Declan Quill aiming to end years of final heartbreak vs Galway

Kerry's joint-manager Declan Quill thought it was the end when the Kingdom came up short in the All-Ireland final against Dublin last year.

It was the second year in a row that Kerry suffered final heartbreak after falling to Meath in 2022, it was all too much and the tears were bitter.

"There was a lot of emotion after the All-Ireland final, we felt that we had messed it up again.

"My young lad Adam was bawling. I was bawling. Maybe it was time to move on," he said.

Quill and his co-manager Darragh Long took a break following the defeat to Dublin, but following a squad barbeque at captain Siofra O’Shea’s parents' home, the pair decided to stay on.

"We got talking and the older players said they’d stay on. That was vital. Without them we would have walked away. They’d bring the younger players on board again."

The decision to go again has proved successful so far, and Quill is now looking forward to a third successive All-Ireland final where this time they will come up against Daniel Moynihan’s Galway.

"We ended up in the league final nearly by accident, but our main aim was to hit the ground running in nearly every Championship match and build towards Croke Park on All Ireland final day.

"There was no guarantee that it was going to happen, but we’ve come through some tough games and have come out strong at the end of them," he said.

Quill, who is now in his fifth year as Kerry’s joint manager, said his and Long’s side will be facing a vastly experienced Galway side with players who carry a lot of threat.

He said: "We saw the second half and extra-time of their game against Dublin, and I thought they were fierce fit and they were stronger than Dublin at the end of that game.

"We saw a good share of the first half when they played