Is the best yet to come from Roscommon?

As Darragh Heneghan, having received the Man of the Match award, finished his post-match interview at Dr Hyde Park last Sunday, an enthusiastic Roscommon supporter shouted in “The All-Ireland is next!” That level of expectation may have lowered in the hours afterwards as the adrenaline levels came down, but it does beg the question that has been asked about the Rossies on numerous occasions over the years: can they mix it when it matters in the All-Ireland series?

On the evidence of what we’ve seen over the last fortnight – and indeed during the course of the league – they most certainly can.

Sunday’s Connacht final victory over Galway was another serious statement by Mark Dowd’s team and, for them, it answers one big question at least around being able to back up one big display with another.

It was a game that will live long in the memory not just for Roscommon folk but for neutrals as well. When it comes to provincial finals and what they’re worth, you got the answer in spades at the Hyde. The outpouring of emotion at the full-time whistle underlined just how valuable a Nestor Cup is, even in this era of its diminished status in the overall race for Sam Maguire.

It was a thrill-a-minute encounter that was laced with quality from both sides.

Galway will be sore at the manner in which they lost it. Once Damien Comer crashed in his goal ten minutes from time, it looked as though there was only going to be one winner. Galway’s bench made a significant impact and they wrestled back control of the contest, despite playing into a fresh breeze, after Roscommon plundered their third goal through the aforementioned Heneghan.

But the disappointment, one would imagine, will subside very quickly. Padraic Joyce said as much after the game; while a fifth Connacht title in-a-row would have been a nice notch in the belt, Galway are in the business of winning an All-Ireland.

In that regard, because of the way the championship is now structured, they’re in a good position when all of the teams assemble on the starting line towards the end of the month. Critically, their main players are now all back to a level of fitness that they can take to the field.

Despite the defeat, Galway are in a good spot and will still harbour the confidence to have a right crack at the top prize – but they cannot allow a game to slip away again as this one did.

But Sunday was about the Rossies in the finish. That they had the poise and guile to craft the two opportunities to win the game, with a pair of two pointers from Paul Carey and Diarmuid Murtagh, reflects the confidence Mark Dowd has instilled the team with this season.

From a neutral standpoint, Roscommon’s brand of football has been a joy to watch over the course of 2026. But that has been married with a know-how and ability to grind out results too.

There’s a grit about the Rossies, which was on show in league matches against the likes of Donegal and Armagh when the result threatened to slip away from them, like it did last Sunday. But they’ve got the smarts to turn these situations around and that, above anything else, is something they can draw huge confidence from as they embark on a run in the All-Ireland series.

Football has become a really open contest in many cases in the last two seasons, and that means that space is on offer more regularly. The best way to exploit that is with one precious commodity, and that is pace. Roscommon have it in abundance.

Senan Lambe has been superb at wing-back, while Darragh Heneghan has been an absolute revelation. Just watch back his first goal last Sunday; he lined up the one-on-one and drove at goal, before having the class to side foot a beautiful finish to the Galway net. It’s almost impossible to defend that running power coming at you.

Enda Smith, though well shackled by Kieran Molloy at stages, became influential at key moments while the midfield pairing of Keith Doyle and Conor Ryan again helped Roscommon gain a key foothold in the battle area around the middle.

In fact, Roscommon displayed a great variety when it came to their kickouts, with goalkeeper Conor Carroll going short on eleven occasions in the first-half into the strong breeze. Roscommon managed to get out almost every single time, which was a testament to the way their defenders were willing to attack and drive the team forward at every opportunity.

Every way you look at it, Roscommon have all the tools to make a real impact in the championship – and now feels like the time they have to strike.

Donie Smith – Enda’s brother, who is now retired – made the point in recent weeks that one thing that rankles with many players who might have Connacht medals in primrose and blue is the fact that they haven’t reached an All-Ireland semi-final despite having enjoyed provincial success in 2017 and 2019.

The new format might also give Roscommon an added boost in trying to break that cycle of being knocked out before the final four, with Tyrone next on the horizon at Dr Hyde Park on Sunday week.

It’ll be difficult to come back down so quickly but they will rightly savour this latest success.

At a time when their minors and under-20s have also scaled the summit in Connacht, these are heady days for the Rossies.

Riding that wave of momentum might just take them further than they have gone before in the modern era.