1 Dublin men’s footballers

(2011-????)

FIVE All-Irelands in-a-row and 15 Leinster titles in the last 16 years, yet the Dublin juggernaut shows no sign of slowing down. The reason why they take top spot, however, is because no other team in the history of the game has caused so many of us to throw our hands in the air and sigh ‘what is to be done?’ From splitting the county in two or slashing funding, or forcing Stephen Cluxton to kick with his right foot (you can thank Pat Gilroy for that one), nobody really has a firm answer. Plenty of people have pointed out that this current Dublin team is massively different from the one that claimed Sam in 2011, and that’s fair enough, but this is my party and I’ll glorify the Dubs if I want to.

2 Kerry men’s

footballers

(1978-1986)

MICKO’S Kerry won seven All-Irelands in eight years between 1978 and 1986, and don’t really like being reminded of the one they lost. Five members of that team — Paidi O’Se, Pat Spillane, Ogie Moran, Ger Power and Mikey Sheehy have eight All-Ireland medals having also played their part in their 1975 triumph, and they’re a team indelibly associated with the advent of colour television and the inimitable commentary of Michael O’Hehir (“and now they’re really rolling” to name but one of a zillion examples). Played in a fairly swashbuckling style and have meant that all Kerry teams since are held to an almost impossibly high standard, the poor souls (yerra).

3 Kilkenny hurlers (2000-2015)

FOR a while, it looked like Brian Cody’s team were going to rule the hurling world forever more. In 2008 they blew Waterford out of the erm, water, as they cruised to their third title in-a-row, and that was pretty much the way of things for all-timers like Henry Shefflin, Tommy Walsh, Eddie Brennan, JJ Delaney., Jackie Tyrrell and the rest. When they were on form, which was most of the time, they hounded their opponents to the point where they were psychologically destroyed long before the full-time whistle and in that sense they were a mirror image of their rather intimidating manager Brian Cody. Probably should’ve won the five in-a-row but lost out to a Lar Corbett-inspired Tipperary. Came back and won another three on the trot though….

4 Cork ladies

(2005-2016)

A solid argument could easily be made that the Cork ladies should be number one on this list. They won the All-Ireland title 10 times in the space of 11 years, and a book appropriately entitled ‘Rentlentless’ was penned about their story. Won the five in-a-row TWICE and produced some of the finest ladies players in history like Briege Corkery, Angela Walsh and Valerie Mulcahy. Some of them even had time to play Camogie and Corkery and Rena Buckley have 32 All-Ireland medals between them, which is frankly ridiculous. Beyond dominant, and mention also goes to their manager at the time, Eamon Ryan, who turned their fortunes around and then some.

5 Corofin men’s footballers

(2008-)

COROFIN did what even Crossmaglen couldn’t manage and won the Andy Merrigan Cup for three years running during the years 2017 and 2019. They’ve basically ruled the roost in Galway since 2008, winning ten of the last 13 championships, but the reason why they’re held in such high esteem by gaels is their superb brand of football – intelligent kick-passing and interplay obviously backed up by tremendous coaching from a young age. Their players are comfortable kicking with both feet and they’ve made even the best club sides look fairly average down the years.

6 Crossmaglen

‘LIFE is too short not to see Crossmaglen play’, so said Joe Brolly a few years ago. Rival fans mightn’t agree – Cross’ absolutely lorded Armagh football for more than two decades running, winning 19 out of 20 titles between 1996 and 2015. They were hardly flat track bullies either as their success translated to provincial and national level as well, winning All-Ireland titles on six occasions. The Joe Kernan years were magnificent, but their 2011 and 2012 victories saw them play some of the most expansive football ever seen in the sport.

7 Cork hurlers (1941-1947)

They’re the only other team apart from Kilkenny to win the Liam MacCarthy Cup for four years running, so that’s obviously quite the achievement. Statistics aside, they’re one of the most fondly remembered teams in history as it’s ‘the team Christy Ring played on.’ They actually faced their sternest tests in Munster as they usually ended up playing less established opposition in All-Ireland finals, like Antrim in 1943. They were also the team of future Taoiseach Jack Lynch, for the record, and could’ve won six All-Irelands in-a-row only for a surprise defeat to Tipperary in 1945.

8 Birr hurlers (1995-2003)

THERE are a few worthy contenders for the position of best hurling club team of all time, but we’ve elected for Offaly club Birr. They won four All-Ireland titles in a decade and were back-boned by sensational hurlers like Brian Whelahan, Johnny Pilkington and Daithi Regan. They were the first team from Offaly ever to win the Tommy Moore Cup, and while they’ve been overtaken by Ballyhale Shamrocks on the overall roll of honour list, hurling fans don’t need to be told how good they were.

9 Wexford men’s footballers

(1913-1918)

QUITE a while ago this one. Wexford became the first team in the GAA to win four All-Irelands in-row when they defeated all comers between 1915 and 1918. They also won six Leinster titles on the spin, and their successes are all the more noteworthy as they were hampered by other going-ons at the time, particularly in the wake of the Easter Rising (the 1918 final was played in February 1919, so we’ve not done too badly to get the All-Irelands played during this calendar year come think of it). That was the last time Wexford won an All-Ireland SFC title, but history hasn’t forgotten their trailblazing footballers from 100 years ago.

10 Galway men’s footballers

(1963-1966)

WINNING three All-Irelands in-a-row during the sixties was an even more notable achievement when you consider Galway’s opposition at the time. They defeated Kerry in the 1964 and 1965 finals, and then they overcame Down’s conquerors Meath in the 1966 decider. They’re widely regarded as the best Galway team in history, and at the time they were even talked up as the greatest side to have ever played the game.