Kieran Donaghy has revealed how criticism from Joe Brolly spurred him on this summer.

The former Footballer of the Year came in from the cold to play a starring role in Kerry's All-Ireland success last month and roared to the TV cameras after the final victory over Donegal: "How do you like that, Joe Brolly?"

Speaking on RTE's Second Captains last night, Donaghy elaborated: "He wrote an article about me about four months ago saying 'catch a falling Star' that I was finished and that I was no more good and that the tactics were gone.

"Then he wrote an article about four weeks after that about how Kerry football was finished and about how the conveyor belt is gone and 'wrap these boys and send them off'.

"And you know, they're trying to sell papers and he's trying to make a few headlines. Joe's well able to give it so I knew he'd be well able to take a bit of stick so when I got my chance I gave it to him.

"James O'Donoghue actually came to me - he'll probably be on twitter now in a half an hour talking about it - and he was like 'Brolly, he had an awful lot of goes of us this year, we'll show him today'.

"He actually put it into my head but I don't know why at that moment in time…  Joe Brolly and why I'd stare and roar down a camera and then walk off roaring. When I look back on it, I don't know what I was at but sure it was probably emotion. Emotion."

The big full forward, who is preparing for Austin Stacks' Kerry SFC final showdown with Mid Kerry on Sunday week, added: "When people write you off you want to answer and loads of sports people have gone through that stage of their career where people write them off and not everyone gets to be fortunate enough to get a chance to answer and, look, thankfully my chance came.

"And to be honest, ye were probably thinking the same, it didn't look like it was going to happen for a long time."

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