Ryan enjoys the return of the good vibes

Excitement among Mayo supporters will have gone up a few notches after Saturday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final win over Cork, but Ryan O’Donoghue has experienced enough highs and lows in his career to not get carried away.

Indeed the idea of Mayo even being in the conversation for an All-Ireland semi-final appearance after a provincial semi-final hammering at the hands of Roscommon in April was fanciful. The Belmullet marksman was there that day along with other painful defeats stretching back to the 2020 All-Ireland final in his breakthrough championship year.

The 27-year-old is now 70 minutes away from a first All-Ireland final in five years. Given that his first two years at senior inter-county level saw him in the showpiece followed by a stay in the wilderness, his feet are remaining firmly on the ground.

“To be honest with you, I was thinking during the week, we got to two All-Ireland finals in my first two seasons in 2020 and 21, and you're kind of thinking, ‘Jesus, this is going to happen every year’. And then 2022, I get injured. 2023, we lose here to the Dubs, and we haven't been back since,” he said in the wake of Mayo’s 0-23 to 0-18 victory over Cork.

“So today, be honest with you, it's a bit emotional after that result there because, I suppose, our team now, the mid-20s, late-20s, we haven't been in Croke Park or gave the Mayo fans and the Mayo faithful something to shout about.” 

O’Donoghue added: “In the second-half against Meath, that was the first time that we’ve heard the Mayo faithful or we've given the Mayo faithful something to shout about for quite a while and too long.

“We repaid them and then today, on the 69th minute 50 seconds, when Hesh and Sam had the ball around the middle and I knew it was over, I had to turn around and to see the Mayo fans were standing on their feet. That's something that I haven't felt in a while and it's something you want to get every game.

“To see the amount of people that came up and supported us today was outstanding and I'm just really looking forward now to the next two weeks.” 

Much of the hype has focused primarily on the exploits of O’Donoghue’s partners in the full-forward line, Kobe McDonald and Darragh Beirne. McDonald gets many of the headlines but Beirne produced a man of the match display against Cork. His pair of second-half two-pointers were an example of the leadership the duo have shown at such an early age, and O’Donoghue heaped praise on the pair.

“I love the two lads. They're only 18 and 19, but they demand so much of me. I demand so much of them and we just bounce off each other. And even that free I won straight after the second-half started, I was thinking, will I take this? It's kind of Darragh’s side and Darragh said ‘I'm taking this’. And I said ‘fine, you take it’, and he puts it over the black spot.

“That's exactly what we need and the team needs. The three of us just bounce off each other but they're old enough, they're good enough, they’re a breath of fresh air and they’re here to win.

“Them boys have played underage football, Darragh with Colman's, won stuff, under-20s, and they're winners and they just want to win and want to play football. It's brilliant to play with them.”