In 1983 Dublin had the 12 Apostles, or the Dirty Dozen, depending on your point of view.
On that day 34 years ago the Dubs held off 14-man Galway with just 12 players following one of the most infamous All-Ireland finals of all-time. Brian Mullins, Kieran Duff and Ray Hazely all got their marching orders, but they still hung on to Sam Maguire.
This year Dublin have a different set of 12 Apostles - the dozen men who have won five All-Ireland medals.
Until just under a year ago Brian Mullins and Anton O’Toole were the only two Dublin-born players to have won four All-Ireland medals.
Now, with a three in-a-row secured, 12 Dublin players are the holders of five All-Ireland medals. Up to this point no one from outside of Kerry had such a glittering collection of football medals.
"The first one was huge. It gives you that bit of belief and gives you a bit of insatiable hunger to win more," said Sunday’s All-Ireland final man of the match James McCarthy. "It’s just amazing.
"I’m just lucky to be around at a time when these players come together. We’re very close. That’s the biggest thing for us. And it means that when it comes down to the line, you look at each other and drive through and pull it out of the bag."
At 27-years-old McCarthy is the youngest of the dozen players with five All-Ireland medals and the way he and his team mates are playing there’s a great chance that they could be back for more in the very near future.
Arguably, McCarthy has done as much as any of those players across those five winning seasons, 2011, ’13, ’15’,’16 and ’17, apart from the oldest - goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton, who has played in every minute of every game.
The others are Mick Fitzsimons, Philly McMahon, Darren Daly and Cian O’Sullivan in defence, midfielder Michael Darragh Macauley, and attackers Kevin McManamon, Eoghan O’Gara, Paul Flynn, Bernard Brogan and Diarmuid Connolly.
At this stage, it looks as though the only members of this band of brothers who might consider quitting over the winter are former Footballer of the Year winners Bernard Brogan and Michael Darragh Macauley.
Brogan came on late in Sunday’s 1-17 to 1-16 win over Mayo, but at 33-years-old he has become more of a bit-part player, while 31-year-old Macauley didn’t see any action in either the semi-final or final.
It would be no surprise however, were they to put any disappointment they may be feeling behind them and come back for a crack at winning a sixth All-Ireland medal in 2018.
