PwC 2022 Footballer of the Year David Clifford.
By John Harrington
GAA.ie sat down with 2022 GAA/GPA PwC Footballer of the Year, David Clifford, to ask him how much the award meant to him and reminisce on Kerry's All-Ireland Winning year.
Q: David, how does it feel to be both the Footballer of the Year and an All-Ireland champion?
A: Yeah, it's very satisfying. I suppose the All-Ireland is the big prize you set out to win at the start of the year. But when you get nominated for something like the Footballer of the Year, it's nice to go on and win it. It's nice to get the recognition from your fellow players too which adds an awful lot to it.
Q: You're only 23 but this is your fifth championship season and you've experienced some tough defeats along the way. How did it feel when the final whistle went in this year's Final?
A: I suppose there was massive relief straight away. Which is probably wrong in a way. I won't say you don't enjoy it at the time, but you're just so relieved that you can't think of anything else. Like you said, there was probably a bit of pressure building on us. We had lost a lot of big games and a lot of big games in Croke Park. I wouldn't say we were starting to feel the pressure, but we certainly felt it was time for us to go on and win it.
Q: The core of this Kerry team has been together for a few years now. Defeats like the ones you're talking about can make or break a team. Clearly as a group you dealt with those set-backs in a positive way?
A: Yeah, we did. Like you said, the core of the team has been together now since 2019. So, we went through a lot of those losses together. I suppose we all just rallied around each other. Tried to stay together as a group throughout those set-backs. There was never any negativity coming from the camp in the off-seasons or anything like that. I think it just brought us closer together going through such tough times like that. I think that's probably what allowed us to come through those big moments in matches this year, those past experiences.
David Clifford of Kerry celebrates with the Sam Maguire Cup after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Kerry and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin.
Q: Was there anything different about the team's preparations this year that allowed you to gain those extra percentage points needed to become All-Ireland champions?
A: It's hard to know. Obviously there was a change of management. We had been very close in the past few years. Probably, in fairness, the introduction of Tony Griffin made a big difference. Just working on that mental toughness and bringing us a bit closer as a group. I would say that probably did make a big difference throughout out the year, but especially in the latter stages of those big games.
Q: Was it all the more satisfying to win because you were given such a gut-check in the final by a very good Galway team?
A: 100 per cent. It was very satisfying to be able to come through it. Especially when it went down to the wire towards the end of the game. In fairness we won a lot of those games this year which was brilliant because they were the sort of tight games we haven't been able to get through over the past few years.
Q: The 67th minute free you converted from a tight angle was a crucial score. What went through your mind when you stood over that? Were you aware this could be a pivotal moment?
A: Yeah, I can remember just thinking I wanted to start it at the left post and let it drift back. I've hit that free so many times. It's funny, where we come out at Fitzgerald Stadium that's kind of the first angle on the pitch. And it's the last place we'd kick from as well at the end of training. So, it's a free I've kicked a lot. You just go back to your routine in a moment like that.
Q: There's huge expectation on your shoulders every time you play now but it doesn't seem to faze you much?
A: I suppose you put pressure on yourself personally to perform every day you go out. In terms of the pressure from the public or the media or anything like that, I probably don't pay too much attention to that. It's very comforting to know that if I don't perform there are a number of other people who are going to perform. So that's a big comfort because it lets you play with the shackles off a bit more.
David Clifford and his son Ógie celebrate after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Kerry and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin.
Q: How special was it to share the moment with your son Ogie on the pitch after the All-Ireland Final?
A: It was brilliant, yeah. Ogie has been an unbelievable change for us. He has just brought so much joy to everyone involved. He brought us all closer together in terms of family. To have him there was special. Hopefully he'll be able to look back on it in years to come. Yeah, it was very cool, in fairness.
Q: Did you and your brother Paudie meet your parents, Ellen and Dermot, shortly after the final whistle too to share the moment with them?
A: Yeah, we met them straight after. It was great to see them like that because it obviously means a lot to us but it probably means an awful lot more to them. Because there's a lot of pressure on them. We're kept away from it by being in a bubble at times, especially on a match day, whereas they're in amongst the crowd and know what people are saying about the team and about us as individuals. So I'd say it was a massive moment for them and it was great to be able to enjoy it with them.
Q: To be able to experience winning an All-Ireland with your brother and share that with your wider family is something extra-special?
A: Yeah, it definitely was. Family is what it all comes back to, Family and Fossa.
Q: A Player of the Year award is obviously a great individual honour, but I'm sure it'll mean an awful lot to everyone in Fossa too who helped you along the way.
A: 100 per cent, yeah. With Fossa, it's well known obviously that we're a small club and would have struggled a lot at underage with numbers especially. Competing with the Killarney clubs was always tough. But there were a couple of mentors we would have had down through the years who would have been a constant all the way with us. You'd still be meeting them and still be in contact with them and I know it brings them a lot of joy.
Q: As a young lad in the garden, did you dream of lifting the Sam Maguire Cup?
A: Yeah, I would have. My parents and whole family are football-mad so we were going to Kerry games from since we can remember. Yeah, it was probably something I would have always dreamed of. Thankfully I came up through the steps with development squads and to be able to get here today to where I am now is definitely something I would have thought about a lot.
David, left, and Paudie Clifford of Kerry with family, including mother Ellen, father Dermot, and sister Shelly, after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Kerry and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin.
Q: For Kerry as a county, eight years is a long time to wait for an All-Ireland Final. What was the reaction like when you got home?
A: Jesus, it was unreal altogether, in fairness, the reaction. People were just coming from everywhere and it continued on for weeks and weeks at club games and stuff like that. You'd meet people on the street, especially in Killarney during the summer is a busy spot, so you could see the massive relief it brought to Kerry people because they're very proud of their football.
Q: What's it like to be you walking around Killarney? Can you go more than a couple of yards without someone wanting to talk football with you?
A: Yeah, it can be busy! In fairness, the Killarney and Kerry people don't tend to be too bad. It's people from other counties more so who want to meet you. It's great to be able to meet the kids and hear stories about them out practicing and watching stuff on YouTube and stuff like that. Of course there's times too when you get tired of it or whatever, but you always have to remember that you were one of those kids one time and it meant an awful lot to you to meet a player. I can remember meeting Kerry players and stuff like that and I know it means an awful lot to the children.
Q: You graduated recently from your masters in PE Teaching from UL, so 2022 will always be a memorable year for you.
A: Yeah, unforgettable really. I suppose it was great to be celebrating something off the field because of course the football is great but you have to have yourself set up off the field or else it's going to be hard to perform. It's going to be hard to perform if you don't have that balance. So I started teaching in St. Brendan's which is my old school in September and it's been great so far, I'm really enjoying it.
Q: There's a good age profile to this Kerry team so I'd imagine you'll be hungry for more success in the coming years?
A: 100 per cent. Like you said, there's a good age-profile there. There's a lot of us in our early twenties so we're very hungry to go on and try to improve. There's still things we definitely feel like we can improve on for next year so we're really looking forward to getting going and working on those things.
