Tadhg Morley: We parked 'emotional' Dublin win immediately

Shortly after the football that Sean O'Shea struck over the bar from 55 yards to break Dublin hearts a fortnight ago came to rest before a silenced Hill 16, Kerry attentions had already turned to Galway.

So says the lynchpin of a Kingdom defence that held the Boys in Blue to just 1-13, Tadhg Morley.

"We parked that Dublin game as soon as we could," Morley told RTÉ Sport this week ahead of his county's latest All-Ireland final appearance.

Finally vanquishing their historical rivals for the first time since startling Pat Gilroy's earwigs in 2009, O'Shea's 76th-minute winner prompted some unusually triumphant scenes on the Croke Park turf from the Green and Gold.

They don't celebrate 'participation' in Kerry, however. Semi-finals are for winning. All that mattered from that moment on was the challenge that lay ahead, according to Morley.

"We were very conscious of that," Morley said. "There was a good bit of emotion at the end of that game so we needed to park it very soon after.

"Once we got back into the dressing-room, we started the recovery process straight away.

"It was a tough semi-final, so recovery was key. Since then, it's been all focused on Galway."

One day previously, Galway had been first to book their place in the inaugural July All-Ireland football final with a convincing five-point win over this year's surprise packet, Derry.

The eight years that have elapsed since Kerry's last All-Ireland in 2014 are tantamount to a famine.

Templenoe clubman Morley is well aware that should the Munster kingpins fail to turn over any stone in search of victory, that famine could well stretch into a ninth season.

"It's going to be a tough challenge," Morley said. "Galway have had a lot of good, tough games that they've come through and