For a few moments, away from the centre of the on-field celebrations, Aidan O’Shea stood with his two daughters among the reams of golden streamers scattered across the pitch.
He was Mayo’s 18-year-old wonderkid when he made his debut way back in 2009. At the end of too many All-Ireland finals he had stood on the same Croke Park pitch with those same streamers tangled in his studs, and watched others walk up the steps to lift Sam.
But the streamers were for Mayo this time.
“To quote Rory McIlroy, what will we talk about next year? It’s an unbelievable feeling. It was hard to watch at times, but the boys were just outstanding,” he said with a smile.
“Is there any other sporting odyssey left?”
O’Shea, a substitute, didn’t see a minute of game time but for the best part of two decades he had been at the forefront of his county’s great longing. Mayo have a few more teenage wonderkids these days and yet one of the biggest cheers for any player lifting Sam Maguire was reserved for O’Shea.
“I’m waiting for somebody to come in and say, ‘Oh, actually, something’s gone wrong here and we’ve to take this away’. [The cup] is in the middle of the room there and it’s an amazing feeling,” he said.
“Just buzzing for all the boys, the young fellas in particular and the boys, they’ve put in a huge amount of shift. They’ve taken a lot of flak over the last couple of years. Delighted for them to get the performance they got today.”
It’s unlikely, though, that anyone has taken more flak in Mayo than O’Shea. He was often an easy target for criticism. But, year after year, he turned up, laced his boots, got his reward.
“It’s genuinely not about me. This is all about that group there, Mayo people. When we came in all those years ago, we were all about trying to drive and change the narrative about Mayo people and Mayo football.
“We did that to a certain extent but we never got over the line. It’s something that I was hell-bent on doing when I was a young fella growing up. I wanted it to be different, I wanted us to be taken seriously as a football county. I knew All-Irelands would come.
GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Croke Park, Dublin 26/7/2026
Mayo vs Kerry
Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea and Kobe McDonald celebrate
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
“Whether I’d be in the room or not, I didn’t know. It’s not like this is out of the blue, we’ve had decent players over the years and come up short in big games. I knew that it was going to happen. Obviously it’s taken a long time but we can talk about something different now: Mayo are All-Ireland champions 2026 – can never take that away.”
Both O’Shea’s parents, and his wife, are from Kerry but on Sunday he finally made his dad shed a tear.
“My dad doesn’t get emotional too often and it’s only twice in his life he’s ever got a emotional in front of me, the first was when Séamie won an under-21 All-Ireland. And I said I’d love to make him emotional someday. It took me 18 years to do it but to see their reaction and my family’s reaction is just magic. It is magic.”
Carragh and six-month old Romee weren’t around when this whole adventure started but they were there with him among the streamers of celebration on Sunday.
“Six months old, she doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. I can tell her about the previous 18 years when she gets older. Carragh’s obviously seen the heartbreak and Kristin has seen it as well, all the hard yards put in. I’m buzzing.”
If O’Shea was realising his sporting dream near the end of his career, Kobe McDonald has won Sam Maguire in just a single season. One and done, and off to Australia. If he never kicks a ball for Mayo again, he is already immortal. And if that does turn out to be the case, has there ever been a greater intercounty career?
“Kobe’s done seven games and he’s out the door, it’s unbelievable. I tried to tell him it’s not how it usually works. It’s just unbelievable, some of the guys have only played a couple of games and they’re All-Ireland champions.”
And so, O’Shea will be part of the Mayo squad bringing Sam Maguire across the Shannon on Monday.
“To finally be heading west on the train tomorrow [as champions]. We always used to have good craic on the train home. But by God, we’re going to have a serious f**king craic tomorrow.
“I just can’t wait. It’s going to be an explosion. Mayo people can stand tall, they won’t be bowing their heads. They’ll be able to look people in the eye for the first time in a long time.
“I think we shy away from things from time to time. I like to think I haven’t shied away from things. I hope Mayo people are infectious about it now, they’ve waited a long time to enjoy this moment.”
So, too, has Aidan O’Shea.