1972 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

The 1972 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 85th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1972 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.

1972 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

Event	1972 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Offaly Kerry 1–13 (16) 1–13 (16)
Date	24 September 1972
Venue	Croke Park, Dublin
Referee	Fintan Tierney (Cavan)[1][2]
Attendance	72,032
← 1971

1972 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final replay

Offaly Kerry 1–19 (22) 0–13 (13)
Date	15 October 1972
Venue	Croke Park, Dublin
Referee	Paddy Devlin (Tyrone)[3]
Attendance	66,136
1973 →

Match 1

Summary

Mick O'Dwyer brought the sides level to force a replay.^[4]

Details

Offaly	1-13 - 1-13	Kerry
T McTague 0-6, J Cooney 1-2, P Fenning 0-2, J Smith 0-2, K Kilmurray 0-1.		B Lynch 1-7, M O'Dwyer 0-5, M O'Connell 0-1.

24 September 1972

Final

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 72,032

Referee: F Tierney (Cavan)

Match 2

Summary

Paddy Devlin from Tyrone, who later took charge of the 1974 final, oversaw the replay.^[3]

Offaly won the replay.

Tony McTague scored sixteen points in the two games.

Paddy Fenning scored Offaly's goal.^[5]

This was Kerry's biggest ever defeat in an All-Ireland final.^[5]

It was also the last time Micks O'Connell and O'Dwyer played at Croke Park.^[6]

Details

Offaly	1-19 - 0-13	Kerry
T McTague 0-10, P Fenning 1-1, M Connor 0-2, S Darby, 0-2, W Bryan 0-3, K Kilmurray 0-1.		M O'Connell 0-7, B Lynch 0-2, L Higgins 0-2, M O'Dwyer 0-2.

15 October 1972

Final replay

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 66,136

Referee: Paddy Devlin (Tyrone)^[3]

Offaly

Kerry

References

1. Fitzpatrick, Paul (31 August 2011). "No show like a Joe show as McQuillan gets All Ireland". The Anglo-Celt. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015.
2. "Death of former All-Ireland referee Fintan Tierney". Hogan Stand. 11 January 2008.
3. "An Galbhaile Cumann na Piarsaigh Clubman Sean Hurson to Referee 2022 All Ireland Football Final". 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022. The last Tyrone man to referee and[sic] All Ireland Football Final was the great Paddy Devlin who in 1972 refereed the All Ireland Replay between Kerry V. Offlay[sic] and Paddy again took charge in 1974 when Dubiln[sic] played Galway.
4. Keys, Colm (13 September 2019). "Scoring the equaliser proves great leveller". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 13 September 2019. Does it present any advantage in an All-Ireland final replay to have scored the equaliser in the drawn game? A look back on the last six drawn football finals shows honours even in that regard... In 1972, Mick O'Dwyer's leveller was in vain when Kerry lost the replay heavily to Offaly...
5. Barry, Stephen (15 May 2020). "Offaly All-Ireland winner Paddy Fenning passes away after illness". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
6. Fogarty, John (12 September 2019). "Replay readings suggest this will be tight, with a busy referee". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 12 September 2019. The 1972 final replay loss to Offaly was the last time Mick O'Connell and Mick O'Dwyer played in Croke Park.