Code-juggling Con central to Cuala's journey

Given Con O'Callaghan’s importance to the Dublin footballers, it’s hard to quantify what his return from injury makes to Cuala as they strive for a maiden Dublin SFC county title.

As the metropolitans blazed a trail through the provincial championship last summer and seemingly steadying the ship after a dispiriting league campaign that ended in relegation, the three-time All Star was the focal point in attack.

The Cuala man picked off a combined 2-13 against Wexford, Meath and Kildare before injury struck. Having missed the entire league, he would play no part in the knockout stages of the championship.

Cork never looked seriously in danger of causing a quarter-final upset, yet at the same time, the O’Callaghan-shorn attack didn’t threaten to raise a green flag either.

"The forward line was clearly a blunter instrument in the absence of O'Callaghan, their creative spark and a perpetual menace to any defence," Tommy Conlon wrote in the Sunday Independent.

The semi-final showdown with Kerry was dominated by the Con v Clifford narrative. Would both men be fit to play?

Even allowing for Dublin’s struggles to match the form of previous years, the question surrounding O'Callaghan's participation seemed to be a tipping point for many.

"If Con O'Callaghan and James McCarthy play, I favour Dublin," predicted Colm O'Rourke such was the importance of the pair.

Only the Kingdom talisman featured, delivering a player-of-the-match performance in a game decided with the last kick of the game.

It is overly simplistic to suggest that the Cuala man would have helped the Dubs to a first win against a championship heavyweight since December 2020, but in a match ultimately decided by a single point, perhaps a below-par Dublin could have snuck through