FINALS ARE NOT to be played, they are to be won.
If Mayo are to end their 66-year drought for an All-Ireland football title, that will need to be their mentality — no more curses, no more ‘hard lucks’, ‘could haves’ or ‘what ifs’. No more excuses.
Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh has witnessed the county lose enough finals in seven decades to know what needs to be done this Sunday, and what needs to be done differently to the September Sundays which preceded it.
Pushing up on Stephen Cluxton’s kickouts, how to prepare for the threat of Diarmuid Connolly, and where to position Aidan O’Shea are all significant cogs in Stephen Rochford’s game plan ahead of throw-in.
But if they can start by adopting a simple mentality that they are good enough to get over the line, they can then take it one minute at a time, and see what transpires.
Accept the fact that they could be rolled over by a stunning Dublin side aiming for three-in-a-row and they stand no chance, says the broadcaster.
There can be no conservatism or defeatism, just a belief in themselves and in the abilities of a panel which continually comes back from the brink – not only in years gone by but in this year’s championship as well – to have another go in search of the sweet taste of victory; try and try again.
The last Mayo side to have won an All-Ireland in 1951 had a winners’ mentality, according to O’Muircheartaigh, and after witnessing this iteration’s deconstruction of Roscommon in their quarter-final replay last month, the legendary broadcaster said he saw something of old: a hunger to not roll over.
“I think the transformation this year came on the second day against Roscommon,” he tells The42.
“I couldn’t see any hope for them on the basis of their performance on the first day. They were lucky to draw with Roscommon. They didn’t appear eager, but in the replay they came out onto the field and looked like the freshest-looking team I had seen in a long time.
“They were fresh and they were anxious for play. I would say they had a serious look at themselves in between the two games and decided, ‘this is the way we are going to be.’
You had that same impression on both days against Kerry in the semi-finals — they were lively and moving forward. They didn’t take much time to decide what to do with the ball when they got it.
“They had a decisiveness after getting possession. I’m expecting that will be there again against Dublin.”
The 88-year-old predicted Mayo would win their replay with Dublin last year after Cillian O’Connor steered a dramatic 77th-minute leveller over Cluxton’s bar, only for Stephen Rochford’s side to finally fall by a solitary point two weeks later.
“They have lost a lot of games by small margins,” says O’Muircheartaigh. “Despite the absence of that little bit of luck they have never faded out and never played badly.”
@gaanostalgia Sean Flanagan(Captain) & Gerald Courell with tie (Trainer) of Mayo with Sam Maguire in 1951 pic.twitter.com/63Ke87twIU
— John Courell (@jcourell) January 18, 2015
He recalls the 1951 All-Ireland champions — a team full of engineers and doctors, and even a politician. Standing inside Croke Park all those years ago he saw a stylish team of great determination.
“I knew most of them,” he says. “There was no massive training in those days. A good few of them were based in Dublin — Tom Langan, Paddy Irwin. They would never have went down to Mayo for training. They might have odd weekends and club games, but as they said themselves they would just be ‘kicking ball’.
Tom Langan used to train with some of the lads in the Phoenix Park and I remember going with them. They were a very good team. They had a lot of skilled players — an unusual team in the amount of doctors they had amongst them.
“Padraic Carney was a doctor, Johnny McAndrew was a doctor. They were a good team and a strong team who knew how to win. Tom was a full-forward back in the days when players held their position.
#MayoGAA won the 1951 All-Ireland final, beating Meath 2-8 to 0-9. Name one of the #Mayo goal scorers #Mayomind pic.twitter.com/IxGxrPMO0h
— Mayo History (@Mayo_History) September 12, 2017
“It was totally different to now. If you were a right corner-back you would never be found wandering over on the other side of the goal. You would hold your territory. You minded your own patch and you marked whoever was there.
“In those days it wasn’t expected of a full-forward to pass the ball. They would turn and drive as hard as they could, no matter who be shouldering or blocking him, heading for the goal.
“Goals were in the head of an inside-forward and Tom Langan scored many of them. I remember him scoring a wonderful goal against Meath in the 1951 final.”
The Kerry native is keen to note the significance of that Mayo team’s own struggle. Like the current generation, who have lost three finals in five years, Mayo had to endure the bitter taste of defeat before victory in ‘51.
I remember the 1948 final that they lost to Cavan by one point — the strongest wind I ever recall in an All-Ireland final. At half-time Mayo had not scored playing into the wind, Cavan had something like 3-3.
“I remember Mayo had a free, just like Cillian O’Connor had in the replay in 2016, that would have drawn that final against Cavan in 1948.
“Padraic Harney took it at an angle on the railway side of Croke Park — Cavan’s full-forward Mick Higgins grabbed hold of the free dropping short and booted it clear. Game over.
#MayoGAA's 1948 All-Ireland final team (pic. @MayoGAABlog) #MAYvDUB #13ForNo13 pic.twitter.com/rEzjocSiga
— Mayo History (@Mayo_History) August 27, 2015
“But that narrow loss stood to Mayo in 1951, the experience.
“Padraic Harney was the free-taker and would be centre-forward. Midfield would the great Eamon Mongey — a leader amongst them. And of course Sean Flanagan, who I think might have been a TD by that stage, was the left full-back. He was the boss.
“They were an organised team and in their own way had the slight push of the county board. You hear of player power now; I think at one stage Sean Flanagan wrote to the county board about the way he wanted things done for the coming year — how the players wanted it.
“He got his way and maybe that’s one of the reasons they won — the team and the county board were thinking along the same lines.
But they were always a popular team, Mayo. They always play nice football. They have dainty footballers, even though football has changed over the years and it has got to be a lot more physical now.”
Though the bookmakers favour Dublin, with Jim Gavin’s side’s apparent invincibility unwavering against Monaghan and Tyrone this year, O’Muircheartaigh continues to admire the courage and grit the county of Mayo has shown to come back time after time, regardless of what transpires on Sunday.
Whereas many would throw in the towel, unable to return to the ring where they have endured so much psychological torment, this generation of Mayo players and supporters refuse to call for the bell.
“The Mayo fans might be dejected in the days after a final loss,” he says, “but the flicker of hope returns and they are all back again.”
O’Muircheartaigh maintains it’s far too premature to evaluate this Dublin side’s ranking as one of the greatest in history.
But given Sunday could prove their fourth All-Ireland title in seven years, with more surely to follow, the legendary broadcaster is of the opinion that these Dubs will join the pantheon of all-time greats in due course.
I don’t think people should talk about the best teams of all time until their era is finished. You have to wait, and then after everything has come to a close and calmed down, then you are in a position to judge.
“But they are heading that way. It’s always said of champions that there is more to come. You imagine that they will always return the following year the way they finished the previous season.
“Dublin last won three-in-row in the 1920s. Only Kerry and Wexford have done four-in-a-row in football, and the only thing that should matter to players is the next match. That’s what managers always say and I agree with them.
“If you are thinking two years down the line you can be in dreamland. It’s step by step.”
So, what will Mayo have to do to upset the odds?
“As John B. Keane put it — they will need to be at their almighty best to beat Dublin.”
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Jeff Stelling and Chris Kamara met Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh on the first stop of their Journey to Croker. This Sunday, Jeff and Kammy will commentate on the All-Ireland Football Final from the top tiers of Croke Park. For a sneak peak, fans can tune into AIB’s Facebook and Twitter on the 17th of September to hear Jeff and Kammy’s analysis live from Croke Park from 2:30pm.
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