In the name of the father: Top five father-son combinations as Dublin's James McCarthy bows out
John and James McCarthy hold the record for All-Ireland medals between father and son with 12, one more than Ogie and David Moran of Kerry
With James McCarthy’s retirement this week after a career that soured to even greater heights than his father John’s lofty peak, we rank the best father-son combinations in the history of the game.
1. John and James McCarthy (Dublin)
John McCarthy first slipped into the Dublin senior team when it was far from fashionable, as reflected by the fact that his debut was a Leinster second round replay loss to Louth in 1973. But the following year, everything would change.
McCarthy was a staple of the attack in 1974 as, under the guidance of Kevin Heffernan, Dublin came from nowhere to win the All-Ireland. It started a run of six successive All-Ireland finals, all of which McCarthy played in, winning three and losing three.
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He was man of the match in the 1976 final win over Kerry, scoring Dublin’s first goal and winning the penalty that led to their second. He hit another goal in the epic semi-final win over Kerry the following year, and raised a green flag in the final against Armagh too.
His career petered out somewhat in the ‘80s, along with many of the great ‘70s team, though he did earn a recall to the panel from Heffernan in 1984 and finished with a total of 14-50 from 67 appearances.
Although perhaps not one of the most celebrated players of that Dublin team, he was said to be the forward that Kerry feared the most and James, his youngest son, was certainly never found wanting against the game’s aristocrats either.
He was still a teenager when first appearing for Dublin in 2010 and he had already long cemented his place among the county’s greatest before what proved to be his final game against Galway in this year’s All-Ireland quarter-final. Though a different player to his father, his versatility, physicality, hard running, footballing ability and leadership qualities meant that he ticked every box you could wish for in a footballer.
Captaining Dublin to win his ninth All-Ireland last year, thereby surpassing a quintet of Kerry greats that his father faced down, was the crowning glory.
Between the two of them, they hold 12 All-Irelands, a record for a father and son, and while James’s career eventually surpassed that of John in virtually every department as a key member of the game’s most successful team, that’s not to diminish the elder’s hugely significant contribution to what remains Dublin’s most important team.
Add it all up, and they are the greatest father-son combination in Gaelic football.
2. Bernard Snr, Alan, Bernard Jnr and Paul Brogan (Dublin)
Bernard Brogan Snr’s career followed a similar path to that of John McCarthy, coming on board as a bleak era was ending and a seminal one was about to start. A knee injury meant that he missed out on the run-in to the 1974 All-Ireland though he was back the following year as he established a formidable midfield partnership with Brian Mullins.
He won his first All-Ireland in 1976 and famously scored the game-breaking goal in the following year’s semi-final win over Kerry and though the success started to dry up after that, he won his only All Star in 1979.
His eldest son Alan came into the Dublin team in 2002, a very tidy corner-forward converted from wing-back, as a first Leinster title in seven years was claimed. The All-Ireland remained elusive when Bernard Jnr came on the scene later in the decade as a sniping corner-forward but they started to turn a corner in 2010, when he scooped Footballer of the Year.
Alan, by then a play-making centre-forward, won that accolade in 2011 as the gap to All-Ireland glory was finally bridged, with youngest brother Paul also on the panel, though injury limited Alan’s involvement two years later when Bernard hit two goals in the final win over Mayo. Alan finished in style by kicking the clincher off the bench in the 2015 final win over Kerry before retiring, though Bernard saw out the five-in-a-row run, albeit no longer a starting player by then.
Between father and three sons, they hold 13 All-Irelands, eight All Stars and two Footballer of the Year awards.
3. Denis ‘Ogie’ and David Moran (Kerry)
Dublin’s All-Ireland win in 2023 saw the McCarthys surpass the Morans, who had drawn level with them on 11 All-Irelands the year before.
‘Ogie’ famously played in 10 All-Ireland finals, winning the eight that he started at centre-forward and losing the other two that he played on the wing. After winning his first All-Ireland in 1975, he captained Kerry to the crucial 1978 All-Ireland win as they ended Dublin’s dominance with a 17-point demolition and remained a mainstay of the attack until Cork brought the curtain down on Mick O’Dwyer’s all-conquering side in 1987.
His son David broke into the Kerry side in 2008 and won an All-Ireland off the bench in 2009, though it would be 2013 before he actually started a Championship game and he only nailed down a starting spot at the back end of the 2014 All-Ireland winning campaign.
He was sensational in the epic semi-final replay win over Mayo in Limerick and became Kerry’s principal midfielder for the rest of his career, which ended in 2022 with his third All-Ireland. He also won two All Stars, one more than his father.
4. James McCartan Snr and Jnr (Down)
One of Ulster’s most celebrated footballers ever, James McCartan was centre-forward on the Down side that won the county’s first All-Irelands in 1960 and ‘61. He was Footballer of the Year in both seasons too, a feat that has only been matched since by Jimmy Keaveney and David Clifford.
His son James carried the name lightly, starring for Down as a deadly inside forward as they returned to the big time in 1991 to win the county’s first All-Ireland in 23 years before regaining the title three years later, which remains their last title.
McCartan Snr’s career predated the All Star scheme, though his son was recognised in 1990 and ‘94.
5. John Snr, Michael and John Donnellan Jnr (Galway)
There is another generation to this story as Michael Donnellan Snr won an All-Ireland with Galway in 1925, a feat which his son John matched 39 years later. Sadly, Michael took ill while watching the 1964 final from the Hogan Stand and died, with his son only learning the grim news after the game.
He won two further All-Irelands as part of Galway GAA’s most celebrated team of all, the 1964-66 three-in-a-row side, and when they finally returned to the winners’ enclosure 32 years later, his son Michael was the star of their final win over Kildare and was named Texaco Footballer of the Year.
A superbly skilful player with lightning speed, he won a second All-Ireland in 2001, with his brother John also part of the panel.
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