I’m trying to get excited about the club championships. No, really, I am.
It’s shaping to be a good club season too, with plenty of fascinating sub-plots starting to emerge as the final round of group games approaches, with the knockout ties lying just beyond.
But I can’t get my mind off Mayo and our wonderfully improbable All-Ireland victory and everything that flows from that.
One of those things, coming down the tracks in about a month from now, will be the annual list of nominees for this year’s All-Star awards. The shortlists for the Footballer of the Year and Young Footballer of the Year awards will also be revealed then.
Thanks to the era we’ve enjoyed since 2011 when, more often than not, we’ve found ourselves still in the hunt at the business end of the championship, we’ve done fairly okay awards-wise over the last 15 years.
Mayo sit fifth in the table of All-Star award winners, with Kerry, Dublin, Cork and Meath (in that order) all ahead of us. Of that quartet, Cork and Meath stand out as slight oddities in light of where they stand in the current pecking order but they’ve both had their moments in the years since the All-Stars were instituted back in 1971.
In Lee Keegan and Andy Moran, Mayo also have two Footballer of the Year award winners, the former in 2016 and the latter the year after. We’ve seven Young Footballer of the Year wins as well, with Keith Higgins (2006), Cillian O’Connor (2011, 2012), Diarmuid O’Connor (2015, 2016) and Oisín Mullin (2020, 2021) all winning an award which we’ve won more than any other county.
Which brings me to this year, our All-Ireland winning year, in which we can expect that the team’s achievement in finally capturing the Sam Maguire will receive due recognition when it comes to the share-out of the game’s annual awards.
I’m not looking to pick a fantasy All-Star team here. Instead, I’m interested in exploring how our winning of this year’s All-Ireland is likely to be reflected in the share-out of the game’s annual gongs and which of the lads are likely to be looking to clear some space on their mantlepieces.
The obvious place to start by sketching out the boundaries of the possible number of All-Stars we can reasonably expect to receive when the awards are handed out later this year.
Historically, the highest number of All-Stars given to an All-Ireland winning team was eleven, with both Kerry and Dublin getting honoured in that fashion. That, though, was a very long time ago – in Dublin’s case it was in 1977, while for Kerry it was in 1981.
The All-Ireland winners who picked up the fewest All-Stars were Down in 1991, who got a measly three gongs. That too was quite a long time ago.
If we narrow the focus to the last decade then Dublin’s haul of nine awards in the Covid year of 2020 leads the way while Armagh’s four awards for their Sam Maguire success two years ago is the lowest.
One time there used to be a generous spread of winners on the annual All-Star teams. Most recently, though, the finalists tend to hog the majority of the fifteen slots up for grabs, with the relative share-out dependent on how competitive the final was.
That’s not always the case, though, with Armagh and Galway between them only accounting for seven of the fifteen All-Stars in 2024. Kerry’s blowout win over Donegal last year saw them pick up eight All-Stars but, despite the ten-point tanking they suffered on final day, Donegal still won a rather generous four.
Dublin’s two-point win over Kerry in 2023 saw them go home with five awards to the Kingdom’s four. Kerry, in turn, left with seven the year before that, having beaten Galway, who won an eye-catching five, by four points in that year’s final.
Clearly, this is all a bit of a guessing game. So, then, time for some guessing.
Let’s start this exercise with the team that has already been chosen. This was the one picked on All-Ireland final night by The Sunday Game on RTÉ.
We had seven players on that team, with Sam Callinan, Enda Hession, David McBrien, Jack Carney, Ryan O’Donoghue, Jordan Flynn and Kobe McDonald all making it onto the chosen selection. Kerry had four players on the team, with one each from Westmeath, Louth, Tyrone and Dublin.
All seven Mayo lads on The Sunday Game team would have extremely strong claims for inclusion in this year’s All-Star team as well. Darragh Beirne is the obvious one missing from that list and the straight choice in The Sunday Game selection was clearly between him and Kobe.
Were Darragh to be included and Kobe to hold his spot, bringing our total to eight (which I doubt will happen) then Dublin’s Niall Scully would be the one most in the firing line for the chop. In this scenario, Ryan O’Donoghue would also shift out to 11, with Paudie Clifford moving across to the wing.
That brings me to the other beef I have with The Sunday Game selection, which is that both Sam Callinan and Enda Hession were picked as corner backs, despite playing most of the time further forward.
This was, I accept, done in the interests of who was in the team overall but surely the All-Ireland winners are pencilled in first, with everyone else slotted in around them?
I know, this means we’d occupy the whole half back line and, maybe, a case could be made for shifting Enda back. I just think that whatever square pegs that need to be bashed into round holes to make up the team wouldn’t on this occasion involve any of our lads.
I think seven would be an acceptable return for us for this year’s All-Stars, eight at a push. If there was any year where we merited a push, then that’s this year.
Anything less than seven would, though, be selling us a bit short. Mayo’s All-Ireland final win was an enormous upset, lest we forget, and it represented the pitch-perfect execution of a daring game plan. The risk taken in pursuit of victory demands appropriate recognition in the awards.
Finally, the Footballer of the Year and Young Footballer of the Year awards.
For FOTY, it’s Ryan all day long. There’s not even a debate about this.
It’s got to be between Darragh and Kobe for YFOTY, with Louth’s Dara McDonnell also likely to be nominated. Personally, I’d be leaning towards Darragh but I acknowledge it’s difficult to see Kobe losing out at the same time.
So, then, eight All-Stars plus the two Footballer of the Year awards – that sounds about fair, doesn’t it?
To the victors, the spoils.
Nephin says:
August 26, 2026 at 4:00 pm
It would be ridiculous if Darragh Beirne didn’t get either an All Star or the YPOTY. He had a brilliant season.
Trooper Thorn says:
August 26, 2026 at 6:17 pm
Surely he has to get it after those two full throttle sprints before the throw in in each half of the final. The definition of the exuberance of youth!
Joking aside, you could make a strong case for either him or Kobe but for me I think Darragh slightly had the bigger impact over all.
Glorydays says:
August 26, 2026 at 7:44 pm
Darragh Beirne for young player of the year for me. Kobe brillant lad great footballer but Darragh more than shades it he does the less glamorous stuff scores goals and points and like Kobe is the real deal
Pepsi says:
August 26, 2026 at 8:28 pm
One month on from the final, I think i will watch it again tonight.
No doubt says:
August 27, 2026 at 7:20 am
And still some are saying kerry only gave a 6/10 performance and would have won otherwise. Maybe it was only 6/10 because mayo didn't allow them play any better. At the 15 minute mark it was 9/10 so what happened?.also heard louth manager say louth had an off day in the semi final. Again I wonder why....credit where it's due and all that.
yew_tree says:
August 27, 2026 at 8:56 am
Kerry 6/10….any yet we’re only a kick of the ball away from winning it. Thats the narrative now I’m beginning to see from certain quarters.
Here’s a thought….Mayo didnt play the perfect game either and far from it. Yes our intensity, tackling and workrate was off the charts but our kickouts and shooting were below par so one could say Mayo didn’t play to the absolute best of our ability either and here’s the kicker…I believe this team can play better.
No doubt says:
August 27, 2026 at 10:35 am
Agreed yew tree our heroes left plenty of easy scores after them in the 2nd half and if they were a bit more efficient kerry would have needed more than "a kick of the ball"at the end
It Means Nothing to Me says:
August 27, 2026 at 11:04 am
Yeah, now that the initial celebrations are over, the narrative seems to be turning a bit with some people from other counties. I've seen some posts online disputing that Mayo were ever the subject of mockery, which is a crazy thing to suggest, given that it's the lived experience of every Mayo supporter over the years.
Just another example of online being divorced from reality.
The final in particular was far from a perfect display in terms of the shooting accuracy, but who cares? Our workrate, desire and heart carried us over the line, and hopefully there's more to come from a relatively young group.
Pepsi says:
August 27, 2026 at 12:18 pm
As football people its easier to watch and analyse a game when ones own County is not in a final.
The gravity of this win means that I couldn't care if Mayo had a good few wides in the 2nd half, kept kicking the ball out to under the Hogan stand in 2nd half, even when Diarmuid O Connor was substituted ( more kicks to Kobe on the left wing nay have been a better option, but Mayo flooded the intended target with 5 or 6 bodies, it worked to a point ).
Or that one or two more goals should have been scored in the 2nd half.
After the Beirne goal i had no doubt that is was to be Mayo's day, too much energy for Kerry and at least 6 or 7 guys that could get that score to win it.
But yes, Mayo could have won by 8.
Mayo beat a good Louth team, basically suffocated them from working the ball out from their own defence, I could see the plan unfolding for the final.
The preparation work for the Kerry game was unreal, never before did I see Mayo players soo composed on the ball.
to win just once says:
August 27, 2026 at 1:48 pm
I think when good teams lose to supposedly inferior teams , the narrative is often that they had an off day. When guys who have previously excelled are stopped people think it is because they had an off day. That is taking away from the performance of the opponent. A number of the Kerry players did not play as well as usual but that was down to the serious intensity applied by Mayo . For example PaudIe Clifford was one of Kerry’s better players but was not given the same space as he got v Dublin in semi or v Donegal last year. He did not have an off day, he just was not allowed to play as much.. I could say the same about some other players.While we were excellent we were far from faultless. A struggle in the opening 15 minutes was compounded by balls dropped short and a number of bad wides when we were dominant in the second half. Had we lost the game which could have happened coming down the stretch, it would have been more devastating than any previous loss. Overall Kerry played quite well. We played very well. I think we were about 7 points the better team, but to even scrape past someone like Kerry you have to be a good bit better than them. What was most uplifting about our performance is that we shrugged off the mistakes and kept going hard at it. Mistakes and set backs are part and parcel of sport. It is how you deal with them that defines you as a team. Mayo dealt with them brilliantly
JP says:
August 27, 2026 at 1:57 pm
Anecdote. I won a kids sports tracksuit presented by Colm Mc for predicting 11 of the 15 All Stars in 1991. I did it blind to the nominations as I didn't have them to hand.
Rusty Bridges says:
August 27, 2026 at 2:44 pm
Who cares? We won!
To be fair to Gavin Devlin, he said Louth didn't really perform. But he said we were awesome! I don't see anything wrong with what he said. I heard his interview on the Monday Club in case this is from a different interview.
Kerry didn't perform at their optimum. Sean O Se missed a few shots that he would normally never miss. But he did. And we were far from perfect in attack.
Our defence however was outstanding. We never switched off. We possibly had better individual defenders in times gone by, but this was a team performance. There were no own goals, no calamity goals after 1 minute. And that was because of the unity the lads played with. They concentrated for 70 mins.
We won. We finally did it. And who cares what others think..
The 2017 was possibly the greatest final of the last 20 years in terms of quality. But we didn't win it.
We took our chance..
I just hope we aren't finished yet! Because our team is young..and there are plenty of lads knocking on the door
Catcol says:
August 27, 2026 at 2:55 pm
Yes, a counter narrative is definitely emerging: Kerry off day, Louth off day, Mayo better team on the day (ie not better at all), Rossies just dying to get Mayo first in league (so they can reassert superiority). Then there’s another tack: flash in the pan, not a patch on the team of ‘11 to ‘17, Andy got lucky. Yada, yada.
This stuff is all very good because it provides motivation in spades for 2027. Every team will have a grudge to work on, and we’ll have to be ready.
Meanwhile, why not enjoy our victory? Oh, I forgot- we ARE enjoying it. Achill last Sunday for example; brilliantly described by Edwin McGreal in the Examiner.
It Means Nothing to Me says:
August 27, 2026 at 3:56 pm
@Catcol: Diarmuid Connolly was the only pundit to tip us to win the final. I didn't read anyone from the mainstream media who tipped us to beat Louth.
Shows you how lazy sports analysis often is in Irish media.
The Rossies would also need to have superiority first before they can reassert it. Uncomfortable shades of 2001 for them.
Robe Green and Red says:
August 27, 2026 at 5:40 pm
Like to think history repeats itself. Mayo for the back to back. We need to drive on now and show this was no fluke. Competition be high now with every young lad wanting to make that starting 15 and cement their name in history
JoeG says:
August 27, 2026 at 8:31 pm
Ignore the naysayers. I've rewatched the game many times and talk of Kerry having a bigger lead esrly on completely ignores the multitude of Mayo chances including those for two- pointers falling short. Mayo could have been home and hosed by halftime and even a plethora of second half misses by the eventual winners didn't allow Kerry to take over..
Mayo were deserving winners and are worthy champions.and the detractors have a long winter ahead chewing their gums!
Anne-Marie says:
August 27, 2026 at 9:11 pm
Happily, I've never given less of a fiddlers about what anyone thinks about us, our team, the game itself, or the opposition. None of it stings now None of it matters. We don't need adulation or credit from anyone else. We know our own story. Our chests are out.
Rusty Bridges says:
August 27, 2026 at 9:40 pm
Anne-Marie 100%!
Just watching again for the umpteenth time! Wonderful
yew_tree says:
August 27, 2026 at 10:01 pm
Absolutely nobody can take away what’s we’ve won. We will enjoy the winter and I’m currently enjoying the club but as I begin to think about the future I assume I’m not alone in wanting us to win more.
If we can continue our excellent consistentcy since 1989 in getting to finals (I’ve no reason we can’t) and now that we’ve broken through the glass ceiling then I firmly believe we will win more in the coming years.
Observer2 says:
August 27, 2026 at 10:46 pm
Unfortunately, it seems the Rossies are still living rent free in the minds of some Mayo people, despite the euphoria of what Mayo achieved.
I haven't seen anyone trying to discredit Mayo's achievement.
Yes, Louth were worse than useless on the day, but that was down to the sheer force of Mayo's performance. How many times were Louth turned over or fumbled the ball in possession when Mayo pressed the life out of them ?
As for Kerry, the final proved the old saying that if you shut down the space for any player, you curtail his ability to influence a game.
Mayo approached the game in a manner that probably shocked Kerry. It's reasonable to assume when Kerry went 1-5 to 0-1 up after 15 minutes, their mindset switched to auto pilot mode.
But it was the sheer ferocity of Mayo's team performance that unravelled the Kerry challenge.
The Louth and Kerry game plans, perished on the rock of Mayo's heroic and disciplined performance, embraced by everyone of the 20 players who played that day.
That is the reason why we are All Ireland Champions today. It still seems a little surreal to write those words.
Glorydays says:
August 27, 2026 at 11:19 pm
They can say what they like but when we are all dead and gone the history books will show that on Reek Sunday 26th July 2026 we beat Kerry in the All Ireland Final. No one can ever take that away from us
Liberal role in the tie says:
August 28, 2026 at 7:47 am
As Jack Carney said in his recent interview here, our front 3 won the All Ireland for us. Darragh, Ryan and Kobe with their relentless high press.
Something struck me watching it back compared to other big matches in Croker. In most other matches this year and down through the years, there was acres of space from the 50th minutes onwards. That just wasn't there on the 26th July. It's doable for all teams to press for 35 plus minutes, but not for the whole match. How many times have we seen Paudie, Paul Murphy, Diarmuid Connolly, Ciaran Kilkenny, Scully etc etc saunter with the ball with 30 plus yards of space in front of them. And it's not just the new rules, though it plays a key part. This was a huge pivot from Mayo this year, to do it to the end despite tired legs. The exception being the last few minutes which were frantic and Kerry are too good and too experienced just to lie down. Our midfield were outfought in those minutes but thankfully we prevailed keeping our shape in place and with disciplined tackling to guard around the arc. Credit to our S&C team. That must have been so draining for Mayo to maintain. This is where teams more often than not falter. The game opens up, tired legs make the inevitable mistake, a momentary lapse in concentration. So credit to Andy and the entire team.
For that final play, I still don't think Jack Livingstone gets enough credit. To win and punch that ball to a Mayo colleague with two Kerry players right there. Every time I watch it back I dread what could have been. It really was our day.
DavyJ says:
August 28, 2026 at 8:27 am
Glorydays has it bang on. Our great victory is in the history books now, and nothing that anyone says can change it.
We're All-Ireland champions folks. We waited for it long enough. Let's just enjoy it.
Justoutsideballagh says:
August 28, 2026 at 9:51 am
Have watched the game again several times and the game was won by everyone performing. It was an incredible team performance by all 20 players. That level of teamwork combined with our wonderful talent is unbeatable and long may it continue!
Mind the House says:
August 28, 2026 at 12:41 pm
@Liberal Role in the Tie
I have thought exactly the same regarding Livingstone and the last minute.
First of all to sense the ball was dropping short and then to go and deal with it was brilliant. It could have very easily ended up in the net. We got a bit of luck that it landed in Carneys hands but they say you make your own luck.
Going forwards there is a lovely age profile of the team particularly defensively. The current 1-7 will take a bit of shifting and could be there for the next 5 years.
We have a manager who has shown he is happy to give youth a chance. It is a great chance for the youngsters to show what they can do knowing they will be picked if they are good enough.
I'd have loved to have seen some of those A vs B games where the B team were beating the A team. Its some situation to be in when your B team is beating the A team who end up being an All Ireland winning team.
Maigh eo Abu
Mayoforever says:
August 28, 2026 at 4:40 pm
I believe that we wouldn’t have won the All Ireland if Kobe hadn’t come on the scene - he lifted the entire county - of course Darragh was terrific- Ryan incredible but there was something about Kobe ….. Read an excellent article by Eamonn Sweeney on Mayos’s journey.
On another note I see Galway Breheny has Shane Walsh as seventh best display in an All Ireland final - Ryan - 17th -
Liberal role in the tie says:
August 28, 2026 at 4:59 pm
Yes Mind the house, and also if a Kerry lad got it he could have turned and pointed, or popped it out to a colleague for a one pointer. Kerry could then have won our kickout and drawn (or won with a two pointer!). There was still time.
Mayoforever, Agreed on Kobe.
Jr says:
August 28, 2026 at 7:25 pm
We got our match ups spot on for the final.
Kerry could never imagine McGreal on Paudie Clifford or Diarmuid O'Connor on White.
It really threw them.
Kerry whining about their injuries is laughable,we had plenty too.
mayotillidie says:
September 2, 2026 at 12:38 pm
Our 2 point accuracies was actually quite poor in final, think 4 /14. So we were not perfect their, Also first 15mins we were poor, Jack Carney poor hand passes, Darragh look really nervous till he nailled that free. Again Kobe really didnt really come into it, until he got that 45. Livingston again go few short ones away in first 22mins. ROD, not really in game until Tommy came on and he moved out the fiel. So if kerry brought their A game, or were let bring their A game, we would have lost. But credit were credit due, we suffocated them, and played really well when we got the ball after the first 22mins of play. So narrative that they played poorly and we won, not telling the true reflection of match. They were brillant for 15mins, but we outplayed them after that
Mayoman in Meath says:
September 8, 2026 at 1:20 pm
Can anyone advise what weekend the Snr &Intermediate finals are scheduled for.