NOW we know how Mayo feels! During Galway’s 21-year absence from the GAA’s national showpiece event, the maroon and white army watched on as our noisy neighbours fell short in nine All-Ireland senior football finals; eight defeats and one draw.

And during all those years in the wilderness, Galway supporters often joked about how their county would win Sam Maguire again before Mayo’s curse lifted – and they probably will! But on Sunday, it wasn’t to be.

The Tribesmen produced a monumental performance in front of a capacity 82,000 crowd at Croke Park on the last weekend of July, the earliest ever All-Ireland final.

It was a performance that sowed seeds of doubt in the Kerry psyche; not enough, though, to conquer the Kingdom, who claimed their 38th title and first since 2014 with a 0-20 to 0-16 triumph.

For the guts of 65 minutes we dreamed the impossible dream. Star man Shane Walsh was unmarkable and daring midfielder Cillian McDaid epitomised the audacity of Galway’s defiant display. Both have earned All-Stars with the shifts they put in, surely?

Kerry had their stand-outs, too. None more so than David Clifford, who threatened to carry Kerry to victory all by himself. Fossa’s finest was majestic, plucking balls from the sky and kicking points for fun.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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