Mayo's celebrations of a first All-Ireland title in 75 years are continuing, with the players having spent time with the diaspora in the United States last month.
For manager Andy Moran, the emotion of some of the events since July has taken him by surprise, but he says he never doubted that they would get there.
Ballaghaderreen clubman Moran played 183 times for the green and red, playing in five All-Ireland finals but never managing to take home a Celtic Cross.
This summer, he guided the current generation to the promised land, and he says the players have continued to impress him in the months since.
"I'm 43 years of age and it's life changing for me," he said after picking up the 2026 GWA Football Personality of the Year award.
"It's a fright, you're literally catching yourself every day.
"I'm 43, married with kids and I have a business. I can't imagine what it's like for an 18-19-year-old. It's crazy. Even for 20, 22, 23-year-olds, it's so intense.
"Every place you go if you're holding that Sam Maguire and you're bringing it somewhere you're like the Pied Piper. For the young lads, I have thought about them.
"My wife Jennifer asked me how they're handling it, I said 'to be honest I don't really know.' They're carrying themselves immensely well, I'm so proud of them the way they're giving everyone time.
"This is so life changing. It's beyond what I could have ever imagined."
With just under three months to go until the start of the National Football League, the Sam Maguire will still have a few laps to go over the next few weeks.
And while Moran was prepared for the joy at home, he says a recent trip abroad took him by surprise.
"The biggest thing for us is the intensity of winning is something obviously we've never experienced before, but just the intensity," he continued.
"We were in the States recently, just going over to some of our supporters who were very good to us for a lot of years when we weren't winning.
"But it was their first time really to have that celebration, so it was like another homecoming. It was a mad six days of such intense joy. It's very important that we respect that too and respect those people.
"We had three nights in Chicago. Three celebrations and every one of them as big as the next. We went to New York and there was 900 people in a room for us, insane.
"This is second and third generation American people who are celebrating this with us, I just think that's amazing. We always knew that the Mayo brand was a big brand. I think we probably underestimated it a tiny bit."
The Mayo story in the last decade was one of complete perseverance.
They came up against arguably the greatest ever Gaelic football team as Dublin completed the six in a row. Jim Gavin's all-conquering side downed the Green and Red in five of those six seasons, including replays in 2015 and 2016.
But when Mayo finally got over the line against the Dubs in 2021, they couldn't deal with the expectation, falling flat against Tyrone in that year's decider.
Moran says that despite being knocked back so often, that sobering defeat five years ago was the one that damaged belief in the county the most.
"We said it for so long, it became a bit pie in the sky stuff really, but I did always believe," Moran says.
"I'm the sort of person who says if you keep putting yourself in there your luck will change, you'll get there eventually and I am that person.
"You do read back on it and think it was so long, there were so many efforts.
"After 2021, as a county, did we lose that fight a small bit? We might have but I'm just so happy the boys have bought in."
2027 will be new territory for Mayo, whatever course the year takes.
They will come in as the All-Ireland champions, the team every other county wants to beat.
Whether they're able to play the type of football that took them up the steps of the Hogan Stand in the past summer remains to be seen, with the potential for more rule changes to be made to Gaelic football.
More: Kevin McStay hopeful of 'five or six' rule changes for 2027 football league
And while Moran says the game needs to be able to evolve, he warns against too much change too soon.
"People are talking well about the four-point goal and I get that, but if you change the dynamic of the scoreboard in Gaelic football, that's a massive change," he argues.
"The biggest change that has ever come into the game is the 11-up rule and what you've seen now with the scores is that the scores now have started balancing each other out.
"We lost an All-Ireland against Dublin 1-17 to 1-16 in 2017 and it was the greatest game of football I've ever played in, but this final was 1-20 to 1-17. There wasn't much difference.
"The scores now are beginning to even themselves out. It's not these 1-30’s, 1-35’s that we thought, but you have to give that time to bed in.
"I think all the rule changes are not all bad, but not now. I actually can't see the point why we're even trialling rules at the minute.
"And yes, you should examine them and you should trial and you should, of course. But the timing has to be right and the timing at this point for me is all wrong. It really is.
"People are on about the fisted point, I think there's a skill in the fisted point. Eventually we will probably go to a four-point goal, but you have to think what's the consequence then to one-pointers?
"Does one point become insignificant if you do that?"
All will become clear in the months ahead.
While we wait, Moran says they're going to continue to enjoy the last of the celebrations for 2026 after so much heartache.
"We were the team that went to all these All-Irelands and we were the team that lost," he says. "I was involved in an awful lot of those teams. I'm not ashamed of it.
"At some stage you have to win the race, and just winning it and then to see what it means to the people.
"We went all over the world. To see the raw emotion of that, I always have a picture (in my head) and it makes me emotional, people just leaving and looking back and saying goodbye to Mayo.
"To see what it means to those people is just unbelievable."
The Gaelic Writers' Association awards, sponsored by Clayton Hotels took place at the Clayton Hotel, Ballsbridge last night. The GWA Awards recognise the extraordinary contribution of current players and managers, and Andy Moran is the 2026 GWA Football Personality of the Year.
In a year when Mayo landed an All-Ireland title after a 75-year gap, it's fitting that he is recognised with the GWA's football award for creating the positive environment as manager in his first year that allowed Mayo to flourish as they did. His enthusiasm, honesty and coaching acumen were the perfect ingredients to lead from the front in 2026.
Source: RTÉ News · RTÉ Sport
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