208 thoughts on “Great champions need to be good winners too”

1. Well said Willie Joe, first thing that came to mind when I saw this Charlie Redmond rubbish was that I don’t mind a sore loser but there is something pathetic about a sore winner.

2. I have no problem with Jim Gavin or the Dublin team. Most of their supporters were gracious after the game on Sunday….and dare I say quiet muted. Maybe that comes with getting used to winning.

   There is a stark difference between the “online” version of fans and the real fan you meet on the street. I have taken the advice of WJ and for the most part stayed away from it as it’s not good for the soul and life is too short.

   Some Dublin ex players though are getting on my nerve….Redmond again targeting Keegan on Newstalk. Now if Lee gets cited for throwing the GPS I don’t think any of us can complain but so too must O’Gara and Costello…..amazing that those incidents are not being mentioned by Redmond….a man who forgot to leave the field in 1995.

3. It’s a bit rich for Charlie Redmond to start acting holier than thou. This man was no saint on or off the pitch in his day, so I don’t know where he thinks he’s going on his high horse.
   It’s amazing how little enjoyment some people seem to get from their team winning.

4. well said Willie Joe. There’s no doubt that this Dublin team are a great team, and many of their supporters are good, decent people and gracious in victory.
   However there is a nasty, mean spirited and malevolent minority of fans and a a number of ex players who’s only contribution is to stir up trouble and bring in an atmosphere borrowed from the dregs of soccer following.
   In the age of social media and the rest of it, it’s easy for these wankers to find a voice and approval from their fellow idiots. Its unfortunate that the only way they can enjoy what should be considered a remarkable achievement is by denigrating members of the opposing team.
   To be fair – we have within our own fans a cohort of some who should just keep their mouth shut, or step away from the keyboards too. By responding and acknowledging some of this bile, it only serves to feed it. On too many occasions our own Ex players are disappointing in their silence too, but its not surprising.

   I don’t know what the solution is but my only suggestion is to ignore all of the bile as much as possible. Don’t click the links in the Indo or the Herald, and more importantly, don’t buy them. To be fair, if your reading and comprehension have come to even only a slightly more advanced stage than the Ann and Barry Rainbow reading programme, then it really is beneath you to be reading anything from the Independent or Herald anyway. Try the Examiner, the Irish Times or the local papers, any and all of which are streets ahead of the Indo group anyway, and offer far more in terms of actual analysis and intelligent discourse than anything the Ex Dub infested stable in Talbot street could produce.

5. For those too young to remember the Charlie 95 incident this summary will be of particular interest to Ravellino – under the rules Dublin in fact lost the 95 all Ireland…

   http://www.hoganstand.com/Clare/MessagePage.aspx?PageNumber=4&TopicID=16827

   and then there is the poetic justice?….of the following….

   https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/charlie-redmond-in-appeal-for-stolen-all-ireland-medal-1.2294863

   perhaps james mccarthy can give Charlie one now and make him feel like he really did win the 95 All Ireland…

6. Ah Willie Joe, you dont get it, they are unhappy because they aren’t loved. Its o.k tho, Jim will introduce some processes next year to ensure they receive the affection they so crave. It may require some kim jung un style propaganda but Jim will get there in the end in the same charisma free fashion as always.

7. Wj totally agree with your words. I’m not one the usually gets into spats with online folk but it got to a point where I felt enough is enough. It really baffles me how some Dublin folk don’t seem able to enjoy their win or are somehow unfulfilled that they must nag away pedaling awful crap. Are they that miserable and unhappy that they have to piss and moan about perceived unjusts?

   The constant speil of ‘we don’t get enough respect’ is just tripe. Again looking for acceptance and wanting to be liked? Screams insecurity to me. Why the longing desire to be recognised by one and all to be the best of all? Seeking that unattainable happiness because their is something lacking in their lives.

   Now I can’t stand Kilkenny, and I love watching them lose and don’t like when they win but would you ever hear the moaning of this sort coming from them? They are a team that are respected all over the country, maybe disliked but respected. They don’t go looking to complain about this or that or demanding recognition. I’m sure they don’t give a toss what people think of them but I’d say their fans are quite happy. I have a good KK friend who enjoys every All Ireland victory, we have great chats about his love for them and my dislike, he doesn’t try to change my mind that much, we don’t get into roaring matches, he laughs, because he knows, and deep down I know, they are great teams, who have the respect of the GAA community and it is deserved.

   Dublin don’t have that, because in my eyes they don’t deserve it. And if some of their fan base and media heads keep going on with this crap they’ll be waiting a long time.

   P.S: 14 men in your own half is not playing the game it’s ‘supposed to be played’

8. Well said WJ! From what Jim Gavin said about underperforming in last years final I can only conclude they must also have underperformed in four all Ireland’s and two semifinals so far. Arrogance beyond belief. I hope he has the leadership skills to keep some of his big guns happy who aren’t getting game time. If not, his much vaunted bench could become very ordinary!

9. Good piece Willie Joe.
   It’s what I’ve been saying for a long time. They are cynical. They don’t like it when you call them out on it.
   I have no apologies for constantly publishing pictures on Facebook or Twitter of them gouging, biting or being cynical. It’s wasted on the post 2011 keyboard zombies but if they weren’t coming on to our forums and posts we would leave them alone too.
   The true Dubs will be in Castlebar in the winter. The rest will be watching the Premier League.
   If Gavin constantly spouts this “play the right way” guff, enough people will ignore the stuff they get up to, never mind the 14 men behind the ball tactics since they were shocked by Donegal.
   You don’t mind that they win when they have great players. But let’s not pretend they’re angels. To Team Mayo’s credit we don’t comment on other teams about this. We are hard, physical and skilled an no one likes playing us.
   Last year’s Lee propaganda (and even the crap from the Ladies manager this week) is a sign how much they fear us and try every trick to win.
   They may be champions, they may be a great team but the longer they remain so the more they will be only loved by Dublin and respected by the rest.
   They have reached a tipping point and are now the new Kilkenny. They’re expected to win but everyone wants someone else to win. You can have the medals but you can’t demand everyone respects you, especially when you use whatever means necessary to win.
   The media need to be called out on this as well. If they don’t write fawning pieces they don’t get access so they are complicit.
   The only way to beat them is to beat them on the pitch.

10. – Thumbs up for that analysis WJ
    – I often think we were better off in the old days when we had a couple of Sports Journalists with few if any agendas. Now every second ex-player is a ‘pundit’ either on Social or Print media and in order to distinguish themselves they need to be controversial.
    – Many of the so called Sports journalists in the national media are merely chickens that were hatched and raised with a Dublin bias which is why we have journalists afraid to ask the hard questions.
    – Jim Gavin is by all intents and purposes and quiet and humble man. He has his Dublin team well under control but one thing he will never control is how the rest of Ireland view him and his team
    – This Dublin team will equal the great Kerry team when they win 4 in a row and will be the greatest team ever when they win 5 in a row and not one minute before that
    – Hell, even Brian Cody used to smile with Kilkenny won…..
    – Best of luck to the Mayo women, will be there on Sunday to cheer ye on.

11. It’s the lack of response to Redmond from our own high profile pundits I find most galling. Where the fuck is David Brady this week? Ya couldn’t go outside the door without hearing some kinda auld guff outta him last week. Why doesn’t he put on his Mayo jersey and tell Charlie Redmond to fuck right off. Casey, billie Joe padden, Conor Mortimer no better. James Horan is the only media man we have not afraid to stick up for our players. Unfortunately he only has the weekly star column as his platform now.
    This mornings indo sickened me – Callaghan hails the black card for letting him score his goal without the dirty cynical Mayo backs pulling down the purist Con.
    Look at talking points podcast on balls.ie Facebook page. Peter canavan goes through the goal in detail and from a camera behind the goal shows o callaghans movement before ball came in. You can clearly see eoghan o gara sneakily checks into boyler as he follows o callaghan out to the pass, stopping our man and giving Con the extra second to collect and turn at pace. A classic third man tackle, but in fairness very difficult to spot. I urge anyone who has Facebook to look up the balls.ie clip of canavan talking about the goal.
    Drives me mad to see the shit they talk then about non cynical football.

12. Charlie and co have lost the sense of wonder and winning Sam is no longer an achievement. The real problem that Dublin have is that nobody cares how good you are anymore. Dublin will win the next 5 Leinster titles for absolute certain, and 4 of the next 5 AllIreland titles for certain too. There’s no joy in that for any Dublin fan and Charlie Redmond and co are the first to really show signs of discontent. Also within 5 years you will see an allireland final with less than capacity crowd at it.

13. I’m not sure there’s much in this post that can be challenged. I submitted my column to the Mayo News yesterday on pretty much the same topic (though probably not so strongly worded!). Ultimately, while among the decent Dublin fans there is a real generosity of spirit, I genuinely feel sad for those fans and pundits who cannot take joy in what is an incredible achievement for their county and act as gracious, dignified winners.

    Colm Parkinson made the point in this week’s GAA Hour podcast that Dublin’s achievements have been somewhat overshadowed by the fact that people feel bad for Mayo. I think that’s a fair point but it’s not really our fault – though I do admit to taking a perverse pleasure in inadvertently ruining their party a little. By the way, if you haven’t listened to the GAA Hour, and can face some analysis of the game, I would recommend it – I find Parkinson and his team one of the fairest out there and it was very refreshing to hear them calling out The Sunday Game, and in particular, questioning Joe Brolly’s agenda in his relentless criticism of Aidan O’Shea.

    I am deeply disappointed at the lack of response this week from Mayo . I can understand that ex-players might not want to engage with the media – it’s not for everyone, nor is there any obligation to – but for god’s sake, how can anyone in good conscience stand back and let Keegan be targeted like this? Where is your loyalty? Happy to appear on TV pre-game and milk the exposure but where are you now when you are needed? My one consolation is that once these current lads retire, we will have no shortage of strong, articulate men going out to bat for their county – you can be damn sure they will have a bit more integrity, and will not stand for this bullshit having been the victims of it themselves.

    In notable contrast to this, Peter Leahy’s response to the slur on Cora from the Dublin camp was fantastic. Fast and furious, it rejected these claims with scorn, questioned Dublin’s motives AND highlighted their own less than angelic plays. I don’t think such a strong response will have done the ladies any harm at all – rather it will contribute to the siege mentality and drive them on further. And players deserve to know that their managers and county boards have their backs. Rochford himself has good form here too, but it shouldn’t be left to him to do it.

    WJ, I would however take issue with one line in your piece: “Expressing extreme opinions and projecting hatred are, of course, core to what social media is all about”. That is absolutely not the case. This blog is “social media” – albeit well-managed social media. I have met some of the best people in my life on social media, now solid friends, and we follow Mayo GAA together. I have gained work experience, professional contacts, a job and vast amounts of insight on a range of topics I would have never have done elsewhere. I’ve had my opinions challenged many times and grown from it. So no, projecting hatred is absolutely not what social media is about. We can’t account for the types of people who use it and abuse i – particularly not the types of lowlifes referred to throughout the post and comments – but we can certainly control how we respond to it. It’s not for everyone, and that’s fine, but we’re not powerless against the assholes. We can block, mute, ignore and choose what to see, and I’d rather walk that line and take what’s good from it any day.

14. Their ladies’ management are at the same crack, insinuating through the media that Cora Staunton intimidates refs and buys frees. I would have felt sorry for them following last year’s Pointgate fiasco but not now.

    Unfortunately, like all county sides, the Dubs have a bandwagon element, difference is that because their following is the biggest, and so their idiot element is also the largest. They have a particularly obnoxious online presence, particularly on social media.

    I imagine it must have been particularly hard for you to write this piece, WJ, given where you’re based. Hard play to you for having the stones to call them out.

    I would say one thing, though. We too have a slightly obnoxious element in some recesses of the web, and it would be best not to rise to the bait. In my experience most of those making the incendiary comments wouldn’t know whether a gaelic football is pumped or stuffed anyway, like most people in Dublin.

15. Its a sad day when your team wins a 3 in a row and you cant even enjoy it. I have thought a lot this week Willie Joe about your son and his bravery and what an example he is to all of us. Im lucky enough to be living and working in Mayo and I had to take lots of deep breaths to psych myself up for work on Monday. We will have our day in the sun. I’m sure we, the Mayo people will know exactly how to celebrate and enjoy it.

16. The only way to stop the likes of Charlie Redmond and Vinny Murphy and even that ghoul of a ladies manager that made those pathetic comments about Cora is to beat them in an all ireland final. Start on Sunday with the ladies winning then beat them in the league and beat them in the championship. We have a brillant team and an excellent Management team I hope they all stick together we are not far away.

17. Like everyone else, I too am disgusted by the online vulgarity coming from the Dublin fanbase. You won lads. Celebrate, but know there’s such a thing as good winners with class and taste. From my perspective, I absolutely ignore the guff being posted on the fans sites. I do this by simply not logging on to those sites, Reservoir Dubs etc. It’s sad that some of the major newspapers allow this trash to proliferate in their comments sections. Particularly the RTE GAA section of the national broadcaster (to whom we pay a license fee). Some of the content there is low and nasty and I’m amazed that management make no attempt at moderating. So I ignore.

    The recent comments aimed your way WJ, from individuals thinly disguised as Mayo fans, were truly beyond revolting. Fair play to you for allowing everyone have their say but some posters are so blatantly imposters. In a perverse way this can be taken as a complement to yourself and a tribute to the success of the blog. This is now surely the first stop for info on all things Mayo GAA. Discussions are well informed and rational and I don’t doubt that many mainstream journalists log on to compile their content. And like a visit to our proud and beautiful county, I say come on in, you’re all welcome.

    Deep down the Dubs know that Mayo were right up there with them. The only team to continually challenge them over the last number of years. We are the only threat to their greatness tag. It’s as if the challenge from this rural county from the west is not acceptable and has undermined their superiority complex and they must continue the attack from every angle. That’s their problem. But they need to recognise the damage being done by their army of semi illiterate morons with smartphones.

    From my base in Dublin I will continue to follow this great mayo team. And I intend to be back on the Hogan Stand at 4pm on Sunday. Good luck to the ladies and to the lads as they embark on their club championships in the weeks ahead.

18. Slightly off topic but regarding Ex-Players….if we do get to the latter stages of the Championship again, can some of our ex-players (a few in particular who will do anything for attention in the media) please for the love of god give up re-hashing our failures in the past that they partook in (some of them trashing’s) and even divulging in-house details – its embarrassing. One in particular was on the radio recently before the Kerry game divulging details of the preparations for 2004 and 2006 finals making out they were a joke and making a fool of himself and his county. He was in the company of two Kerry players from that period and you could almost feel them cringing through the radio. I had to turn it off! To think some people on this blog recommended this fella for manager some time back!!

    Agree Horan is the only one with a backbone who will stand up, although its difficult for him given he was an ex-manager to this group

19. Excellent piece WJ. Like yourself I’m involved in the Dublin club scene and it’s quite sickening having to listen to the jibes and bile of many whose parents hail from outside the Pale, including Mayo.
    I don’t recall this happening in the days of the great Heffo. But it certainly appears to be orchestrated now from the top. In fact it has sadly crossed over to the Ladies Football. Recent comments from Mick Bohan are nothing short of disgraceful.

20. The Redmond article is hard to believe. Below the belt is how I’d put it and goes without saying laughably biased.

    As you say the match is over and I think all the analysis of cynical tactics is silly. The only incident I think that warrants CCCC review is the ‘eye gouge’ by o gara as that may have been dangerous play. The rest is wasting time.

    The worst is people like Charlie who get mad worked up about it as if one or the other side are the only cynical team out there.

21. KMcL had a wonderful game last Sunday. Kicked great long range points and his kick passes to the inside forward line were brilliant. If Colm Cooper was passing like Kevin all the pundits in the country would be raving about the genius of the man.

22. I dont know about this topic. I dont particularly care about Charlie or Jim but I find that if you let them at it they will eventually be recognised as the hypocrites that they are. Journalism standards in Ireland are at an all time low anyway and when Jim is talking about playing the game the right way why isn’t the journalist calling him out on his 14 men behind the ball and the blocking of runners, the sledging, the eye gouging, etc.. When Charlie Redmond is talking about and again demonising Lee Keegan why is the journalist not calling him out. It should not be down to us poor plebs. You can be a journalist unless you have integrity and balls. BTW most Dublin people I met on Saturday thru to Monday were real decent.

23. Well said Willie Joe. So heartbroken about this year’s final. I ask what do our lads need to do.

24. They know they did not win it fairly hence Redmonds rubbish.
    They are not best team…end of story.We can all see whats in front of us.
    Well done WJ

25. You’re right, of course, Anne-Marie, it’s not really what social media is about and I accept that others, yourself included, have a less jaundiced view of places like Twitter and Facebook than I have. Maybe a better characterisation is that, by its nature, social media facilitates and does nothing to stop the propagation of extreme opinions and outright hatred. I honestly believe the world is a far worse place post its advent than before. Donald Trump did for me on this one, I’m afraid. No way would his election or the madness in the UK have occurred in a world before social media. Now I’m getting off-topic, I know, and I need to give myself a stern talking-to on that house rule that says no political discussion here!

26. Hey all, let’s not get mad, let’s get even.

    I’m more convinced than ever that we are on the verge of greatness. Daragh O’Shea, may be exaggerating a little by calling us the second greatest team of the last 30 years, but surely not when he said that no one but Dublin would have lived with us on Sunday. We can and will beat them.

    What this means is that, while we are the nation’s darlings in some ways, those at the top fear us and will try to use every trick in and outside the book to bring us down. Kerry will be doing it, are doing it – see comments from Darren O’Sullivan and Paul Geaney. And just wait till we meet them again. We too have a few who play on the edge and rivals won’t be long pointing that out or trying to take us down and bringing their own dark arts into play. Think Tyrone.

    Our pundits really need to up their game in this area and match the Dubs and Kerry for ‘physicality’, just like our players have been doing.

27. Yknow whats going under the radar amidst all this. It is actually Dublin I believe who are going to regress in 2018/19 due to the natural aging process.
    Have a look at Dublin 29 or over. Quite a lot of talent to replace with equivalents.

28. Larry Duff you are spot on. If the Dubs in the media tried that kind of shite with Kerry they’d have their arses handed to them on a plate by the plentiful supply of ex-Kerry legends in the media circuit these days. However, the difference with them is that they all have a huge pedigree of winning whereas our tortured history gives us no such luxury. Any attempt to comment now would only be met with references to ‘sour grapes’ and ‘Mayoaning’ (what the local papers in Meath said about us in 1996 after that harrowing defeat). This time we shouldn’t care. This amazing bunch of lads deserve better. I was very proud of Stephen Rochford in the weeks leading up to the final when he commented publicly on Lee’s sending off last year and to be fair it seemed to do the trick this year. Its time for David Brady et al. to circle the wagons and defend our pride. After that, the only other way is to come back even stronger in 2018. In the words of Kevin Keegan: “I would love it …!”

29. Their all irelands mean nothing. They were all purchased by AIG and the likes. The inequalities in the game will not be addressed. Anyone who heard how utterly unapologetic sean kelly was on the radio recently about creating this Dublin GAA monster will know this. The obsession of the top brass in the GAA with “growing the game in the city” will in fact be its death knell. And the next GAA president will be a true blue Dub also, he is not interested in change. The game has been allowed to die in Leinster and plenty of counties will soon be following suit. I am not anyway optimistic about its future. The only silver lining I can see is that there may be a gradual move back to the club game within counties.

30. I might phrase better. Mix of replacements and players dropping 1-2% off peak.

31. We still have a lot to learn when it comes to the dark arts. Problem is Mayo would not get away with half the crap Dublin pull. Dublin do it because they know they will get away with it as was blatantly obvious in the first half and at the end of the game.They do not like the cheek of Mayo to challenge their all conquering heroes and a one point win is far from convincing. Let’s not paint all the Dublin supporters with the same brush as lots of decent supporters who I am sure are equally disgusted with the carry on of the rabid few. I stay away from social media as not good for the health. Let them at it. All I care about is next year and following the truly greatest team in the country.

32. What’s going on under the radar is that the likes of Charlie Redmond’s ego is so inflated with his one All-Ireland (won in dubious and questionable circumstances) that he has to court contraversey to keep his name in the public eye. He is in danger of being a ‘forgotten man’.

33. I was just starting to come around until I read this piece. Blood pressure is gone sky high again. The pieces about how our support for the team is hindering them as well haven’t helped.

34. I think we should take it as a compliment lads. Dublin only just have our measure, we can push them to the brink. Unfortunately, we just fell short again. I think the Dub media don’t like the fact that we are the only genuine threat to them (we have to prove it by actually beating them).

    My mind goes back to your audio report after the Galway game Willie Joe. You said you felt we had “topped out”. I agreed with you at the time. After the first Roscommon game, I was even more worried. But after seeing how we have played the past 4 games, we were better than ever.

    The lateral hand passing we maligned, we now are quite adept at it (patient possession)

    The kick passes into our forward line which looked very aimless earlier in the year. Now we have added this weapon to our game, which means we don’t rely solely on the running game (Leeroy’s goal on Sunday was an absolutely beautiful consequence of this). This also means we can maintain a high level of performance for longer.

    We just need a little more depth in the squad. Hopefully we give the younger guys an extended run next Spring. We need another few options on the bench. Or to be able to start the likes of Coen & Loftus, & introduce a fresh Seamus & Diarmuid etc.

    Next year seems a long way away, but glass half full for me. Hope Rochy & co stay on, they really impressed me the past month

35. That’s a brilliant piece of writing WJ and hit alot of nails on the head. I’ll be rereading many times over the weekend.. Topics very well covered and explained and spot on.

    Cantini thanks for those links. Haven’t got to read it all yet but looking forward to.

    Rgds Revellino.

    A native of Mayo.

    Home of the best team in 2017.

36. True on several fronts there, Mayo Focus. Topped out, indeed! How wrong – thankfully – that assessment proved to be.

37. Williejoe

    I am delighted you posted this , ok Dublin have won 3 in a row, but I think the fans and ex players seem to forget we are a serious serious team too , that lost two them by 1 point in a final two years in a row

    I actually cannot get over the stuff they post on social media .

    I am based in Dublin , there was one guy at work that I am friendly enough with or was now ,

    He was sending me stuff on Facebook post the final , I asked him politely to stop or I will block him

    There’s a big rivalry there now in my opinion between both teams and the Fans…. is that good , I’m not sure ?

38. And what about good losers? Christ is there anything ye won’t whinge about? Ye lost because ye weren’t good enough, now accept it and move on.

39. Anyway it’s better to light a candle than curse the dark. We desperately need to get out underage structures in order they are a mess at the minute as the last few years at minor level have shown. How do we sort it? I don’t know but getting lads like Ciaran Mc Donald Billy Joe Kevin O Neill James Nallen etc involved coaching youngsters would be a good start

40. was gauled on Monday reading through various articles and the associated comments. I know I should have stay away, but the ould internet is so much a part of our daily lives it was hard not to. The decent, GAA loving Dubs are a pleasure to have a banter with after matches – the sad, trolling scumbags that masquerade as GAA fans – well as Jimmy RIP would say” different class….different class”. I have never seen a bunch, and I include Redmond et al, to waste the afterglow of an All Ireland win, a 3 in a row, on mauling the name, reputation of mayo players, people and rural dwellers in total. Instead of pleasure in a gargle, they found pleasure in posting hate-laden sentences to the countless screens. I know we have our own loud mouths…but mostly they were responding not starting threads.
    I said before be gracious in defeat, well it doesn’t hurt having it in victory as well. I wouldn’t imagine our fans wasting the Monday after such a win on kicking a losing county while they are down. I read many blogs, articles on our sport, some are class, some are ..well. You can tell an honest supporter, a lover of GAA in all its forms within a few sentences. Washed up former ” stars” trying to cling to glory through controversy, journalists mudslinging alarmist headlines as click bait, well it’s only going to get worse. And while as Anne-Marie said that social media is not all dark ( and I agree it is positively life changing ) it sometimes alows a platform for some who don’t deserve one.
    Now to gargle some more honey and hot water, need the voice back again for Sunday. Theres an All Ireland to be won…..Maigheo, it’s a go..

41. Thanks for proving my point, Dubstar. As a matter of interest, what drives someone like you to post a comment like that here? Do you derive some kind of perverse pleasure from it? Or are you bored from celebrating? What is it? I’m just curious about your motives.

42. The ultimate therapy for me. Bangor Erris on a cold Saturday evening with some real proper grassroots GAA people. Loads of digs there too but all on the field. Cant wait. I like these games every bit as much as the trip to croker. Bangor Erris in September or Kiltoom in January – real stuff.

43. I just spotted Enda Kenny in that picture.. Can you imagine the thoughts going through his mind at that moment??

44. And the tie, Regina, did you spot the tie he was wearing? Poor Enda, that’s not the first time he’s had to grin and bear it sitting there.

45. [Deleted].

46. There’s no need for that, Revellino. I doubt he’ll replay further but I am genuinely interested in motives here and why spreading bile about the opposition takes precedence over being happy about your own team’s achievements after they’ve won.

47. Willie Joe and Others… While I can acknowledge the brilliance and consistency of this Dublin team.. I cannot accept that the best team won… By any standards the Refereeing and the four Umpires were an absolute disgrace.. In a Utopian World, Mayo would not make a mistakes during the match… And of course, one of our players had an outragues rush of blood…. Regardless Mayo were far superior to Dublin and the score board did not reflect this at the end of the match… While I do acknowledge Mayo’s failures during the match.. the biggest reason for this, was at best the complete incompetent of the Ref and Umpires.. And at worst some other reason however cynical that may seem. I Dublin’s goal in the second minute should have been disallowed,.. At least three Dublin points came after an appalling latitude given by the Ref in relation to steps…. Dublin were gifted a free before half time.. And two penalties were not given to Mayo…. Numerous holding of the Mayo inside forwards was completely ignored by the officials particularly in the first half…… There was plenty of paid gigs for pundits before the All Ireland final.. To date I haven’t heard much from our own and I have heard too much from Dublin…. The likes of Charlie Redmond,…he makes my blood boil….

48. @ DubStar: Some of your county folk are doing a fair amount of whingeing through the media this week, ex-players included. Quite astonishing really given that you won the game.

49. Wonderful piece WJ and portrays my thoughts exactly.
    Isn’t it ironic the differences between the two teams? They have what we crave, i.e. the All Ireland. We have what they crave, i.e. admiration, respect and love.
    I wouldn’t trade any one of our lads, not from the line or the bench or the starting 15, for one of those from Dublin. Not one of them. I would sooner never win an All Ireland if it meant we had to demean ourselves, our county or our jersey, in the way Dublin do. Sure, play it hard and on the edge when on the pitch, that’s fine, but the cowardly way they behave off the pitch is disgraceful.
    You must have dignity in defeat and humility in victory. They have neither. Gavin and Dublin GAA know full well what’s going on and, by inference, are as much to blame as the illiterate keyboard scumbags. They could call a halt to it, publically or quietly, but they choose not to because they see the benefit in it to them.

    The two things I take from it all are 1, just how much they fear us that they stoop to such levels, and 2, as Anne Marie said above, just what the fuck are our ex players at? Too worried about their media profile to stand up for their county men? Too worried about the paycheque? Fuck that. Grow a pair lads and start standing your ground for once.
    As was said in the aftermath of the final, I’d follow our team to hell and back, against anyone. Barefooted and barefisted if I had to. All Ireland or no All Ireland. Because they are us. And we are them.
    We will rise again.
    Hon Mayo.

50. That may be so, Leantimes, but they DID win. We have to accept that and, if it was by fouling more and being that bit cuter in doing so than us then we need to accept that too and plan accordingly for the future. The stuff about the ref has been well hashed through at this stage – my own opinion is that we still had the chances in our own hands to win it, ref or not. The point I was making was Dublin need to try harder too, at becoming good winners.

51. Bad winners. Wow. What about bad losers?

    I am a Dub. After years of lurking and reading, I am now prompted to log on and comment and defend my own. I understand that people are hurting here. I am trying to be as sensitive as possibe, but my God, it is very, very hard when you see the double standards on display here.

    Why should Jim Gavin or the players be held responsible for anything Charlie Redmond says? Why should Dubs be held responsible for Joe Brollys low opinion of Aidan O’Shea? Are Mayo people or Mayo players and mgt responsible for what your own army of former players say in the media? Do people here, ever take exception to things David Brady says on his pre AI final media tours, or James Horan? They popped up on every single media outlet during the week, as did Martin Carney and John Maughan. What about the Mayo presenter on Off The Ball, who has a nationwide pedestal every single day, to say whatever he wants? No one ever pulls them up on their clearly biased and blinkered view points. They are praised for “calling it like it is” or “defending our own”. Yet when Charlie Redmond or Alan Brogan do the very same thing, ie give the view point from their own counties pov, they are villified here. Lee Keegan is defended from “scurrilous abuse,” yet who will condemm what he did with the GPS throwing. He can do no wrong. Ever. But the list of crimes the Dubs commit , is a very, very long one…

    For exampe, on the most recent podcast, WJ said that Dublin players never interact with fans after games, as they are too busy sucking up to their corporate pay masters. What away Dublin league or championship games does he go to? I would really like to know. Was he in Portlaoise this year, or Kilkenny last year? I have stood on pitches in Castlebar, Ballybofey, Omagh Tralee , Clones and many others, watching Dublin players pose for photo after photo and, sign jersey after jersey, on cold winter nights in February and March. When matches are on in Dublin, is it their fault that Croke Park do not allow fans onto the pitch after games?

    Trust me, when they do get an opportunity to interact with fans, they stay there until the last jersey is signed. Very often, it is the kids from our opponent county, who outnumber the Dubs, looking for a picture or a photo. If you doubt me, go online and you will see social media littered with pix of fans with their heros after away league games. Petty, sensationalist and 100% untrue comments like those, litter this blog time and time again. They are rarely questioned, never mind challenged, so here I am. Would WJ consider retracting his statement? He would go up a lot in my estimation if he did.

    Neither I nor the Dublin players, have a desparate desire to be loved/respected/accepted, (I mean seriously, who thinks up this kind of over the top silliness) but some honest introspection here, would not go amiss. People here think that Dublin GAA should be coming out and condemming their fans or supporters utterances? Seriously? Will the Mayo Co Board come out and condemm WJ’s comment about the Dublin players not meeting their fans after games? Or other comments here, that none of them have proper jobs? Or what about the so called O’Gara eye gouging? The Sunday Game producer said they could find no evidence of it, despite them looking at the incident from 7 camera angles that we spectators do not have access too? Has anyone – before me – mentioned that?

    Will the Mayo Co Board come out and condemm that? What about the very personalized remarks often directed toward Jim Gavin and certain Dublin players? (The Jim Gavin ones really are beneath you, WJ.) I’ll be waiting a while for the Mayo Co Board to come out and condemm then, won’t I? I’m sorry, I am getting scarcastic now and that was never my intention.

    I am new here, so perhaps this comment will not even see the light of day, but it is something I had to get off my chest. We are Dubs, who simply love our county, love our city and love our team. Prior to this current run of success, we only won Sam once, in a nearly 30 year period. We know what a time in the wildernes can do to you. We know what it is like to come up short time and time again. We know what it is like to be mocked and derided for not living up to your potential. There is a lot of mutual things for both sides to respect in the other. However, this blog has turned into this slagging match that quite frankly, makes a lot of you, look like very bad losers, plain and simple. I’m sorry to have to type those two words, but there are two sides to every coin.

    The energy from that bitterness would be better directed else where. For example, why is your bench so poor? Why have so few u21’s been integrated into the current panel, when everyone knows it is an 80+ minute game these days? Why is Aidan O’Shea’s point kicking so poor? Why is he never taken off, when he is clearly always out of gas by about the 50th minute? (I suppose I’ll be accused of scurrilously abusing him now.) Why are none of your forwards two footed? Why have Mayo goalkeeping coaches not been successful in removing the hospital pass element to David Clarke’s kickouts? If more questions were asked about them and, not how Jim Gavin can live with being so smug, then perhaps you will get the trip to the Promised Land that you all crave so much.

    I’ll be back in Castlebar next Spring and wherever the Super 8 takes us all. I hope to God, some of the bitterness has disapated somewhat. What is the point of sport at all, if it just sucks the joy out of life to such a degree?

52. That’s 3 finals as Taoiseach and one as an ex Taoiseach he was pictured for W.J. A crazy statistic.. BTW spare a thought for the folks in the Achill head Hotel who had to welcome Jim Gavin and the Aviation Authority yesterday..

53. They got the cup anyway Willie Joe.. But like Meath in the Leinster Final of 2010, the Referee was the reason…the score reflected what the referee erroneously decided.. And I never acknowledged Meath as the true Leinster champoins of 2010.. Some people think goals win match’s.. And Teams win matches.. But we in Mayo most definitely know more than most, that Referee’s win match’s too… I know where your coming from.. Willie Joe, we can’t change the past.. But for me anyway.. I think we have to demand justice and fairness to have even the slightest chance of fair play…

54. RTÉ news is displayed on screens in the work canteen in Galway throughout the day. It twice came up on the banner that runs across the bottom of the screen the redmond headline ‘blue murder if Keegan . . . ‘.
    It made me sick to the stomach when I saw, a week to the day that I had bounced out of the place looking forward to what the weekend ahead held.
    If there is any justice in this world we will lift that cup after having beat them.
    All this shite since the game would give a pain where you’ve never had one before.
    UpMayo.

55. Backdoorsam, james nallen is coaching kids in claregalway and from what I hear he’s doing a great job.

56. You’re misquoting me there, Lentil Lover. The point I made about Dublin players is that they don’t interact with their fans at Croke Park as it’s not allowed. It’s only on the rare occasions (three or four league games, max one championship game) where that happens, never on home soil. Also, I never said anywhere that “they are too busy sucking up to their corporate pay masters.” I’d be glad if you’d retract that particular allegation as it’s an utterly baseless and false one. I did say on that last podcast, by the way, that Dublin are great champions, made all the greater beacause we’d pushed them all the way.

    In terms of Charlie Redmond, of course Jim Gavin has no responsibility to rein him in. Charlie was just being a boorish loud-mouth but, to be honest, he’s not the first ex-Dublin player to take on such a role. Where Jim Gavin does bear responsibility is for the orchestrated media campaign against Lee Keegan last year. That one came from within the camp, from start to finish.

    I’d also like you to point me to examples of Mayo pundits engaging in the same kind of stuff that Dublin pundits have been at. To be honest, many within the county would like if we had such talent we could send out to bat in this way but, sadly, we don’t. If you think the likes of David Brady, John Maughan or Martin Carney do the same job for us as Dublin’s attack dogs do for them then you’re seriously deluded.

    And, yes, I do think Dublin GAA could do more on the respect front. I mentioned what Dublin GAA itself did on Twitter while the replay last year was in progress. There are umpteen Dublin supporter social media accounts spewing out arrogant, vile hatred aimed directly at us. Show me any (bar those Mayo GAA Banter page eejits) doing it from our side. Again, if you think the blame is 50:50 here you’re simply living on another planet.

    And bitterness? I’m not bitter but I’ve seen a huge amount of bitterness being spat forth by Dublin fans online after their team has won. Why? What on earth are these people on? What fuels such hatred? As I said in the piece, is winning no longer enough?

    And if we’ve so many issues with our team as you mention, isn’t it amazing, given all the many in-built advantages Dublin enjoy over us, that, once again, we went right down to the wire against you last Sunday? Come to think of it, it could well be that fact that’s engendering all this hatred being directed towards us, even on days like these when Dublin fans should still be celebrating their win. But you can’t celebrate, can you?

57. Come on lads…some of you are loosing the head. Dublin won the game…accept it. They are a great team…we are not far behind despite not winning anything. History won’t show how brave and resilient Mayo were….only winners are remembered. That is the harsh reality.

    I think the Mayo players themselves will look in the mirror as to why we failed. We had enough possession and chances to win the game ourselves. I’ll leave you with this fact…2013, 2016 (2 games) and 2017…the Dublin subs have contributed 0-8. Mayo subs 0-1.

    There in lies the difference in my opinion. 1-15 we can match them but that little extra bit and our full panel is not a match. It’s a sickener and I’m still down in the dumps…any other era with this team and I reckon we’d have at least 2 All Ireland’s won.

    Just our luck…but we go again. Up Mayo

58. @Lentil Lover: There’s a difference between giving “the view point from their own counties point of view” and reacting in an hysterical, one-sided and hypocritical manner á la Charlie Redmond on this occasion and the coordinated demonising of Keegan by several ex-Dublin players last year. If you can find an equivalent campaign coming from ex-Mayo footballers, I’d be very interested to hear of it. You’re living in a fantasy land if you think that Mayo have the same bully pulpit that Dublin do in terms of media representation, that’s for sure.

    What happened with Keegan and the GPS certainly was wrong and unsporting, and I think WJ has acknowledged this. But it is also very far from the worst thing that ever happened on a GAA pitch, or even at the game on Sunday.

    IMO the last thing Mayo want to have is a social media slugfest in the aftermath of another All-Ireland defeat. But a lot of your county folk seem happy to try to rub our noses in it, and we are a proud people who will defend the honour of these players and our people, especially in the face of fairly outrageous stuff going on this week, most notably from Vinnie Murphy, who clearly waded in on something he hasn’t the first idea about.

    Like you, I would like to see more cordial relations between the two sets of fans, as opposed to the toxic stuff before and after the 2016 final. However, the entente cordiale between some of the supporters’ sites seems to have completely broken down since the final whistle last Sunday.

    It’s a shame, as I watched the match in a pub in Vienna last weekend, surrounded by Dublin people, who were very gracious in victory. I believe that most of your regular supporters are cast in this mould, so it’s very disappointing to see the opposite happening now.

    Your ladies’ management haven’t covered themselves in glory this week either with their comments on Cora Staunton, btw.

59. Lentil lover… Re some of your points.. In comparison to Dublin… Roscommon County Board condemned the booing of Andy Moran by a very small minority of Roscommon supporters… It didn’t happen for the Replay… I seen on Sunday, Dublin clad supporters with the Aparthide slogan ‘Hill 16 is Dublin only.. Charlie Redmond the once darling of the even more Apartheid Hill 16 in his day’s… Talks about Blue Murder in relation to an ALLEGED incident involving Lee Keegan.. The man nearest the incident didn’t see anything, I’ll post the link later.. I noticed that the word Alleged is used allot because despite all the cameras in Croke Park focused on the same free kick.. There is nothing to see… But the decisions of the referee and those of his officials and the appalling errors by him are the reason that the score board did not reflect the superiority of Mayo on the day.. Despite some of our imperfections.. We don’t come from Utopia you know.. But we are entitled to fair play, just as Louth were in in 2010… In the next few minutes I will post the links to some of the Referees performance, and the link to the Dean Rock interview, despite three attempts to lead the witness by the interviewer… I am absolutely certain that Mayo were screwed last Sunday, mostly by the referee and his team… This does not mean that I don’t have great admiration for the Dublin team, skill dedication, and several of their players… But none of this means that Dublin were the better team last… All the skill, dedication resilience would be for naught without the referee so blatantly in yer corner!

60. One thing that’s for sure after every all Ireland final is that the battle lines are drawn once again. Kerry players out this week saying that they were disgusted they were not in the final and still moaning about Gough. Don’t know about the rest of ye, but since last Sunday, the ones by far in front of the queue to kick a man when he is down were out Galway and Ross friends (some neck given the mauling we gave them). Get fed up when you read on here people saying we should be all supporting each other when playing others out of the province, well not me, ever. Our first task in our redemption is to ram it home to our neighbors in the provincial championship who are the top dogs in the west. Can’t wait for that

61. It’s that inflated sense of superiority that comes with being from the city, the capital the core region of Ireland. The rest of us are simple rednecks that shouldn’t be on the same field as them let alone more than matching them in an all-ireland final! The cheek of us really. It’s not enough for them to pick pocket a win from us now – they wanted to humiliate us so that we could never rise again. Oh well … the poor Dubs will just have to live with the pain of it for another 12 months!

62. Carlsberg don’t do all ireland referees but if they did Jim Gavin would pick Joe Mcquillan every time.

63. That’s great Niall but Claregalway isn’t In Mayo we need James Nallen coaching in Mayo i heard recently where Ciaran Mc Donald was took an underage team for a few coaching sessions the kids were absolutely in awe of him and were flat out trying their best to impress him

64. Lentil Lover, welcome to the platform. I walked away from Croke Park last Sunday shaking hands with as many Dublin fans as I could. The only anger I had in me was towards mcquillan in his failure to award a clear cut penalty. I was mad that he didn’t do that, and that if he was working in Ballina or Westport there is no way on this earth that he would have had the whistle for the game. Other than that I walked away with pride and dignity, and I messaged all my Dublin friends to congratulate them.
    On Monday I went to work and went on my laptop to catch a few articles on the game, on pundits opinions etc……but my Monday morning calm was punctured by the knives of hate….i couldn’t believe the comments and the paragraphs riddled with abuse and attack. THAT is what has made me even comment today….i has committed nothing in writing only best wishes from 5pm on Sunday.. …and then this shite faces me and thousands of others who followed our team the length of the country for 10 games, and we had just stood for to toe with the best outfit of the last 30 years. I didn’t want praise, or sympathy or love, I had only wanted this much..to see mayo finally named in the top 2…even 3..and that’s all. But to see the winners sprout tendrils of hate…..hate that reached me….welll fuck it. I wish nothing but congratulations to the Dublin team and supporters. But Im sorry, the attacks on the aspects of the game, players etc on both teams are coming from former Dublin stars and Dublin based media outlets. What do you expect Willie Joe and the rest of us do….kept the mouths zipped. This blog is populated with mainly open-minded and intelligent people. My Facebook page was poisoned with posts from Hill 16 Army, All Dublin Fans etc….absolute disgusting posts..about us. If I met you in a pub I wound talk honestly about the game, I would shake your hand and say well done, I would say yeah Lee Keegan should never have done that, and that the step rule or the fist pass rule don’t matter anymore. But you would argue with me for standing up for my own now would you. ?

65. Lentil lover..It such a bloody shame that you are on this blog on a Friday after winning Sam..If ever we needed proof of how the novelty of winning Sam has worn off..you are exhibit A..

66. Everybody and most especially Lentil Lover https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mkMMxm-DfAE… Have a look at the referee, now I know sometimes, people lie, sometimes people are mistaken… But I heard it said that the camera never lies.. . Anyway take a look.. I can see it my minds eye right now… Out in Lanzarote.. Jimmy Barry Murphy.. The one from Senegal writing a song… It’s called ‘Referee’s are winning match’s,.. Referee’s are winning game’s…’… Referee’s make sure Sammy will never leave Dublin again… Please send this link of the YouTube clip to everybody you know. I think it’s important that as many as possible gets to see, and maybe then people will begin to believe the evidence of their own eye’s..

67. Lentil Lover.. Dubs Star https://youtu.be/An0tlC5 please take a look at this video clips.. This what Dublin Star Dean Rock seen, noticed, was aware of!.. The ALLEGED, BLUE MURDER of the Darling of the Aparthide Hill 16 of 1995 alluded to… Please sent this link to all yer friends and get them to send it on further, it’s important that as many people as possible get to view this.. Did someone say something about an All Ireland medal from 1995 being stolen… I haven’t go around to reading the article yet.. But I will in due course… Anyway an appeal to all ye with a keen eye… I any one of ye comes across one from 1995, they are Celtic Cross type things.. You can send it to Peter Canavan care of County Tyrone… Now if Donal Vaughan had stayed on 10 minutes longer than he should have… There would be Blue Murder then,.

68. Blacksod to Dangan,166km. Only saying.

69. Lentil Lover, I think you might need to give some example of something Brady, Horan, Maughan, Carney or Nathan Murphy (or are you referring to Kevin Kilbane?) that we should be taking exception to. You seem to take exception to them having anything to say. Maybe you just object to the fact that they’re not from Dublin?. Ideally maybe an example something that specifically singled out a Dublin player in the manner that Lee Keegan has been singled out by many of the Ex Dubs in the Media?. If you’re on about the lads on Newstalk say what they like, then you’re obviously giving a deaf ear to David McIntyre, who seems to speak with a blue hue most of the time.
    The targeting of Keegan was most apparent last year, but do you think it’s normal that Charlie Redmond’s comments are still one of the 2 items that are posting on the RTE NEWS NOW banner under sports, 5 days after the final?. As regards RTE, I don’t recall them ever asking any representatives or those in the employ of the Mayo County Board to give opinions on any of Dublin’s games earlier in the year, or specifically suggesting Mayo players should be getting red cards and completely ignoring the events leading up to that?. I refer to Mossy Quinn’s inclusion on the Sunday game panel to analyse Mayo vs Clare.
    Also – as regards AIdan O’Shea’s scoring stats, you clearly weren’t aware he has a 6 scores from 9 attempt record in this year’s championship. How in the name of all that is normal could that be questioned with “Why is Aidan O’Shea’s point kicking so poor”.
    Have you only seen three he missed maybe?. As regards why is he never taken off – he has been substituted before, but again, I suspect you didn’t see that. Who would you have brought on from our bench to replace him, and at what cost?. What other substitution would have been foregone to satisfy your need to take Aidan O’Shea off the pitch, and more importantly, how would it have improved our lot?.
    While we’re on about Aidan – do you not recall the vilification of him earlier in the year, in particular guff spouted by Bernard Flynn, and the stuff written about Stephen Rochford this year and last?. A lot of that was downright nasty, very personalised and to be quite honest, has no place in the GAA.
    As regards our Bench – we have barely 10% of the population of Dublin. It’s already quite remarkable that we’ve managed to run you as close as we have as many times as we have when you consider that factor alone. Let’s not even get started on the imbalance of funding, that can’t even be mentioned without your lot losing the run of themselves.
    As regards our under 21’s, many have been integrated into the panel. 3 from the team that won the under 21 All Ireland last year played on Sunday. Many more were tried during the FBD and National Leagues, as well as some earlier championship games. How many more do you want to see, who specifically do you feel deserves a place ahead of the members of the current senior panel?.

    Dublin were worthy winners and the Treble is a remarkable achievement. However if the only way that certain dubs can enjoy it is by targeting of Mayo players in the media or posting downright vile stuff on Social media, then it’s plain to see that those individuals deserve no part or celebration in Dublin’s success.

    A summary of the main questions for you, if I may:
    1 – examples of something the Mayo Pundits may have said that upset you so much
    2 – Have you listened to Dave McIntyre on Newstalk
    3 – Do you think that the National Broadcaster, for whom we all pay towards with licence fee should continue to bang on about Keegan 5 days after the game, or allow Mossy Quinn (Dublin GAA’s commercial director) a platform to influence refereeing decisions?.
    4 – Were you aware of Aidan O’Shea’s scoring rate in this year’s championship, and who would you have used as substitute in his place last Sunday, and why?.
    5 – which of last years under 21’s would you have brought into the panel, and why?.

    I look forward to hearing from you.

70. Play the Whistle.. That fist pass and steps rule do matter… And the Ref should see to it that the rules of the game are inforced… NOT INFLUENCED!

71. Goodman leantimes. Just watched. It. Hard to believe. Clear as day. “One rule for me and a different one for everybody else muttered Jim to himself” with a smlie.

    “Goodman joe, keep.the whistle in the pocket when we have the ball” said the bould Jim to.the obedient joe.

72. [Deleted].

73. Since 1951, Mayo have lost 9 All Irelands and Dublin have lost 8. Losing is hard and it hurts and in Dublin we know very well what it feels like. Since 1951, Dublin lost 8, in fact from 1975 to 1985 Dublin lost 5 finals and all at the hands of the great Kerry team you mention. Yes we are winning now and yes it feels both great and unbelievable but the real supporters know how transient these wins are and everything that rises will eventually fall.

    I think you are wrong in your analysis about Dublin and Jim Gavin. There is a respect for Mayo. Look Cluxton mentioned the respect for Mayo in his speech, James McCarthy mentioned it a couple times that night on TV and Cian O’Sullivan mentioned the respect for the Mayo team also. Don’t get side tracked with trolls gloating on social media, journalists and ex footballers, that is not the winning or losing of a game, it’s just noise. When you win, the noise will not win it for you, the media, fans, ref won’t win it for you, you will win because you outscored the opposition and all the pain and scars built up over the years will be washed away by the feeling of sheer happiness. That day, will no doubt come.

74. Sayitagainsam – I’m not going to allow your comment to go up on the site, as it’s precisely the kind of gloating, hate-filled nonsense I was on about in my post and I don’t want provoke others. I would, though, repeat the question – as yet unanswered – I put to the other person whose insulting comment I allowed up earlier on: what drives someone like you, who has just seen your county win the three-in-a-row, to post insulting stuff like that? What’s the point of it? Come to think of it, what the hell are you doing on a Mayo site in the first place?

75. Revellino/Leantimes – I think enough is now enough on the ref front. The match is over. We move on.

76. Can I ask people honestly , has this been the worst defeat yet to take ?

    I know it has been for me , have been down all week, imagine how the players feel

    We need to develop our squad , have guys that can make a difference coming off the bench that can make a difference , unlike what we had Sunday

77. Please take down this thread WJ. As a Mayo man I’m embarrassed by this toxic muck (whingeing from our own supporters) – it does a disservice to the players, management, and to a really great site you have. Congrats to the dubs, that’s all that’s to be said, anything else can be done on the pitch next year.

78. I won’t, Moygownagh, as I think it’s a debate worth having. What’s happening online needs to be called out as it’s utterly at odds with all the GAA stands for. I’d agree with you that the time for complaining about specific incidents in last Sunday’s final is over but that’s true for both sides.

79. Folks,
    This is becoming a bit of a feeding frenzy. Maybe everyone just needs to step away from the keyboard for a little while. I’m going to watch my son’s playing U8’s this evening, life goes on. Although I may add, had we won on Sunday I’d be lying in the corner of some pub a quivering mess listening to the green and red for the 963 time and not on a Dublin supporters website.

80. Revellino.. Before the Irving Berlin of Senegal, Jimmy Barry Murphy, gets to.it first . You might use your undoubted talent to write a poem with the title ‘Referee’s are winning match’s’.. There would be no need to use. any’ Poetic Licence ‘..In fact quite the opposite, you might even need to tone down the extreme ugly truth, just so as people might believe you… But stick to the facts and the facts only… We have no need to exaggerate,.. This time the ugly truth of the situation will be hard enough for people who do not want to see.it..They might prefer to believe what they have been told to believe . I think it says that in the Bible somewhere… ‘There are none so blind, As those who will not see’… Maybe for some in our own backyard…a quote by Séamus Heany the Nobel prize winning poet, said’ ‘Whatever you say, say nothing ‘…That way, Ye are sure to be invited back for the paid lucrative gig’s when it all starts up again…. And of course, William Butler Yeats said something about’ ”adding the Hae Pence to the Pence ‘ You would have to be mad not to believe that it is still going on ‘ but it’s not for Pence any more..

81. Moygownagh..With all due respect if the reading matter here doesnt appeal to your taste there are other sites to visit..As a fellow Mayo person I am still disappointed/angry etc after the game and the targetting of individual.players by media outlets..Frustrated also that yet again the Mayo media men are selectively mute this week.This is my go to place that I CHOOSE to visit..

82. Think we are all hurting Willie Joe ,

    Moygoynagh . The trash talking and the absolute shite that both ex dubs and fans come with is not what the GAA is about, so I agree firmly with Willie Joe …. no he should not take it down

    It has in my opinion created a huge rivelry , resentment between both sets of fans…. gone like soccer in the U.K.

83. Leantimes, some other time. WJ wants us to lay off on the ref remarks, which is fair enough. Will do another bit at some stage but on something positive.

    Speaking of positive, Mayo football at county level is in as good a place as it’s ever been. 2 senior all ireland finals 7 days apart. I hope the ladies can do us as proud as the the lads did us last weekend. Good luck to them.

84. Stephen Cluxton made some lovely remarks about Mayo at the start of his speech, not the usual hip hip at the end – that showed class. And I saw and read similar comments from other Dublin players, not that such comments should mean anything to us anyway. Dublin ain’t all bad, and Mayo ain’t all good. This thread has been a cesspit of negativity and bitterness today, and it’s not with keeping of the usually thoughtful and enlighting comments of this site and its posters. There’s element of the social media “shite” seeping in here. Were better than that. If you’re mad use it towards something positive, I saw one poster a few days ago was trying to arrange drivers for the Dublin based players – that’s fantastic. Best to turn the other ear, and when we do win it one day, show graciousness in victory, only way to stamp out this element we see creeping into the GAA is to lead by example.

85. Cringing now for some sections of mayo support. When.are the league fixtures out?

86. Folks, quite simply, it’s the criticism of peoples opinions/assumptions which leads to the negative bile being displayed online from both sets of fans. Mayo and Dublin fans are equally guilty in this regard.

    Whilst we all tell ourselves that Mayo are Dublins equal and our big game history suggests there isn’t alot in it, from a team perspective, we have a long way to go still. Over the last 5 years, we’ve played them 12 times and won none of those games. There’s a 48 point differential, meaning Dublin win by an average of 4 points a game. Across that same period, we’ve lost 24 league and championship matches, they’ve lost 7. Kerry across the same period have beaten them, have a much better points differential and an All Ireland to their name.

    Whilst I believe that on any given day we can run them close, the reality is that as good as we’ve been, they’ve been the better team with Kerry perhaps tied with us for 2nd best team in the country. Why don’t we just acknowledge the serious unit they are instead of trying to pick holes and male excuses. Acceptance drives action, action drives performance, performance brings results.

    Fans don’t behave in that way, but you can bet that the players of both panels have nothing but professional respect and hatred for each other, with not a hint of fear to be found on either side. If the fan base took this on board, then perhaps calm and confidence could be the factors that are drip fed into the team at the end of matches, rather than the panic and concern that is currently displayed.

    Fans call themselves the 16th man, but the impact they have at crucial times doesn’t help the cause.

    Some may call me disillusioned, but I’m beyond that phase. I’m a realist driven by facts and figures.

87. It’s not our problem they can’t enjoy another hollow victory and they can abuse each other after the 8 in a row when there’s no opponents fans in croke park to abuse. Hill 16 is dublin only , they can sing that and smoke the blue smoke or whatever it is they smoke

88. When’s the club championship back lads? Need something to get over this!

89. Leantimes …re the steps and hand pass rules…dont know if my text lost the tone there….as in…no application of those rules by many refs nowadays. Throwing the ball seems to be completely disregarded as a foul….as for 4 steps…..well most young players will look at the final and say…i might chance and throw in a few more on Saturday before I solo or hop..

90. We lost! That’s football for you.
    The only thing that annoyed me was Jim Gavins assertion in the lead up to the game that Dublin had underperformed in the previous All Ireland against Mayo. To me it smacked of arrogance and seemed utterly dismissive of Mayo. In contrast several Dublin players after the final recognised the severe test Mayo presented to Dublin including James McCarthy and they acknowledged the quality of our team. Several Dubs I met after the game were very respectful of what had just happened and were gracious in victory.
    I don’t know how Jim Gavin thinks no more than anyone else here. However, I suspect he is slightly irritated that Dublin were unable to wipe the floor with us in three finals. I suspect it has taken some of the gloss off the winning for him. Dublin haven’t quite put us away yet. We are still there and possibly the only real threat to their dominance. If I was Jim Gavin I would probably feel the same – I would want to blast my closest rival back into the dark ages. So for me it’s only JG being a competitive animal. I don’t particularly like the way Jim Gavin rolls out a predictable script almost every time he is on TV or radio but he is not there to entertain us.
    Personally, I want to move on and look forward to the club championship, the FBD and the league and to see what we can do to get to the top step.

91. Willie Joe this is an excellent and timely piece and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.

    You and this site set the standard for sports blogs anywhere , in any sport . And no , that is not an exaggeration. Also many of the contributors on here give serious insights into all things Mayo football. It genuinely is a joy to read.

    I have mentioned here before the idea of Joy not being at the heart of elite sports . There is no doubt about it. If you look at all sports there are so few teams nay individuals that exhibit real joy in their achievements. You know the kind of joy they want to share and that others want to share with them .

    Many soccer players don’t play soccer for passion but rather treat it as a job . You look at American Football which is all about dominance and militarism and money and yes military flyovers !!!
    Not too joyful I would venture .

    Or put it this way , that kind of ” joy” we can do without in sport. We don’t need to mix up sport in war.

    Professional Cycling , swimming and athletics have rampant cheating. Ditto Major League Baseball . Where’s the joy ?

    On the other hand when you find individuals or teams that bring joy , ( comm)unity , and exhibit human frailty and kindness then these are the ones , they are the teams that are beloved . Across lines. Across countries and across generations.

    Beloved not because they are ” lovable losers” but because they only bring the best out in themselves and others .
    They bring people together. Think Brazil 1970.

    This Mayo team and management have unified a whole county in our absolute love and total pride for them and their manliness.

    They have followers from all over the country and all over the world . Their pure quest is a metaphor for a life very well lived . These players are living their lives with purpose and commitment and the relentless pursuit of true betterment for themselves.

    And as an example to children and adults alike they do not ( usually ) resort to 78 th minute Dublin.

    That they want to win those medals is understandable enough if only to ” prove” who they are and what they have achieved for the history books . As recognition .

    But maybe they don’t truly understand why we support them in the numbers we do , with the enthusiasm which we show ?

    Let me say it for the record that we love them , we follow them and will continue to follow them to and from the ends of the earth because they are true manly men , doing manly and utterly courageous things , in a joyful way , and fairly ( for the most part – but they still could do much better )

    They are a credit to themselves and to our county men wherever they may be in the world . They are truly great sports men if ever there were such a thing .

    I implore them to continue their quest and please don’t become the Dublin of the 78 th minute of an All Ireland . Please , No.

    I personally would be disgusted if Mayo won last Sunday closing out the game like Dublin did. I might not take my girls to the games anymore. I want us to be clean , hard ,courageous and furious and mentally in the moment always .

    I want us always to be different and I know we can still achieve their dream with this team .

    Somewhere deep in their psyche , I believe that this Mayo team do not want to change the kind of person they are to become so called “winners “. They don’t believe in it. They believe deep down that its a deal with the devil.

    To be honest , that makes me even more proud and an even more devoted follower of them and their cause. I can’t see David Clarke ,Andy Moran or Lee Keegan as sportsmen in anything but a positive ( but imperfect )light .

    They want to play hard but largely fair . ( I however don’t think many people are impressed by throwing a gps or by landing a player illegally on his arse ( however comical and however “appropriate” )before scoring a point.

    I don’t think getting opposing players sent off through machinations is a good example to kids.

    No true Irishman ( who have been dominated by their neighbors for millennia ) really believes that winning at all costs is the way to go . If that were the way , there would be no GAA. Metaphorically speaking we would have had our ass handed to us by Britain in the 78 th minute. Oh wait !

    We are not them ! We should not want to be them ! We should continue with our mission in Mayo to be even cleaner , even harder , even more brutally honest with ourselves and even more manly by facing up to our inadequacy especially with regards composure in closing out games.

    This is our Mayo.

    The people we should worry about are not the sadistic commentariat but rather the children. Would I want my child to be a domineering and cheating little shit because he followed my example on the football field ?

    Strive for perfection by practicing what ails the team after brutally honest assessment . Practice scoring the first few points of the game with purpose and composure . Getting higher percentage scores from shots . No dropping shots into goalie. Closing out the game with purpose.

    Practice standing up for ourselves within the game by bringing outrageous and even indictable things to the refs attention. Don’t take the law into your own hands . Fight for fairer and better refereeing . All year long.

    Practice composure ad nauseam.

    To be perfectly frank I believe that composure has cost us multiple All Ireland’s. That’s where the honest manly analysis needs to be .Not doing ridiculous and desperate things but rather not finding yourself in that situation.

    Joylessness is now a continuum from amateur sports for children where joy is supposed to be the norm to the absence of true joy at the elite end. It becomes all about dominance and even in extreme cases humiliation of your opponent. But increasingly children are aping their role models and cheating in similar ways.

    Jim Gavin says ” trust the process “. I’d say ” trust the process if it’s joyful ” and doesn’t erode your true character or go against what you know to be right.

    I hope we eschew those methods that drain a team and fans of true joy and true pride and deep love of their national games. We do not want to be tip toeing out of Croke Park as we would flee the scene of a minor robbery, as ” winners”.

    We do not want to be joyless ” winners at all costs ” to the detriment of the example the team are supposed to be to children.

    How awful !

    I want us as a county to continue to “man up ” and support this team again next year in the same way we did this year. Our county and this team deserves that . Well done Mayo supporters , you are a real example to fans everywhere .

    Our children can sleep well knowing that our team are doing it largely right . Not just for front pocket medals but because of the deeper meaning in all of this and because of the type of manly true Mayoman and Mayo woman we want them to become .

    Let’s continue to improve, do it again with even more purpose and composure and let’s abandon all dark arts and throw their proponents and exponents to the dustbin of history .

92. Charlie Redmond should go back to ‘putting out fires’ and ‘delivering the odd baby’ instead of talking ‘sh… in the media.

93. Willie Joe just wanted to defend the Mayo GAA Banter page a bit as I think they’ve really matured over the last couple of years. I might be wrong as I only follow them on instagram but I think mostly everything they most these days is OK :-).

94. Swahili. Whatever you’re having I’ll have one too. I get excited reading your piece because I see that in our men and women. I absolutely love this team and the total self belief they exhibit. I believe their appeal to players and supporters and especially to children is down to their heroic endeavour. They capture the dream and though they fell agonisingly close they were brave and passionate. People love them because, despite the belief that this Dublin team is the greatest ever to grace our game, these Mayo men have proven that talent and a deep well of resources is no match for love of your county. They love Mayo and really aren’t we the lucky ones. Despite the loss I’m still full of hope determination and belief.
    Willie Joe I think you hit the nail on the head with this piece. For too long we have sat back feeling angry,upset, almost powerless at the narrative of this team that comes out to play pure football. Whatever our men do or did has been open to scrutiny and whenever a Mayo player is seen as a threat suddenly the shit hits the fan and all singing from the same hymn sheet. I’m fed up of the media drama. I want to see two honest teams giving it their all.
    Today I met a man who moved to Ireland from Uganda. We spoke about the match in the group… Italian Nigerian Korean and Indian. They all saw the game and to a man and woman they were cheering for Mayo. One man said…’ I love their jersey, the colours, their supporters and the way the play’. What more could I say. Thanks WJ and thank you Swahili. I’m ready for the next round and believe we will continue knocking till the door is kicked down. Mayo women… I can’t be there on Sunday. I’m so disappointed but I will be watching and hope you play the game of your lives. Maigheo go deo. Mile buiochas

95. Could not agree more WJ. Gavin started this after 2013 final when he complained about referee and Mayo fouling, after winning. Never saw anything like it. We need ex players to come out and stand up for Lee. The Dublin campaign is orchestrated. Why do we accept this crap in Mayo. We are letting down a great team by not defending them against this bile.

96. Gavin is not a bad winner ,hes a born winner.

97. The reason why Dublin play cynical is they have someone of the caliber of Uncle Joe on the whistle and they know they will get away with it when he applies his version of the rules or should that be anarchy.

98. It’s all getting a bit mad here lads. Things are still raw but WJ it’s a great site. I will pop in from time to time over the league.and here’s hoping we see ye in markevicks in June for a repeat of 2010!

99. “Jim Gavin making claims about how his team plays the game which are screamingly at odds with how they do actually play it. If Gavin were honest in this regard, he and his team would earn a lot more respect.” WJ you know Jim wouldn’t raise issues like this as in the future it would put doubt in the refs mind that they are masters of dark arts as opposed to we are all about modern attacking football – also who arranged and more importantly paid for them jets to fly over hq

100. Wow just popped on to say looking forward to my trip to castlebar next year, and hopefully get to see it in the summer with the super eights…but never expected this .some lad saying Dublin are joyless well from what I seen plenty of joy on pitch and around pubs for few days after. Those Dublin players had to work so hard to put away Mayo a trojan effort and they celebrated like I haven’t seen in years…I predicted a while back a scoreline similar to the league match ….how wrong was I !! I couldn’t see Mayo living with The Dubs how wrong was I… Some scores from play from both sets of player’s t, two cracking goals and hit’s like I’ve never seen.. I think Mayo ambushed Dublin last year in the drawn game in the physical stakes and Dubs been team they are had to learn and adapt, Mayo are the reason Dublin are a three in a row team because how they relentlessly have pushed us…but this tread is as bad as I’ve seen on internet.. Is this how poisonous its going to be between fans in future??I’d hate to miss out on the Irish house in castlebar because of raising tensions which all this type of Shite does… Think you should have a rethink about way it’s going cause I’d hate us to go the soccer route.. And deano said it was deffo Imelda singing and the fly by at the start that got the kick over for him…please everybody step back a little

101. Lads not defending Jim Gavin but on a interview with Sky before the match, he did say the following “we underperformed last year in the final, and that was down to how Mayo performed, we were not let play”. Don’t know what else he could have said really.

102. maigheogalingalway, the mayo gaa banter page was a disgrace for slagging that woman who was asked her opinion on the match on independent.ie and she gave it. A kick in the hole that admin needs, and there would be plenty to give it to him/her.

103. If this is as bad as you’ve seen on the internet, Outta the blue, you’re obviously not reading what many people on the blue side of the house have been posting on social media since Sunday. If anyone needs to rethink what they’re doing, it’s those clowns who’d prefer to spend their time goading us than enjoying Sunday’s win. I too would like everybody to take a step back and that’s largely what the piece I wrote argues. No further boorish nonsense aimed at us from the likes of Charlie Redmond and others would be a good start and less Dub venom on social media likewise.

     There’s no reason to expect you’ll get anything but a warm welcome in Castlebar the next time you’re at a match there. The problems I’ve referenced – which do exist, and there’s no point pretending they don’t – sit on the online side of things. In the real world, thankfully, common sense still largely prevails.

104. That’s fair enough, Mayohusband, and I’d agree that if that’s what he said then you’d have to say it was reasonable. However, the interview he did a few weeks before then didn’t include that rider about how we’d played and gave the clear impression that it was down to them that they hadn’t performed and were fortunate to have won last year’s final. That was a very different and, from our perspective, a clearly insulting statement to have made.

105. Other posters may have alluded to the remarkable similarity of the final scores in Mayo’s semi-final and final.

     Mayo 2- 16 v Kerry 0 -17
     Mayo 1 -16 v Dublin 1 -17

     Makes one think!

106. Personally I think the only way forward now is forget about Redmond & Co, & not stoop to their level. Lets move on now & give all that energy towards the Mayo ladies now, they deserve it, they are all fantastic. Up Mayo. It’s time then to let the dust settle & focus on the club scene, draw breath, start again soon, in fact it’s only about 13 weeks till the FBD League, SO recharge those flat batteries everyone.

107. Lookit, can we all just settle on (real) Dubs fans by and large being a decent bunch….by this I mean the ones who follow their team across the country during the league/don’t default back to soccer when the final is over.

     After that, of course it’s annoying the Jim Gavin shows little or no joy when his team has achieved something that we wouldn’t stop celebrating for quite a few months…..but while there’s no joy, there’s also not a lot of badness either.

     In fact the only person I have any problem with on the Dublin side of things is Charlie Redmond, but he’s an utter tool and will be till the day he dies so best ignore him really.

108. I know that we shouldn’t be referring to the referee but in a tight match like last Sunday’s how performs is going to decide the result everytime. Paudie O Shea referred to the grain of rice that would tip the balance one way or the other. I spent a lot of time saying I was very afraid of Joe after what happened in Pearse Stadium and everyone said he would make it up to us, not to be worrying. I said he was the biggest grain of rice on show. If the ref named, lived in Mayo there would be uproar but it probably wouldn’t have been allowed. My worst fears were realised as Joe once again ignored all off the ball fouls. Mayo, being a running team were severely curtailed by this incessant dragging of the runner. Not wishing to condone Keith or Donie in what they did, but I don’t blame them if they do feel that they need to look out for themselves when referees don’t. Physical sledging is big in Gaelic football nowadays. See Rock hitting Barrett as hard as he could from behind after scoring. In my book a sending off, there is no place for it. Our game is fractured from a fairness point of view, referees are no longer able to cope in matches. I thought Mayo played the better football and having more missed chances cost us. But every team misses some chances and for me Joe decided it and once again not in our favour.
     What Lee Keegan did at the end there was no doubt unsporting but was a spontaneous desperate attempt born out of frustration in order to prevent the heartbreak of another loss. A footballer who probably deserves a couple of medals at this stage given his performances. What Costello came in to do towards the end of the game was calculating and completely unsporting. But I’d say Cormac is not too bad a lad but was given clear instructions by Jim and Jason. Far more despicable in my book.

109. Outta the blue
     your team won.
     Are you not happy with this? Or is it starting to feel a bit like the Leinster titles?

110. Will you be taking a break from the blog for the winter Willie joe ?

     I think you should take a step into punditry

     Is this the most popular blog in the country do you know ??

111. WJ ..Fair play ..I for one am glad that the online abuse/goading is highlighted..Have had experience of it during the week and it is frustrating to say the least…we seem to be moving on to think of the ladies and its great to have them in Croke Park on Sunday..A win would be a lift for the county..The issues that have been highlighted this week however will rear the heads again in 2018..and nothing will change.

112. Folks, it has been clear for the last few years that Mayo and Dublin are the two best championship sides in the country. But I hope they don’t meet again next year in the championship so things can cool down between players and supporters.
     As for Dublin not overly celebrating their win after the game on Sunday has it not struck anybody that this may have been out of respect to Mayo and the pain they were suffering. I believe it was, as was Stephen Cluxton’s speech.
     Neither side are angels and it is regretful that players who spend their time pulling the jersey of other players are not dealt with immediately by officials and then maybe some of the vitriol among supporters wouldn’t occur. On Sunday I, my wife and son were sitting in front of a group of Mayo supporters and I have never experienced such unprovoked abuse at a GAA match of us, other Dublin supporters and Dublin players who were having the shirts pulled off their backs. These were not young men and women. None of the pin excuses such behavior. I have no doubt that Mayo supporters probably had similar experiences from so called Dublin GAA supporters.
     I just wish that both teams could go out and play hard football and leave pulling, dragging GPS throwing and cone throwing out of it.
     Mayo lost on Sunday not because Joe McQ, he was equal in distributing bad decisions, but because they were outscored on the run-in by 4 points to 1. Good luck next year.

113. Like rust, Mayoman, this blog never sleeps. I do hope and expect, though, that until the inter-county action resumes in the New Year, it’ll be a hell of a lot quieter than it’s been for a while.

     I think there are more than enough pundits out there right now without adding my inadequate talents to the list.

     I’ve no idea about the comparative popularity of the blog, to be honest. All I know is that, for a niche interest topic,the traffic to the site is the far side of mental.

114. Just read eamonn dunphys piece , sure they are even turning on their own now, think he called the Dublin team big headed pr**ks . Let them at it.

115. For fear of playing a broken record I still don’t have it in me to look over the match to form a view on the ins and outs of it. As part of the process (no puns intended) I’ve kept my distance from the post match reports. I’ve since looked into this the fallout and have seen what I’ve seen. Hill 16 (social media) can go fuck themselves. It’s such a shame for the average dublin gaa fan who’s living through a golden age and is getting tied up with this negativity. I’d still want to give full credit to all the gracious dubs I had the pleasure of meeting on the weekend, but there unfortunately is a nasty side to this which is getting close to soccer

116. I have followed this website avidly for years and thanks WJ so much for your hard work.
     Never posted before and likely never again until we win.
     I hate losing and I’m frustrated to hell that we didn’t cross those margins between winning and losing.
     But would I rather be a Dublin 3 in a row fan or a Mayo fan?
     No question Mayo.
     I’m second generation. My Father won an All Ireland Minor medal with Mayo. I have been lucky enough to get tickets for most Mayo finals in my lifetime.
     My teenage son, who shouts for England when it comes to Soccer or Rugby by the way (blame his Mum), never gets as excited about a team as he does Mayo. He was in tears Sunday in a pub with Dublin fans who wouldn’t know the name of any player, no matter who scored their goal.
     So why am I posting now?
     Because, despite my heartfelt sadness over what is only sport after all, things could always be worse.
     I could be Charlie Redmond.

117. Willie joe. Lewisham is spot on . we are all sad after last Sunday but it’s over and we have next year to look forward to. Too many of today’s posters are whingers and overreacting to comments made by ex Dublin players who clearly are only seeking cheap publicity. Every dub supporter that I met last Sunday was decent and non boastful. Let’s now focus on the future starting with the girls next Sunday.

118. Why do Dublin fans feel the need to come on here or comment on their All Ireland final opponents ?
     I tried and gave up . Why did I try , I enjoy reading online blogs . Why here -knowing some mayo people they generally know what they are talking about .You learn nothing from patting yourself on the back and generally your opposition opinion is worth something . Also the amount of negative comments here about Dublin players and management I felt compelled to bring a bit of objectivity . In hindsight that was foolish.
     Respect – in the aftermath many Dublin fans at the match congratulated mayo fans and genuinely felt for them . The Dublin players paid mayo players great respect too.
     Jim Gavin – He Is a fantastic manager maybe the hatred people show here for him adds to that argument .I’d be upset to think he was concerned about keeping other counties fans happy .He commented in an article about his reasons for not holding Sam etc . Who am I or you to question that .
     Dubline managers in the past poorly managed expectations on the team and poorly protected them from the media . Not Jim. Jim has also just managed a team to four All Ireland in 5 years .in the one year we didn’t win the All Ireland he went off and came back and masterminded a three in a row ! He won this year whilst bringing in a lot of new faces.
     Some of his selections on final day may have required questioning had we lost but we didn’t . This is why I rate him up there as one of the best .

     I’ve been harping on all week about how much of gentleman the Dublin players are off the pitch yet you seem to think it’s the opposite . The way they conduct themselves off the pitch for ameteurs is very admirable . After me drinking and many other Dublin fans drinking all day Monday none of them had any problems in stopping and having a chat or thinking us for our comments or support and even after a heap of drink still had time to pose for pictures . Lads none of you have met me when I’m drunk , I’ll be the first to admit how irratating I can be. They were humble in their interviews and after such a heated match there was only one negative comment from a Dublin players which referenced the GPS. One comment .
     I will give you your point about Charlie et El . At the end if the day these comments are a bid to stay relevant and more importantly sell papers.

     I really am very surprised about the comments WJ made about the manager and players.

     Because I’m commenting here does that mean I didn’t enjoy the win … Of course not . Am I trying to rub anything in , no.

     Keep the heads up , our run can’t last forever , please good there won’t be a national holiday when we do lose a championship match ??? ( DISCLAIMER -THIS IS AN ATTEMPT AT HUMOUR)

119. My apologies I just realized read your article and you don’t question how the Dublin players act off the pitch .
     They really are a credit to Dublin gaa though .

120. The best teams are meeting regularly in the last 4 now which has not been the case for most of the history of the gaa. This Mayo would probably have won 3 all Ireland s in pre qualifier era or maybe they would not have been so good if only playing the same Connacht teams year after year. The point is all Ireland finals now feature generally 2/3 best teams so it’s hardly going to be a massacre . Gavin gets stick for being stoic but would you rather he jump up and down fists pumping! Perhaps he is showing respect to the opposition. The increasing bitterness between Dublin /mayo fans is unpleasant and fans need to realise that the players themselves recognise what they would do to win. There are no angels on either team. The propoganda battle is unpleasant too. Charlie redmond was out of order but so was James horan when he spread a story that mcquillan reffed Dublin training matches. The magic of the gaa is no segregation at the big matches and if this Dublin mayo carry on continues we could see that happening. Wj you have let some unpleasant comments slip through on this site and you need to manage that cause it adds to a unpleasant rivalry. You are a member of a Dublin gaa club you must see both sides of the coin and realise that the majority of Dublin and mayo gaa folk are decent people. Let’s not let this get out of hand with madcap stuff being entertained as fact,

121. Why have so few u21’s been integrated into the current panel was asked well i think while it was great to that win All Ireland i don’t think that U21 team was as strong as the 2006 team or was it as strong as the Dublin 2012,2014 U21 winning teams.

     Coen,O Connor,Boland,Loftus are off that team and jury is out how many more will be able to hold down a place on senior panel in the next few years but in Cunniffe,Akram,Reape etc have potential to make it. Outside of that 2016 success Mayo results at U21 level since 2009 has been poor and that is a big concern about what is coming through especially when a number of 30 year olds will eventually be calling time on their county careers.

122. Btw Deirdre dee looking for solace from Eamon dunphy ? A man who thinks he understands the pulse of the Dublin working class cause he lived in drumcondra for a few years! A fraud and he made cowardly comments. Why doesn’t have the balls to name the Dublin player he slags off? Funnily enough he has a book coming out. Eamon lives in a grand house in ranelagh, a member of the elite who would know nothing about the real Ireland the rest of us live in.

123. [Deleted].

124. Ger71 – if you’re having to reach back to James Horan’s time (he finished up as manager in ’14) that shows how unequal the dirt-throwing has been. I lost count of the number of ex-Dublin players lining up to have a cut at Lee last year and, for me, Redmond’s intervention – after the bloody game was won! – was the final straw. That went to the core of my argument about the need to be good winners, that and the volume of bile being spread on the many Dublin supporter social media accounts (where, again, the vast majority of the hatred is being pumped in one direction and one direction only).

     Fair point, though, re unpleasant comments by some on this side of the fence, which, in hindsight, I could have been tougher on, though I have tried relentlessly over the years to keep that stuff reined in. It’s a tough job, I can tell you, and it’s not done anywhere else on the web.

     I do, of course, know that most Dublin GAA people are decent and I never said otherwise – indeed that’s a point I’ve repeated several times over the last few weeks. To be honest, what I truly cannot understand is the complete disconnect between the decency of real Dublin GAA fans and the hate-filled carry-on of those who portray themselves as such online. I’d agree this is a problem but I’d argue it’s one Dublin GAA needs to get a handle on. Someone else referenced Roscommon – a bit of booing directed at Andy Moran in the drawn game and two days later there was an official statement issued by Roscommon GAA saying in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t welcome and shouldn’t be repeated. If Dublin GAA started calling out these idiots who clam to speak in their name it’d be a good start as they’re the ones who bear by far the biggest responsibility for poisoning the well.

125. Thanks for that correction, BruceDub – as you acknowledge I never said anything about that. Welcome back, by the way!

126. Leantimes – enough is enough. That comment serves no purpose at all.

127. Willie joe in you’re reply to Ger you say the hatred is been pumped one way. I’m Gaa mad .people question Why are dubs on this site. Well as I said I’m Gaa mad and devour everything about it I get. Even Parkinson’s pod cast for my sin’s and he is getting more anti dub by the week.here was always one of the more tightly run sites away from the bitterness and bile of hoganstand etc. But the tin foil hat brigade is here as well. look at your lad banging on again and again about air corp being a advantage to Dublin. Imelda May at half time . there are a few poster’s who’s dislike of Dublin came through strongly and that’s okay you’ve had a lady who’s a teacher here in Dublin saying how much she hates all dubs on here in the past ,its not exactly pumping but it ain’t nice. Anyway all the best .nursery to attend where there is a couple of Mayo Gaa people helping coach some new young dubs and nothing but fun and love of our game being pumped

128. Reading some of the comments on this blog, I wonder where do these people lurk when I visit my native county.

     Congratulations to Dublin on closing deal again. Serial winners. Gavin gets the job done and that is what matters. What he says or does not say in public matters little.

     It seems the usual post AI defeat has been followed by the usual bout of moaning and whingeing. Out in the big wide world all that matters as far as the AI is concerned is the winners. Nobody cares about losers’ excuses. It may be time for some to get out into that world.

129. I’d agree none of it is nice, Outta the blue, but would repeat, again, that from the Dublin side the sheer amount of hate being pumped is what’s noteworthy. It’s not 50:50, it’s not even 80:20. Fuck’s sake, within seconds of the full-time whistle you had goading of Mayo people of Twitter, rubbing their noses in it even before the cup had been presented. What kind of sick individual would stoop to that?

     Anyway, as you say, it’s Saturday morning and I’m off out on pitch setting-up duties myself here shortly too. I often think this is the best part of the GAA, a million miles away from all that other stuff.

130. County boards can only call out fans over what happens at matches . The reason I mentioned horan s remarks was because it became accepted as the truth. That it is an example of some of the stuff becoming unfortunately more prevalent in the game. I don t like mcquillan much as a ref but it’s a slander on a mans reputation. We should be talking about the players and their skills after the games and not the other nonsense.

131. ‘Great champions need to be good winners too’ Very good piece Willie Joe and one that required debate. I have no comment, I think 162 comments later it has been well covered. I’ve been going about my business this week without much football interaction until I met my neighbour, I live in an estate so I have a few neighbours. I’m sure his intentions were good but they backfired badly when he made the comment, ‘ it’s time now to be taking down that flag’. I was surprised with the anger of my response which l think involved me leaving it up for the rest of the f $*king year. He then panicked a bit and started to lash on the sympathy which really wrecks my head altogether so he got both barrels about how this team deserves respect and how proud I am of them and my county and how against all the odds we had just come up short against the nationally a claimed greatest team of all time. I think he was taken back by my response and then he came out with the greatest line of all ‘now, nobody likes a sore loser’ which capped it off altogether. How many All Ireland have we lost recently that we’ve suddenly become sore losers.. yes I am disappointed, heart broken even but i’ll be damned if I’m a sore looser now at this stage in the game. I told him if you can’t give this Mayo team the respect they are due then don’t say anything at all.. it’s not that much to ask for and have acknowledge and it certainly don’t make me a sore loser. It really is scraping the barrel when people are saying Mayo don’t know how to lose properly now.

132. Ger71 – who says County Boards can only tackle fans over what happens at matches? What’s stopping them from disassociating themselves from their looney wing on social media whose behaviour is at odds with everything the GAA stands for? There’s a clear obligation on them to do this in my view, given how widespread this stuff has become and the vile nature of it.

     On the James Horan remarks, I’m not going to allow you (and it’s twice now I’ve had to edit back what you’ve posted) to fling such an accusation in that way. You’d need to be providing proof of (a) what exactly he said about McQuillan (which was, as I recall, before the 2012 semi-final) and (b) that what he said was not factually correct.

     Your saying you don’t like McQuillan made me laugh. If we had the same ref for not one, not two, but THREE one-point All-Ireland wins – bearing in mind all the close reffing calls entailed over those three games – I’d be forming a committee to get a statue erected to him within the county. Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not complaining about McQuillan at all – my views on his performance are on the record here – but merely pointing out that surely by now no Dublin fan can state with a straight face that they have any problems with him as a ref. No wonder the Dublin Joe sobriquet has stuck, and not just in Mayo either.

133. I’m a Mayo supporter and I enjoy this blog but this whole post smacks of sour grapes if I’m being completely honest.
     Why feel the need?
     We lost the game – can we not leave it at that without getting our digs in at Jim Gavin or whoever else.
     WJ this is your blog & you can write whatever you want but I respectfully disagree with the tone of this particular post.

134. I am surprised McQuillen was let off so softly for an inept and cowardly performance. The BIG calls went against us or he failed to make a call at all. He didn’t do his job. Other than the fifty fifty decisons these were an abject failure to abide by and implement the rules:
     1. O’Callaghan’s goal. The Marco Polo solo. The 13 th century adventurer would have been proud at the young dubs navigation of the obstacles in his path. The thing is while avoiding defenders he is still obliged to bounce and/ or solo the O’Neills. I studied the goal by slowing it down and counted 7-8 steps in the latter part after he swerved. Shocking poor decision to miss this/ not gibve a free out. McStay with his ‘not much in this’ comment was ridiculous. Kevin, there were 3 -4 xtra steps in it you gobsh….
     2. The free awarded for two dubs clattering into one another. What the hell?
     3. Keegan’s pull down in the box. Sure the defender initiated his tackle outside but he was not fouled until 2 yeards inside. This was cowardice. McQuillen watering down the penalisation of Dublin….
     4. UFC techniques at the end. No wonder Clarke sent a few kicks awry….

     There are some decisions which go against a team. But these are obvious black and white cases that were given against us. They amount to between 4-7 points depending on whether a penalty was converted. McQuillens performance should be brought to light for its medicocrity on the important plays. I think the Mayo folk were too shellshocked to see them rationally after the game. We were also contributories to our downfall, but in all fairness, had the ref had a bit of courage they probaly would be irrelevant. The County board should make noise about the ref and try and ensure that he wouldn’t ref another big team between the counties. Disgraceful effort.

135. I blame Dublin-centric media getting cheap shots in, and a small cohort trying to bring soccer tribalism to the game.
     Jim Gavin, that’s not how it’s played !!!!

136. The motivating factor for Mayo could come from two different sources.
     1. Offaly -1980-82
     Offaly got the measure of Kerry in 1982. They lost in 1980 and 1981 to them. I remember reading somewhere, I think it was an insight by Liam Currams, that the hurt and bitterness was what stoked their 1982 campaign. The 78-81 Four in a row team were wonderful. But Offaly got the measure of them in the end. That Offaly team suffered not unlike how Mayo suffered these last few years. They were an old team too. With average footballers built around 2-3 great ones. Learn from your mistakes over the winter lads. But control and cultivate your anger and grief into a sour bitterness that will be fuel the next time you come across Dublin.
     2. Alex Ferguson. Think about the glory that will festoon the team in history who knocks this Dub team off their perch and derail their four in a row.

137. @ Bruce the Dub. Have you read the comments on the rte website on the charlie redmond article directed by dubs towards Mayo fans?Called everything from simple to bed wetters to whingers to bottlers and it goes on and on. And our national broadcaster feels its fine to publish this vitriol. They should be glad their team squeeked over the line in a game that could have gone either way as was the case with all the finals between Mayo and Dublin. Instead they delight in insulting us and taking great pleasure in our loss. This is the sort of shite that antagonises people and will lead to hostilities between both sets of fans. Maybe I am biased but I dont see the same level of shite being spewed forth by Mayo fans. All the decent dub fans of which there are many that travel to Mayo will always be welcome.

138. Swahili wrote a lovely piece last night and the word joy cropped up numerous times..Joy that he feels watching Mayo players as they refuse to stoop to the levels that Dublin did last Sunday and how his children can rest at night knowing players are doing it largely right..So we hold the moral high ground on the pitch but players are back to square 1 in their quest for Sam?? Dublin did what they had to do at the end of that game..They won at any cost..Some day if our lads ever get the chance again I sincerely hope they do the same..These losses are just too much for any player ..

139. https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/thirteen-reasons-why-mayo-failed-to-end-the-famine-1.3230694?mode=amp

140. Regarding that Enda photo, maybe he was saying: Jaysus how come I’m still one of the few Mayo people with an All Ireland medal in the house?

141. Shrulelad not like me to agree with a Shrule lad but I think you are completely right. I find this whole topic a complete waste of time and smacks of whingeing. We lost we must get on with it. If you feel this bad get down to your local club and put your energy into that so that in future there will be loads more Boyles, Mortimers and Keegans. Stop wasting your energy on useless crap – Gentleman Jim. Dublin Joe nonsense. No wonder we are getting a reputation. We wonder why we get abuse in Roscommon and other far flung fields.

142. [Deleted].

143. McH – that incident had nothing to do with us and is in the past. No cause bringing it up here now.

144. I never said I hate all Dublin. I hate the vile stuff I’m seeing for the second year running. I hate the abuse I’ve gotten and seen others get at matches and after. Actually I personally got none this year for the first time in years. My kids minder is from Dublin and a lady. I work with lovely Dubs. I teach lovely kids. I have lovely Dublin cousins. I couldn’t even be bothered fighting with you. Prob same guy from last year under a diff name that had a go.
     But there is a very bad element to the Dublin support that is not in Mayo or other counties. We have lost 6 other all Ireland’s to other counties and never a bad word or fights needing breaking up.

145. Berry, that’s a very sad attitude you have on sport. Of course it is not all about the winners. It is about taking part, giving it your best and enjoying the game. Mayo did that and can hold our heads up on a superb performance. We are proud of and support our team. If this is your native county as you claim, then you should do the same, they are the finest team that have played for Mayo in years and give it everything. That’s enough for me, I don’t expect any more of them!

146. Sinabfhuil

     I think a lot of people are not whingeing, there’s genuine annoyance with the inept reffing last Sunday. You cannot just turn a blind eye to it and expect it to be fixed, Dublin got the game reffed to their liking in the major moments. Don’t be blind to that please.
     We could have 20 Keegan’s ready to roll next year but if the ref is on your opponents side you won’t win. The fact that this Mayo team are operating at this level is nothing short of remarkable. They are remarkable men.

147. Regina , thank you for your comment . I feel your sense of necessary ruthlessness too. I have for years for this team.

     I don’t think anyone under estimates the sense of ruthlessness I think that these players need to have to achieve the particular success of winning the All Ireland .

     But can we pause for a minute and define what we / I (maybe it’s just me ) mean by ruthlessness ?

     The dictionary defines ruthlessness as the quality of ” lacking pity or compassion for others ” ” cruel ” ” merciless ”

     Mayo have soft hearts , pure , kind , Christian and true . As far as a generalization goes we neither lack pity or are cruel or merciless .

     We are not ruthless in the traditional definition of that word – TO OTHERS.

     Where I call for ruthlessness primarily is in the area of self evaluation. Every member of the team should ruthlessly and pitilessly and mercilessly evaluate their own performance. With and without the help of others .

     I want us to man up both as individuals and collectively and analyze the mental shortcomings that allowed us to not win the game on Sunday when we were surely the better team I thought.

     Our shortcomings are there to be seen in particular in the area of composure at the beginning and end of matches but also in many other areas where the outcome is in our own hands .

     The outcome is there in our own hands . Are we in fact not manning up to our own , now surely obvious mental shortcomings ( composure ) and practicing composure ,composure , composure till we are so used to it that it’s second nature ?

     We all know by know that the best way to achieving success in any endeavor is practice practice practice . But sometimes you need input from others about what to practice.

     If the players don’t accept that this short coming a. Exists and is the true cause of their inability to reach their goal and b. Can be made better with practice , then there is nowhere to go .

     But if they accept that this exists and ruthlessly and pitilessly man up and practice composure as I’ve outlined and stop dropping shots short etc then they will overcome the last remaining obstacles.

     By doing “ruthlessness ” this way they become stronger , better players and people and an even more positive example to our children . Then they become legends transcending generations . This team still have this potential in them – FOR SURE.

     I would cite the two non pareils of ruthless self improvement ( without compromising your integrity or your principles ) to be Mick O Connell and Maurice Fitzgerald . Those two stand out for me.

     On the other hand we can become 78 th minute collective Dublin and have that be our example to our children !

     Why is this important ? Because cheating involves short cuts and the loss of integrity .Now imagine these players grown up and are in positions of power and having learned these lessons of ” winning / success ” they now have the fate of millions of people in their hands ( for example A.I.G.) do we want them to be ruthless TO OTHERS ? So that they can be successful ? So that they can be Winners in the corporate sense ??

     ( It’s not going to take long to refresh our memories by googling what antics AIG were up to during and before the financial crisis ) Do we want to become them ? If so , you can have it .

     There are other areas where we as supporters and county board can help with fairness and justice for all . By being relentless and ,yes , ruthless advocates for fair play in all it’s forms . Come together and let’s stop this farce of one ref and docile linesmen for a game such as Gaelic football . Let’s push for fairness so that we don’t have to be 5/6 points better to get the win .

     Let’s bring in in- game review of refereeing decisions , give managers the ability to call 3-5 decisions for review within a game , let’s rate referees (I am so sick of poor refereeing ) and let’s consider having three or four professional referees . Lets be ruthless in that way .

     Let’s be ruthless as a group and a county in being vocal and relentless advocates for better delineation of the rules within GAA and advocates for the enforcement of the actual rules . Like when a ball is handled on the ground three times in sight of the ref but not given as a free. If this was incompetence it would be shocking !

     This is where all our rules get thrown in the bin when the call goes out to ” let the game flow “. Can anyone on here remember any game that Mayo ever won when the ref took this approach ?

     Enforcement of the rules should not ( usually ) be ” in context”. By saying ” let the game flow ” you are contextualizing everything and leaving it all to the jurisdiction of one flawed man .

     When the call goes out from the Sunday game or other site to ” let the game flow ” I say let’s metaphorically “man the barricades “and say “NO”

     Let’s play by the rules ( devoid of context as much as possible ) and if the rules make for a miserable viewing experience then either change the rules or put more effort into developing skill sets .

     Finally , can we go to the effort of making sure that our representatives to GAA congress and our county board representatives and our Mayo pundits have the necessary skills to represent our heroes properly ?

     That they work together from the same hymn sheet , that they relentlessly advocate for fair play and proper enforcement of the rules and that they honestly examine their own performance in all of this .

     Mayo can and should achieve their aims by being an example of the pursuit of authentic self improvement and not be yet another prototype of so called ” winners ” whose example only serves to perpetuate everything that is wrong in a society where the weak get killed or maimed or starved or robbed and the world is led by the bad kind of ruthless .

148. I’ve been harping on all week about how much of gentleman the Dublin players are off the pitch yet you seem to think it’s the opposite . End quote.

     I’ll say no more.

149. Swahili..You mention the push for fairness to ensure we dont need to be 5/6 better to win a game..Where is this push going to come from??The County Board??Nope..The Mayo media men( one of whom was asked in a post match conference what he thought of the standard of reffing of the game and brushed aside the question)..Doubt it…And so who is left?? Us..But according to.comments I have read from some Mayo supporters we need to accept our beating,dust ourselves down and look forward to 2018..So nothing changes ..Part of me almost wants to bundle those players onto a plane,drop them in Australia for year and let Kerry and Tyrone and whoever else wants to try to derail the juggernaut next Summer..Thats just how I feel today..

150. Wj-Lots of things uttered about Dublin that the Dublin co board have said is untrue e.g meals delivered to the players , a small thing but it’s completely untrue yet it’s persistently uttered as fact. The Dublin co board can issue a statement asking for sites who claim to have an affiliation with Dublin gaa to behave respectfully. Whether it would do any good is another thing. Horan said it without offering any proof that mcquillan did those matches. Who told him ? Another urban legend that grew legs cause people want to hear things to justify a belief often based on flimsy evidence. As a member of dublins most famous successful and unpopular within Dublin club you surely see things from that side of the fence. Dublin lost 3 semis by a point and a 4th semi by 2 in the 00s but I don t remember anything other than they were nt good enough being offered as an excuse. I do recall mcquillan giving cork a line ball which was nt theirs and they scored from it so we ll call him corkjoe then.We ll never agree re refs so I ll leave it there . You have a great blog but some of the contributors should try and reign the personal abuse in.

151. This post is becoming embarrassing. Fair enough people are entitled to their opinion but I feel accusations of agendas, conspiracies and biased refs are just comments made with green and red eyes. Such comments are also dangerous to our common aim. They create a loser mentality where everyone is to blame other than the obvious that we were not good enough or we got no luck. I plead with you to take a step back, reconsider and stop what is whingeing. I love this blog but this post is really putting me off it.

152. I think some people are missing the benefits of this thread.

     There undoubtedly is alot of negative feeling, towards many things media related mind you not so much on this blog.

     Social media and main stream media bias is a huge issue. Some people seem to think that discussing it here is not a great idea.

     Personally, I would disagree with that completely.

     To tackle any issue or problem the 1st step is always to identify the issue.

     Step 2 is to discuss it, which is for the most part what’s happening on this thread. That can be a tricky discussion because everyone has their own views.

     Step 3 Is to reflect on each others views and that needs to be done with an open mind.

     Step 4 is there needs to be a way forward, where people.can still air their views but maybe do it in a manner where it’s easier for both friend and foe to digest the message.

     I’m no angel, but wouldn’t intend to ever insult people with what it is I post. I can see however, how some people reading some of my posts, and receiving my message not in the manner that it was communicated, might be slightly peed off.

     Media articles attacking teams or players who have just come out the wrong side of a heart breaking all ireland, well thats waving a red rag to a bull.

     Redmonds article for example this week has spawned so much negativiism and rightly so, a backlash from Mayo fans. Mayo fans respond, myself included with, “well what about the dublin lad that did this and that”, and in essence, that 1 Redmond article causes a huge rift and bad feeling and insults between the 2 sets of fans.

     People have asked what can the county boards do about something like that. Well they could call in Redmond in this instance and ask him to zip it, and if it happens again, ban him from attending games, kick him out of the gaa or whatever.

     The gaa would be nowhere without fans attending the matches. Fans deserve better than to be insulted and infuriated by anyone in mainstream media.

     Alot of the current bad blood between the separate sets of fans, lead right back to the likes of Charlie redmonds door. There have been more than him over the years, but he certainly has been the most recent instigator.

     Management from all teams need to treat their opponents with respect. If they don’t lead by example then why should.their fans. Lead by example. This hasn’t been happening.

     Players on the pitch need to to treat their opponents with respect. Hasn’t been happening, so where is the example to the fans.

     Ex players really need to quit writing shit in the papers. They are primarily, not wholly responsible for alot of the bad blooded bile now been traded on social media.

     That is why as long as I have been reading this blog that this has, in my mind, been the best and most relevant thread. It is a discussion which had to happen. Not an easy one I would guess for WJ to put up but I’m delighted this one was put up.

     I would love to be in the situation where I could say, with hand on heart that I respect all the managers in the country, all the players in the country and all the journalists in the country. Above all I would love to have good relationships with fans from all counties.

     This can never happen with media shit stirring.

     That is exactly why this thread is so relevant.

153. Sinabhuil , I think we all are trying to take responsibility for our own stuff and I think the posts reflect frustration that we have poor refs , poorly defined and implemented rules and no real voice . In no way are we primarily directing blame at anyone other than ourselves . There are issues that need to be addressed however .

154. Sinabhuil, i would tent to agree with you. While the behaviour of certain sections on social media should be highlighted I think a distinction must be made between the current Dublin squad and their supporters. Since the final the Dublin players have been nothing but respectful and complementary about the Mayo team. In that regard I think the headline on this post is misleading. Gavins comment regarding Dublins performance in last years final imo wasnt disrespectful, it was a motivational comment for his team, Rochford said Mayo had room for improvement after the semi final, is that disrespectful to Kerry. Managers say these things to motivate their team to strive for better.

     Social media is a worldwide problem, more important issues such as economic, religious, political, womens rights etc have been targets of ignorant bile being spewed on social media. The GAA can condemn it but that wouldnt make a blind bit of difference. Those posts from the Dublin side are most likely made by the same individuals that mistakenly cheered the introduction on Eric Laundes in the semi final, hardly hardcore GAA fans. If we highlight these comments we must acknowledge the sore loser comments by mayo supporters on social media, you only have to look at a certain facebook page to find these.

     While the post is about sore winners there has been alot of whinging and sore loser on show here, some have blamed Dub players, management, even the air corps. There is a small section of posters that are intent on blaming the ref for all our woes. WJ yourself on a few posts have acknowledged that we got a fair shake from the ref, I would agree with you there. You have even asked enough is enough on this issue, but some people persist with this whinging. One poster put up a link to some Dub players committing travelling infractions, this should be taken down as it is highly biased, a similar video could be make about mayo or any other team playing football at any level.

     People need to stop the whinging and accept that we lost to a team who are slightly better than us, they made fewer mistakes and had better subs to come on and impact the game. There are no big conspiracies or dark ulterior motives behind the result, we lost to a better team. I dont think I will be posting here for a while as I really dont want to be reading posts about blaming refs and whining all winter until the league starts.

155. @Mayomad
     Nail on head…

156. Justoutsideballagh, I may not be as young as I was, but I am still quite certain about the place of my birth.

     What I should or should not do in terms of supporting any team or indeed anything else will always be dictated by me.

     My attitude poor as it maybe to being a supporter in GAA or any other sport is that you take the hits on the chin and move on with good grace. It is sport after all and supposed to be fun. I find all of this whingeing and moaning very tiring. It is true say before this blog came along I would have expected better. It is certainly not what I know of Mayo.

157. Mayomad the Eric lowndes thing is ridiculous. I follow Dublin club football and I know the players but from the distance from the hill to the sidelines without the aid of a big screen lowndes does resemble Connolly. Same style hair and stature.

158. Well said Mayomad

159. I think part of the point is that we all have different opinions. Even though most of us are on the same side many don’t accept Dublin were/are better and others don’t accept the ref’s part. Why is one set of views more right than the other? And that is why we can’t all agree. We all believe wholeheartedly in our own version, but here at least, we all respect each other’s views. We are all entitled to our own opinion. However, in the outside online world, people are verbally abusing one another and players and going way too far with it. It’s creating very bad feeling between both sets of fans. Last year it was horrendous and ugly before the match. This year it’s been largely after.

160. Sinead37 Is our (Sorry Willie Joe) blog also part of that process?

161. Mayomad.

     No disrespect, but asking for a link to be taken down about how dublin overcarried the ball. I for 1 was delighted that was put up. If you think it’s biased don’t look at it again or stick up a link of Mayo over carrying the ball.
     Then write to Mr Redmond and ask him to take down his article about Lee and the gps. Surely that was biased.

     I think when political correctness goes overboard, well there’s plenty of examples of that in every day life and too much of it isn’t always a good thing.

     Whinging refers to people who give out about something. Almost your entire post is whinging about this that and the other.

     We’ll that’s enough whinging from me on this subject for now.

162. Agree wholeheartedly Sinead37

163. I don’t think it is Sinabhuil. Here is saintly by comparison to any other online platform. There is nothing vile or disgusting coming from here. It’s healthy discussion. I think WJ was correct to write a post on what has been going on. It has gone too far. I know people get heated and insulting on social media as regards economics, politics and religion but the difference is the people with these divided views/opinions don’t get together in a stadium a few times a year and wear diff colours to identify them as one side or another. Last year my dad, my brother and I had to break up a fight before the match. Last Sunday night same brother intervened in breaking up another. It is gone too far.

164. I’m not reading the papers and hardly anything online besides here and Twitter really. I can’t be bothered with the negativity. Feel bad enough. Hopefully our girls can do it tomorrow. I think they will!

165. Sinead like yourself Ive kept my eyes averted from most online reports this week..But if you can have a read of Tomas O Sheas article today..

166. When are league fixtures usually announced?

167. Well said Sinead37. I think you have put it very well.

     There is not, or shouldn’t be any big issue if 25 posters come on here and have 25 different views on the same issue.

     Some people seem to be offended if someone’s view of something is different from their own view.

     I have my views on football, they might not always be right but I feel they are. If someone comes on here and disagrees with me, fair play to them. That’s what democracy is all about.

     I too am delighted this thread was put up. It’s a serious and mature topic. When you get people discussing something that needs fixing well that’s a great start.

     I’ve had times on here where people have questioned what I’ve posted and instead of flying in to a rage I breathe deep and reread their post and see can I understand where they are coming from. Sometimes I can and sometimes I cannot.

     There is a big big difference between disagreeing with someone and personally abusing someone.

     The intro at the top is spot on. When we didnt lift Sam, not everyone extended the respect to us that we deserved. This hasn’t helped in the slightest to temper people’s feelings.

     Alot of the crap that has been put forward by both individuals and some media outlets has really fueled the bad feelings that we are seeing on other sites and the odd misfit that sneaks on here with the wrong intentions for been here.

     People who extend respect to others deserve respect in return, and those that don’t do not deserve to be respected. Personally, I respect everyone until they don’t deserve my respect anymore.

168. Berry with you on the fact that it is sport, should be enjoyable and you take defeats on the chin. I think Mayo supporters are well used to doing this. The point being raised by WJ and backed up by most of the comments is that there is an orchestrated campaign against Lee Keegan post the match as well as lots of other bile being spewed at us by so called Dublin supporters. No doubt we had them rattled and should make no apology for this. We stand side by side with our team and could not be more proud of them.

169. Sinabhuil/ Mayomad

     You miss the point. You see, I and many others don’t buy into the notion that they were a better team on the day. I believe that despite the fact that Mayo were profligate with some chances, had the referee been competent, which at that level he is obliged to be and we should demand that he be, Dublin would likely have been several points down and chasing the game at 76 minutes.
     I am still at a loss to understand how a free was awarded after the coillision of the two Dubs in the first half. Can either of you enlighten me? The overcarrying goal, the cowardice in awarding a free where a penalty was surely justified…..
     It’s over. We accept the fact that the game is lost. But don’t be so arrogant and label people as whingers. People are not whingers when they righteously strive to bring their justifiable grievances into the light with the aim that such levels of medicocrity in match day officiating are mitigated to a negligible degree in the future, irrespective of whether Mayo are involved or not. . We are entitled to make noise to make the powers that be uncomfortable enough and make sure that these concerns are taken seriously, examined, and remedied where appropriate.

     Apart from referring decisions which are out of a teams control, indiscipline (sending off) and failing to learn from past failures (freekicking from hands versus ground….) also contributed to Mayos falling short. Those innate weaknesses must simultaneously be addressed in tandem with proactively seeking to correct ineptitude of refereeing which in this game, favoured Dublin and hamstrung Mayo. Such is not victimhood, whingeing. I would call it mindfulness, being assertive.

170. The only thing worse than a bad loser is an ungracious winner. To be fair, the Dublin team that actually played in Croke Park have been very gracious in victory, and a week after the event as the hurt dissipates marginally I have to say I respect them as a team. I can’t say I particularly like them, but they are good at grinding out their results.

     However the same cannot be said for some of their supporters and their cheerleaders in the media, especially some of their more ignorant former players. There is a special place in hell reserved for their ilk.

171. Conor, email mayogaavolunteers@gmail.com

172. And still they gazed and still the wonder grew,
     That one small GPS could carry all that Lee could do!

173. Dublin are a great team. I was gracious enough to congratulate them on their win post match. But we are also a great team, it’s just a shame we haven’t the medals to show for trojan efforts from our heroes. But that is life. In another era, perhaps we may have bagged a few All Irelands.

     We were so close on Sunday, closer than ever. We just didn’t capitalize on our great first half performance. We should have went in a couple of points up, but we didn’t. That is the reason we didn’t win the game, not Joe McQuillan. I felt we got a fair shake from Joe. I was done blaming referees a long time ago

174. Mayo Mad, I put up the link regarding the ‘Dublin Steps’.. 4 or 5, excerpts from the match probably taking up maybe just a minute over the playing time of the entire match.. The match was over 80 minutes long, but the ball is actually in play not much over 50%of that time,… In that the video clips, Dublin scored 1.03..Now the footage is from RTE ‘s live coverage of the match… The TV camera’s do not have an agenda, inanimate object’s as they are… But strangely none of what is highlighted was discussed on Sunday Game evening programme… Now of course there are more controversial things that could have been covered, particularly the penalty incident with Lee Keegan.. I think that is quite bizzare, and people are entitled to form their own views as to why that might be..? Indeed Matt Cooper asked the same question as to why RTE didn’t discuss the penalty incident on his Radio show on Monday.. Either way, what is shown on the YouTube clip is most definitely the truth , of what happened in a few short segments of the match….While it most definitely is not the whole truth, it is certainly, nothing but the truth… I think in in life and in wider society..It is always better for the truth to see the light of day… I know many people disagree with me, and that’s fair enough… Some might hold the view, that the showing of this video clip, snacks of sour grapes.. My view is different.. What is to be seen on the video clips is most definitely 100% true… And I can’t see how anyone can have any objections to seening what is the truth with their own eye’s..

175. No objections from me leantimes. Thought it was a great clip to get a look at that aspect of the game.

     Dublin have total support from within their own ranks and some quarters dishing out plenty of nonsense about Mayo. They have a big part of the National media supporting them as well.

     Some posters on here, well they appear to be backing Dublin as well. I’ve seen plenty of praise for Gavin and the dublin players. Having seen how they closed out last sundays game I’m afraid I’ll never have the same respect for them.

     I’m a Mayo man and I’ll be backing my own County now and always. I’m very proud of our team and management and how they conduct.themselves. Very very proud.

176. Revellino.. If you go back to Limerick 2014.. If my memory serves me well.. Only two of our experts explayers in the beginning said anything negative about Cormac Reilly., in the immediate aftermath.. David Brady, was quite strong.. And Kevin McStay was critical on the Sunday Game, not as critical as he should have been in my view.. However the Cormac Reilly performance is now widely accepted for what it indeed was . But would RTE have examined the issue, if Mick Barrett had not made sure that the Referee was discussed not just Nationally but Internationally,.. I don’t know the answer to this question… And indeed some of our explayers who always turn up for the paid gigs and always get invited back by RTE don’t seem to be any more vocal now… Anyways back then,in 2014 the Examiner done a review of the Ref performance.. By an ex ref who’s name just won’t come to me right now.. Apparently it was the worst referee performance for some decades… Contrast t that with the criticism of the Ref after Mayo beat Kerry.. From various Kerry sources.. Even current player Darren O Sullivan who was,’ Wrongly Black Carded ‘ during that match., was highly critical of the Ref and it got some national coverage.. . He is right to do so.. It was obviously wrong to Black Card Darren… Around this time last year, I posted about the injustice done to the, Dublin Ladies in the All Ireland final versus Cork.. When the incompetent umpires, waved wide an obvious and easy point to see… It would have been an equaliser for Dublin and Cork took back the Cup Lee Side… But RTE made sure that the incident got plenty of air time.. The point that I am making is that, it’s not just Referee’s that are inconsistent, RTE have not been held to account!.. Anyway, if there is any Luck going tommorow, I hope it goes with Mayo.. So come on the Mayo Ladies.. I hope thats what we are all talking about next week.. Our victorious Ladies,!

177. At the end of the day it’s 15 v 15 or 21 v 21. I love this mayo team btw. Them Dublin lads on that team from what I’ve read and heard on numerous pages and podcasts are nothing but class and full of respect for our team. Croke Park is our second home. No excuses. We had at least 2/1 support there on final day. Cluxton started of his speech talking about what a great team we are. Nothing but respect. Investment and money don’t matter a shite when it’s gameday and by bringing it up here belittles that teams achievements. . Did we deserve to win. Absolutely fuckin yes. But we didn’t. And that’s what matters. And articles like this will do no good only feed that media monster of poor mayo. Fuck poor mayo. Well be back and maybe some second Sunday in September we will win and i for one hope it’s against this generation of great winners.
     Maigheo Abù.

178. I suppose leantimes, there are more tv licenses issued in Dublin than Mayo and there are more daily rags sold in dublin as well. It’s true what they say, cash is king.

     I reckon at this stage that a team needs to be about 7 points better than dublin if they are to lift the Sam against them. Between their home advantage and.the fact that they are allowed do what they want on the pitch when the game is in the balance.

     Dublin were unable to beat Mayo playing football and hung on using their bully boy tactics. It wasn’t football. They did the same thing on the 2013 final. Not football either.

     Mayo were the better team.

     If Dublin had played the 78 minutes playing football and won I would have no problem congratulating them but I have to call a spade a spade. They knew they couldn’t beat us with football alone.

     It’s sad to see the negative tactics been rewarded and acclaimed across all media levels and the Mayo lads who attempted to win playing the great game, some of them lambasted in the media.

     Football has gotten itself in to a very dark place. Cash is King, bow to the king.

     Not me Jack, no way.

179. Jaysus lads all teams do what it takes to win. Question for you Ravellino what did Mayo do in 2012 semi final against Dublin when they were hanging on?? Watch the last 5 mins of that match again, they did what they had to do to win pulled, fouled and dragged. I said fair play to Mayo on that day, did what they had to do. Might on be right but if Mayo were a point up I would want and expect them to do the same thing.

180. Sinead37 – I’m going to Dublin matches since 1977 and apart from the anarchy on the hill in the 70s which my dad would never let us go near(lower hogan) I haven’t seen a fight in Croker in 20 years at least . rows yes arguments yes but mainly fans getting on. I’ve been told to go back to my flat by a laoise fan . I live in a semi d. I’ve been called a dirty junkie by a meath man.and a free state scumbag by a Tyrone man twice my age and yet never a fight broke out . never any trouble with mayo ever . but you regularly are saving lads from those Dubs you never want to see again..

181. Mayohusband.

     They were 2 up late enough in the game last Sunday but didn’t resort to that type of stuff. Maybe your right. Maybe they should have resorted to those types of tactics last Sunday at that stage. They didn’t though. I doubt very much if they would have gotten away with what Dublin got away with. I would always rather see Mayo win Sam playing football the way it’s supposed to he played. Within the rules.

182. A week has passed. The game is over. The Dubs have Sam. We have heartbreak. I was delighted with the build up. Very little abuse from either side. Game was excellent, both teams fantastic, Dubs a little more cynical at the death which got them over the line. We were heroic, but missed some crucial chances and made more unforced errors a number of which were punished. Respect all round. We congratulated their fantastic 3 in a row, they were respectful of our courage and resilience. The ref was not bad, but as has often happened in the past, the really big calls went against us. Then Charlie big mouth Redmond decided it was time for him to become relevant for the first time in over two decades and the shit really hit the fan. The scum crawled out from under the stones and all sorts of abuse was hurled at our players. I have stopped reading the comments section after reports in rte, indo etc because they make me sad. Some seriously sick individuals form a large cohort of these commentators. These sick boys and girls were utterly irrelevant in pre social media days. They sat in the pubs with x large Man U and Liverpool jerseys covering their xx large beer bellies. Now they have a platform and use it to goad opposition supporters and our great players. The irony of it all is that both sets of players and management have behaved well since the match. We may not like the stoic Gavin, but he is a super manager. Dublin players are the real deal, winning 4 AI by a point speaks volumes for their character. Sure they were cynical in last few minutes but they did what was needed to get over the line. Our manager and captain were so gracious after the game and our players have been nothing short of magnificent for 7 years. Our supporters have invested incredible emotional energy in following this wonderful team and quite understandably are fiercely disappointed. Personally having attended all the wonderful matches between Mayo and the dubs since 2012, I cant give out about their fans. Sure they are passionate and give out about our players but I didnt hold back on Cooper, St Philly or Rock during last sundays game. I have not been to the Hill but have to say that I have had no issue with dub fans in my vicinity. I actually think that the keyboard warriors dont go to the games. They probably reckon 80 euro is better spent on 17 pints or 67 cans of dutch gold rather than buying a ticket. I would urge our fans not to bother their arses getting into exchanges with these saddos and I congratulate you WJ on moderating this site so well. You Dubs who are reading this Well done and enjoy your victory. To Mayo people be proud of our great team and look forward to next year. To the serial abusers on social media, get a life, join a GAA club and do something positive for a change. Championship 2017 is over Move on.

183. Ravellino – of course you are correct that Mayo were 2 points up but there was a long way to go including injury time. My point is Dublin dragged all the players down for the last play, do you thing Mayo would not do the same?? Mayo did the exact same in 2012 semi final v Dublin any thoughts on that? My point is you do what you have to do, to get over the line. I for one would not give a hoot how Mayo won last Sunday.

184. To win just once.

     Very good post and yes 2017 is now done and like it or not things will move on.

     So what have we to look forward to in 2018.

     Football wise hopefully our just rewards.

     Media wise ?? I’m afraid it’s going to be the same tune. Bad press in the rags and bias on the box.

     This isn’t year one of the let’s scar Mayo, press campaign. No no no.

     So do we move on, caps in hand from this year’s slaughtering by the media and line up like innocent boys to meet the same firing squad again next year. Is that the.correct thing to do ? Forget it and pretend it never happened.

     I don’t know what the ideal solution or answer is to this witch hunt against our players is but it’s hard to forget about this year and last year and to obediantly line up again next year so that the media can again hand our arses to us on a plate.

     I get your point about moving on but not into.this quicksand that the media like to portray us standing on.

     I don’t think the answer is do what they do.That just makes things worse but surely somebody somewhere along the line needs to tell Charlie Redmond and his likes to button their holes. Surely somone needs to tell smug Des and rte that the liscence fee costs the same in Mayo as it does in Dublin.

     Surely someone with authority is aware of the bad vibes that is created by the diahorea that is spewed out by the press and the bias we see on the national broadcaster.

185. Mayohusband.

     Last Sunday the dublin forwards spent the entire game impeding our backs off the ball to prevent them from advancing forward. Not the last play of the game.

     Jim Gavin preaches pure football but plays a different game.

186. Dublin players pundits and some fans know what happened in that game and can take it whatever way they want but look at the game again and it speaks for itself. I think a lot of gaa people around the country will also acknowledge that.

187. Ravellino – Fair enough we will agree to differ, thought Lee Keegan did some job on “impeding” Kilkenny as you put it and thought it was great!!! Still no thoughts on 2012;);)

188. Outta Blue, my experiences have been similar to yours but with Dublin fans. I can’t change that. I never said the ‘save the day’ aggro was in Croke park, it is around it. Obviously the Sunday night incident was in a pub as the match was during the day. I’m going to Croke Park since 1989 and it’s only since 2013 there has been any hassle. I did say that this year I personally got no goading and saw no trouble for first dub match in years. But I am sick of the online stuff and media again this year. You have your opinion and experiences and I have mine and mine definitely taint my view of Dublin fans. How could they not?! I’m not engaging on this again with you.

189. Ravellino what is your opinion on Lee Keegan throwing his GPS ? This is really the main topic of all the bad press .
     Are you if the opinion Lee should get away with it ?
     I think it’s getting so much press because it’s something new , it’s never happened before .

190. BruceDub – the only media person making an issue of keegan is Charlie Redmond. In fairness to Mossy Quinn, his column in yesterday’s examiner said that both keegan and Costello were wrong, but it’s time to move on now and stop making a fuss about BOTH of them. What are your thoughts on Redmonds article? Do you not think it was a one-eyed piece that did nothing but stir up bad feelings between 2 sets of supporters? I guarantee the keegan incident would have been forgotten by Wednesday, as well as costellos, only for Redmond. Then on Thursday, RTE led with the excerpts from Redmonds article on their main sports news. Why would the national broadcaster selectively pick up on comments from a Dublin pundit who is clearly biased towards his own team? I mean, Redmond even said he wouldn’t pick a single mayo player for the Dublin team! That’s how stupid he is! RTÉ could have left it alone, instead of selectively stirring up shit at keegans expense by quoting an extremely biased pundit. What lee did was wrong and cynical. But was it any worse than dragging down a player through on goal, or throwing away tees, or cynically fouling while you are ahead (like Kilkenny the other day)? No way. So why can’t people get over it and leave all players alone and move on?

191. Hi BruceDub.

     I believe that any player who breaks the rules should be punished accordingly.

     In Lee’s case I don’t think the officials spotted it so it could be dealt with retrospectively.

     I also believe that all the other rules that were broken in Sunday should also be dealt with retrospectively.

     How many Dublin players might get bans for wrestling the Mayo backs to the ground in the last minutes of Sunday game.

     How many of Dublins forwards should be banned for impeding Mayo backs off the ball during the course of the match.

     If you want to ban Lee no problem but apply the rules fairly and ban all who broke the rules during the game.

     Lee keegan got bad press last year as.well which led to him been sent off which wasn’t deserved.

     But the pyranahs were still not finished in the press. They then decided to kick up about him been awarded the poty.

     Lee and his team mates and the Mayo management have been getting plenty of bad press long long before the gps incident BruceDub.

     Where are all the other articles for all the other rules that were broken on Sunday ??

192. I don’t think Lee can be banned , I’ve looked it up and the rule states that the ball should be moved forward 13 yards for such an infringement .

193. Some of you really need to move on from this. Read Tomás O’Shea’s article in yesterday’s paper, he sums up the game brilliantly, the article gave me solace and pride. It’s not all platitudes and yerra talk, footballers and true GAA supporters recognise this team for what it is, one of the best to have played the game. Sure there’s some arseholes from Dublin posting horrible stuff online, but there’s arseholes in our own county as well and since Dublin has 10 times our population it makes since there’s 10 times the arseholes. The majority of the players who gave so much for their counties last week were out in the muck and rain playing for their clubs yesterday. Can you imagine that, less than 7 days after playing in front of 82,000 people, your back to your roots, back with your friends, the people who coached you, mentored you and made you the person you were 6 days previously, what other sport in the world has that? Let’s take solace in being around to witness the greatest players Mayo ever produced, playing in some of the greatest games ever witnessed and knowing that if we can bring through even 2 players on to that team next year that we will cross the line once and for all.
     Hon Mayo..

194. Ravellino – I agree a 100% per cent, Shame a great team like Dublin, will be remembered for the way they won their All IRELAND’S BY FAIR AND FOUL MEANS, Mostly Foul, IF They are the sporting players they claim to be,Why did 1 of their players refuse to shake 1 of our players hand, just after meeting the President,check it out on you tube, on 46 minutes,They just cant get Mayo to roll over, like other teams, so they show their true colours, and the win at all costs mentality kicks in, four mayo players in headlocks, goalkeeper’s tees kicked and thrown away, a man that was on black carded refusing to leave the field, as for the ref and the linesmen, they may as well have gone home, Dublin played by their own rules, The sooner people wake up to the fact, that fair play is a more balanced scale, and stand up and demand it the better, And no we are not whingers or sore loosers. Just a great football team looking for a fair crack of the whip,on level playing field.We will see then where all the titles will go,maybe it’s gets everyone interested and even the weaker counties will come back, As for Charlie redmond, I thought the Dodo was extinct, Great blog wille joe, hope im ok with this post, as it’s not meant to offend anyone, only to highlight a few injustices in the game.

195. Liam..That article by Tomas was excellent..Think every Mayo supporter should be made read it..even if its the only thing they read between now and Christmas..As to people moving on everyone does at their own speed..Some of my friends were over it by Wednesday..Others werent..Its a little bit like grieving but no one died..People were so invested in team this year after the rollercoaster summer and Sunday evening left supporters shattered..And heres the thing..time waits for no man..A year is a long time and no one knows what the Mayo team will look like next year..Or mgmt for that matter…I dont want to sounded defeatist..just realistic..

196. This thread must be one of the most divisive ever.

     Its important to be balanced.
     Lee deserves a ban for such an unsporting act. He let himself down on that one. He is a superb player. The half
     back of his generation. But he actions, albeit of a desperate man, were wrong and unsporting ..

     The systematic pulling of Mayo players to the ground for the last couple of minutes was horrible to see. Cormac Costello let himself down too. He had no intention on playing football. Was just sent on to disrupt and spoil. Win at all costs. 3 card for dublin in the last 3 minutes. This was obviously preplanned by mgmt.

     The vast majority of Dublin supporters are decent gaa folk but there is an element to their support that
     are unsavory. That is long established. Connolly is the only name they would know. They wouldn’t have a clue where McHale park was. They will disappear when the dubs stop winning .. (whenever that is )
     There are a good few gobshite mayo supporters too.

     Ultimately we lost due to missed chances in the first half.
     Donie’s needless sending off.
     And Cillian missing his free and Rock getting his.

     Moving forward lets hope Rochford and his team stay. But i hope they blood new players properly in the league, not like last year. Only one way to find out if players are good enough. Tough tight division 1 league games .. Give the stalwarts 6 months off ..

197. It’s getting close to 200 comments now on the original piece and I think it probably is time to wind down the discussion as the point I was making in the piece has now been fairly thoroughly obscured by the over-and-back discussion spawned from it. I would note, though, that nothing in the 195 comments posted (and several more I’ve had to chuck in the bin) has contradicted the substance of what I had to say. All manner of other things have been hauled into the debate, accompanied by plenty of what-aboutery, but most of these had nothing to do with my core argument. An argument, by the way, which accepted Dublin as winners and great champions, which wasn’t bitter (that appears to be the standard put-down favoured by social media trolls) and wasn’t whingeing about losing. I had a specific point to make and I still think – despite the often heated nature of the exchanges – that it was worth making. The GAA is a unique organisation, one built – in Dublin, Mayo and everywhere else – on community values. If they slip – and I’d argue that the disgraceful actions in the media by ex-Dublin pundits and the vitriol spewed out across social media by some Dublin “supporters” are warning signs that we’re headed that way – then the organisation we know, love and help sustain is heading for trouble. That’s the core of the point I was making. Congrats again to Dublin on this year’s win and the completion of the three-in-a-row. Up Mayo.

198. I think Dark arts are all part of game now. Dublin Mayo Kerry Tyrone are all masters of it. Its win at all costs. Mayo lost all Ireland last week by very fone margins. But those fine margins were a number of decisions during the game the players made that were the wrong call. Dublin made less of those wrong decisions. Let’s accept it and move on. For the players my heart goes out to them. They gave every thing but its time to help they move on . Give them space to heal and not drag up constantly what ifs etc…

199. Just listened to newstalk where Paul Kimmage elocuted much of the sentiment expressed on here. Great to hear a journalist doing what he is paid to do and not the thrash hashed out by most sports ‘journalists’. Was really severe and hard hitting where Jim Gavin was called out for his lack of grace and empathy.

200. Sinabhuil – I just listened to Paul Kimmage also and I have to agree with all he said , I didn’t realise the lack of empathy from the Dublin manager , fair play to kimmage I was delighted to hear him call it out for what it is. Foe anyone who wants to listen to it they normally put it up on their website about 4pm under paper review . Anyway we move on, hope the ladies do it today .

201. I have to laugh at those agreeing with kimmage, “lack of empathy” ffs tonight are ye serious , perhaps try get some of that lack of empathy into ye.

202. Couldn’t personally care less, about Jim Gavin lack of empathy.. We didn’t go to Croke Park looking for empathy or sympathy… We went to Croke Park entitled to a fair crack of the whip.. We didn’t get it…. Like any of these talent shows.. They become more about the talentless than the talent… I don’t mean the singer’s or performer’s.. I mean the those on TV who judge them… And of course none of them are fit to lace the boots of the performer’s… But are there to make money out of them… And that’s the bottom line!

203. If o Connor s free has gone over and mayo won by a point you wouldn’t be having this discussion. Maybe Dublin forums would be full of why was nt o shea black carded for pulling down McCarthy and another mayo player ( can t recall who) who knocked o Sullivan down in an off the ball incident. Questions may have been asked about steps by Vaughan for his point( a yard or two over but there is nt a player alive who has nt done that). As for the gps I shudder if rock had missed and that came to light. The balance sheet does not favour any team in the goody two shoes category. At the end Kilkenny was black carded correctly and Costello yellow carded correctly. If the black card was in in 2012 and 2013 mayo and Dublin would have been in trouble. Neither sets of fans can claim the high moral ground on this. As for kimmage he threw his rattle out of the pram cause Jim Gavin would nt dance to his tune and fair play why should he.

204. I agree with much of the views expressed on this thread. But Jim Gavin’s lack of empathy? Come on to fuck Lads? Last thing I want to hear is condescending shite or “empathy” from Gavin about poor oul Mayo. Kimmage would want to cop on a bit – that kinda shite will make us soft.

205. Eamon Dunphy said this Dublin team will never be loved as it has a lot of pricks, We love the Mayo team but still no all ireland

206. Not to drag the discussion on as agree that the life has been well and truly bled out of it but discussing this with a couple of ex-players on the topic during the week the consensus among them was along the lines of “why on earth would we lower ourselves to this shite?” That our players are well capable of defending themselves, and that sometimes turning a blind eye and not reacting is the best reaction of all.

     Now, I’m not convinced I agree but they have been at the coalface themselves, and were honoured to wear the jersey and represent their county with pride and dignity. A sentiment that is quite at odds with the behaviour of Redmond and others last week. So maybe they have the right idea? I don’t know.

     Glad this year is done and dusted. Looking forward to a break and getting out to a few club games over the winter months before hitting the road again.

207. Sorry ger71, gourmet food parlour btw. No big deal tbh pretty sure we have meals supplied too although probably not as regular.

208. My first time to post and I’m a Dub and two of my best club mates are Mayo people. I have huge respect for all inter county hurlers and footballers. The stuff that amateur managers and players are subject to on social media and in some cases in the “real” media is appalling. Real GAA people may do a bit of slagging after big games and if we can’t do that we may all give up. Ignore the keyboard warriors on all sides and rise above it for god’s sake. They don’t matter. Real GAA people know that. As a Dub one of the only things I watched online since the game was Jim Gavin’s words in his own club yesterday. His words in relation to Mayo,Mayo players, the GAA and community etc were sincere. I suggest anyone upset with Jim Gavin’s demeanour after the final with the media watch it. The Mayo and Dublin footballers and Management teams rise above all of this and we should follow their example.