LAST MAN STANDING

Kilkenny is in no rush to exit like his '93 pals

- PAT NOLAN

CIARAN KILKENNY Kilkenny is in no rush to exit like his '93 palsis now the last of the ‘93s' — and he intends to endure far longer than his contemporaries.

At the core of so many of Dublin's successes over the past decade and more was a quintet born in 1993, who came through the underage ranks together and filtered into the senior team at different stages between 2012 and 2015.

After Dublin's victory over Kerry in the 2023 All-Ireland final, Kilkenny (eight), Brian Fenton (seven), Jack McCaffrey (six), Paul Mannion (seven) and John Small (seven) had 35 Celtic Crosses between them.

Indeed, in 2018 three of them — Kilkenny, Fenton and McCaffrey — formed the entire shortlist for Footballer of the Year. Fenton won the award twice ahead of Kilkenny, while McCaffrey claimed it once.