Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne says there are plenty of midfielders in Dublin that are 'ready to go.'

If he's right, that's great news for Dessie Farrell with places are up for grabs in the Dublin engine room following the retirements of James McCarthy and Brian Fenton - his first choice midfield pairing.

Ó Cofaigh Byrne (25) is doing his own Dublin chances no harm with his recent auditions.

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Over the past three months the towering 6’6” centre fielder has helped Cuala to their first ever Dublin and Leinster senior crowns.

And on Sunday he will be key man again as Cuala go head to head with Errigal Ciaran at Croke Park in the All-Ireland final.

After that, he’ll go back in with Dublin and see what happens from there with the new rules and places up for grabs.

“Definitely for the lads in the squad, myself included, it (starting) was a massive target anyway," says Ó Cofaigh Byrne. "Now that there is a hole there, it is an opportunity, definitely.

“They are 100percent tough boots to fill, James and Brian. Playing with them was an absolute pleasure. I know there are a lot of lads there.

“Ethan Dunne is a young fellow coming up. Tom Lahiff, myself. There were a lot of lads chomping at the bit there, trying to get the jerseys off the lads - trying to compete with them. If that made us better as a team, that was great.”

Trainee solicitor Ó Cofaigh Byrne, who holds All-Ireland senior medals from 2019 and 2023, isn’t even sure who the competition is with Dublin, so consumed is he with Cuala’s journey.

"I have not been involved so I don’t even know who is even there at the moment, who is even looking for that spot,” he says.

“Even with the new rules, I am sure it will be quite different. I know for the team and for us, it is going to be a massive loss (Fenton and McCarthy) - even just character wise.

“With regards to replacing them, you hear the same cliches that they can’t be replaced but there are definitely a lot of lads there, not only myself, who are ready to go.

“It is not a simple walk on because they are gone. It will be tough to see who will be there because I am not sure who will get there.

“I know the first league game is soon but when it comes to the championship, I am not sure. It will be a tough battle until then.”

Ó Cofaigh Byrne says he was as shocked as anyone at double Footballer of the Year Fenton’s exit:

“I think there is a thing out there that we know everything that is going on with each other in Dublin and we don’t tell anyone,” he continues.

“But I think Brian’s decision was his own. It was private and he let a few of us know before but it was probably something he kept personal. I would say a lot of his close friends would have known - his family.

“It was a little bit of a shock and I might have heard a little bit before you guys (media), but it was not something that we would have been aware of at the end of last year.”

Ó Cofaigh Byrne made his Dublin senior debut in a dead rubber Super 8s encounter with Tyrone at Omagh in 2019, the day after he lost an All-Ireland under-20 final against Cork.

It was a strange way to make his senior bow. In 2020 a pulled hamstring set him back, while groin surgery in 2022 has also inhibited his progress.

He appears to be coming into his own now with his size, physical power and aerial ability one of the reasons Cuala are one of the first sides around to turn down easy short kickouts in favour of going long.

Perhaps more impressively, for such a big player, he is a one man turnover machine.

As for whether he is hitting his peak, he says: “I'm not sure. I hope so. Coming into the weekend I'd hope so.

“I don't know. It's a tough one. I'm still quite young. Well, I think I'm young and then there's lads on our team (Cuala) who are only 18 but I only turned 25 there the last day.

“So I hope to be playing for a good few years, whether that's good, bad, whatever - that's my plan.

“I hope I haven't peaked and I don't think anyone hopes they've peaked because there's always something left.

“You just try to get better and better every year. It's the same old cliches but it's true. No one's a finished product really. So that's the way I look at it anyway.”

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