"You need to be on your game playing them" - David Byrne on upcoming Semi-Final v Kerry

When the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final tie against Galway hung in the balance, Ger Brennan made a series of bold moves.

One after another, he unloaded a series of rookie performers from his bench, showing ultimate confidence and faith in a group of players desperate to impress and to make a difference.

Josh Bannon, Tim Deering, Seán Guiden and Liam Smith - with nine Championship appearances between them, and having only made their Championship debuts this season - were all introduced in the closing 15 minutes of a game that could have gone either way.

It went Dublin's way in the end, of course, and how. Dublin memorably outscored Galway by 1-8 to 0-1 in the closing quarter hour or so with Guiden adding a vital insurance score late on. All of them played their part and will be expected to do so again if called upon this Sunday against Kerry at Croke Park.

"You would smile a little bit more when it's a new player who has just come on and he scores a point," said David Byrne, a decorated defender who made his own debut over a decade ago.

"You're absolutely delighted that you have extra talent coming through for starters. And you're just delighted for whoever it may be that they're performing well, because you know how much it means at the start of their career to get things going on the right path."

Brennan has handed out Championship debuts to eight different players in all this season.

"The guys have all been performing," said Byrne. "If you're on the B team in training and you're trying to make your way into the A team, you're defending against Con O'Callaghan, Cormac Costello, Collie Basquel, whoever it might be that's in that starting position. And if you're able to do it in training games against them, you should be able to do it in Croke Park against county opposition as well."

It's an exciting time for all of those players, as well as their clubs who get a boost from producing another player who has made it all the way.

Naomh Olafs have been getting that exact buzz for years now, from watching Byrne develop and make his way as a stellar talent in the Dublin defence.

"I think I'm the only one to play Championship from Olafs," said the ultra-experienced corner-back. "Jack Feehan was in at the start of the year, playing in the O'Byrne Cup. Paddy Feehan, who is Jack's Dad, was on the League panel a couple of years ago, probably more than a couple of years actually! And then in the hurling, we've had some lads on Championship squads, like Donal Leavy and Ciarán Foley, Declan O'Dwyer would have played as well a couple of years ago as well. So there's been a couple of lads asking questions and been in and around squads. But, for me, to be up and playing in Championship squads for Olafs is brilliant."

At 32, and as a holder of eight All-Ireland medals, part of Byrne's task is to help usher through all the new players, to provide vital leadership.

He has to keep delivering himself too, and having started all 28 of Dublin's League and Championship games across 2025 and 2026 so far, it's safe to say he's doing that.

Against Galway last time out, he was immense and has played a big part in getting the team back to winning ways following a couple of punishing Championships losses, to Westmeath and Louth.

"I still thought we had the ability to reach this stage," he said. "Yes, there are no guarantees in sport but I definitely knew we had the ability to be here, if things went well. I am delighted that has turned out to be the case."

So what has changed since then, since those two defeats?

"Looking back at that day against Louth, did they score four goals or something?" said Byrne, referencing the All-Ireland Round 1 loss. "If any team scores four goals against you, you are going to be struggling. With a couple of them, they were unfortunate. And sometimes stuff happens in games, especially with the new rules, where it is very hard to consistently get results.

"It was definitely a bit of a knock but we had the capability to get back, which we have done."

Byrne looks set to have his hands full again on Sunday. Maybe it'll be David Clifford that he marks, or maybe it'll be Dylan Geaney or Paul Geaney. Either way, it's going to be a challenging afternoon. The sort of occasions he thrives on.

"They've got great forwards," he said. "You need to be on your game playing them. Coming into any game, you'd be looking at who you're most likely to be marking and trying to prepare as best as possible for them. David Clifford is obviously a fantastic forward and he's absolutely flying it. He'll present a challenge for whoever is marking him."

Dublin have their own marquee forwards, and potential gamebreakers. And none moreso than captain Con O'Callaghan.

"It's great to have him," smiled Byrne. "He's a leading forward there and our captain. He's a real leader on the team for what he does, bringing on players around him as well as putting scores on the board. It's been brilliant to have him back."