocket.
Not only should his all star be taking from him Dublin should be stripped off the All Ireland disgrace with all that money they have and and playing in croke park all the time YAWN!!!!
Yawn is right.
I was a bit uneasy when the dubs won in 2011, they were liked by too many out side of Dublin. Thank goodness things are back to normal with the last 2 all Irelands and hopefully we will become even more unpopular over the next few years.
No, no they weren’t.
The more that Dublin win the moaning and whining from the other 31 counties increase ! Long may it last Coybib
This will be an interesting program. It changes nothing, the controversy in these articles will cause more ppl to watch the program. The media is driven by numbers, more readers, viewers and hits equals great advertising income. Regarding the All-Ireland, when one of the best forwards in the game Colm Cooper is back defending and McMahon is up scoring the that says all that needs to said. It’s in the books, there was more to that game than this one controversy.
UP CARLOW!!
Ah god not this again. The reaction to this has been way over the top and McMahon is been unfairly hammered by the media for this. Yes he eye gouged, but things like this happen all the time on a football pitch. He should be banned and waRned for his future discipline.
There is a line and Donaghy had been living in it for his whole career. The one thing about him is that I always thought he was a hard man and not a whinger. Donaghy is the king of the cheap shot off the ball so he has no credibility by going crying to the media.
He didn’t go crying to the media. That is what he said to the ref during the match, and when asked about it afterwards he didn’t say much, basically that only McMahon knows if it was intentional or not. I don’t know how you think saying it to the ref is crying to the media.
Where has Donagh been crying to the media? It’s the media that have kept this story going
That’s just Dubs trying to turn a blind eye to it, by making up things to suit their story
“Things like this happen all the time on a football pitch”
Eh no they don’t. That’s says it all about some dublin fans attitudes to this incident. Please point out some of the many incidences of eye gouging in the championship in the last number of years that you speak of?
I seem to have forgotten them all.
Is this really news? Hasn’t he claimed all along he WAS eye gouged but has said what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch?
So it’s ok then?
Please point out where I said it was ok? I asked why it was news again as we already know Donaghy said he was eye gouged.
Your tone suggests annoyance at the fact that it was brought up again. This would lead us to believe that you’d rather a hush hush approach was taken to this particular incident, possibly because it’s causing negative publicity for Philly mc Mahon and by extension, the team you support.
Personally I think it’s hypocritical for Philly on the one hand to appear in media talking about his business, his upbringing, his family background etc and generating a very high national profile for himself, while on the other hand we are supposed to not talk about his antics on the field, even if it’s eye gouging, but instead sweep it under the carpet as “old news”.
Your tone suggests that anything negative that a Dublin player is involved in you will take it Personally ! What’s wrong with any Amateur sportsperson trying to raise their profile ? I think fair play to them ! Hard teams win all Irelands ie Meath , Tyrone Kerry Armagh Dublin the only team that I can remember who played it totally clean was Galway a few years back .
The point I was making was that the headline here emphasising the word ‘WAS’ makes it look like Donaghy had previously claimed he was never eye gouged and that this documentary is going to make a big revelation that he says he was, when all along he’s clearly said he was. Nowhere am i suggesting it was ok so less of the accusations thanks.
Move on please
Donaghy is as much a dirt bag as any player I watched his antics from behind the goal on all Ireland day.
goes around the pitch like a drunk looking for a fight does the star.
that was just two lads competing that’s all well said David.
I agree it Is disgraceful but so are some of the people commenting on this saying they want dublins all Ireland taken off of them,like really people,if it was a cork lad or a Galway player (not saying they’d win an all Ireland just using examples) then people would be like “ye it’s a disgrace but don’t make the team suffer”
No one is realistically suggesting that. The incident just leaves a bad taste in the mouth is all
Phil mcmahon a disgrace