Refusing to be denied: The Saw Doctors and Mayo ending their 75-year famine

“Time is passing, so come on, and face the ball, the game is onnnnn…to win just once”

By Michael McMullan

I AM a massive Saw Doctors fan. I’ve been to countless gigs and every time they play To Win Just Once, it strikes a chord.

To me, that song summed up Mayo on Sunday. There were no back doors. No reverse gear. No sweepers.

The lyrics ‘face the ball, the game is on’ epitomised the entire demeanour of man of the match Ryan O’Donoghue.

He did just that. He tackled like his life depended on it. Everyone else piled in. One in, all in.

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As they tore into the Kingdom, I wondered what the Donegal players would have thought about their passive performance 12 months earlier.

Mayo played like there was no tomorrow. It was a true collective. From Diarmuid O’Connor starting his first game since their 13-point league defeat in Tralee 18 weeks earlier to cubs Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald playing like they’d been there forever.

Andy Moran is an infectious character and he backed youth. Eoin McGreal and Cian McHale were other fresh faces on the scene. It was the same for goalkeeper Jack Livingston, playing his seventh ever senior county game in the most pivotal position of all. Seven games. It’s insane.

Seeing Andy, Colm Boyle and Keith Higgins interviewed together on The Sunday Game was iconic too. Three men who had tasted more hurt than a nation could stomach had ended their 75-year famine for the prize silver.

They paid tribute to goalkeeper coach Paul Durcan who has Mayo blood via his father. He’s an All-Ireland winner, and that helped too.

It was the same for Paddy Tally. Once he was surplus to requirements in Derry, Moran snapped him up.

Having experience of winning Sam with both Tyrone and Kerry was invaluable. Tally told the players he was in Mayo to win an All-Ireland.

It took time to assemble the jigsaw. The team chopped and changed through the league. Coming a cropper against Roscommon in Connacht was a crossroads moment.

While some of the faces changed, the mantra remained the same. Front up. Press. Suffocate.

Ace cards

After that, it was time to put the faith in their three ace cards – O’Donoghue, McDonald and Beirne.

This column felt Kerry’s kick-out dominance earned them the justified favourites’ tag but Mayo wouldn’t reach for the handbrake. They wouldn’t wake up on Monday with regrets.

Away from any coaching points or plans, a key part of Mayo’s plan was getting the supporters back on board.

How? Well, grafting for a start. Fans love to see men emptying themselves. There were fist pumps after scores.

Moran set the tempo in his post-game interview after their semi-final win.

He questioned the media’s questioning of the need to pour water over any enthusiasm out west. Fans were entitled to go buck mad in the buildup. It told them that the Mayo camp were in their corner.

It seemed like the majority of Croke Park was Mayo. In fairness, every neutral was shouting for them.

When they charged in to prevent Kerry muscling their way to an early point, it was a small gain. Donegal were hit with that Gavin White surge that led to Dylan Geaney’s point after nine seconds in the 2025 final.

Croke Park shook. Kerry made a statement. They were in Croker for one thing – Sam.

It was Mayo who set the initial terms on Sunday. I was watching it in a living room of Derry in-laws. We were all cheering for Mayo. David Clifford’s goal on the way to a seven-point lead made me doubt.

Then came a few key moments for Mayo. Ryan O’Donoghue’s two-pointer into the Hill 16 end. Add in Darragh Beirne’s kick from the sideline. Mayo had found their mojo.

The brave move of bringing Tommy Conroy in from the bench earlier than usual had Kerry backpedalling. They’d have been expecting him at half-time.

Mayo’s collective aggression cut out Kerry’s first option of kicking early to the ‘David Clifford corner’ at the junction of the Hogan and Davin Stands.

At half-time, with Mayo only a point in arrears and kicking into the scoring goals in the second half, they’d never have a better chance.

Seanie O’Shea and David Clifford had missed chances. Top players, yet human too.

Mayo’s goal was another statement. David McBrien cut out a stray Kerry pass. He handled the ball twice more before Ryan O’Donoghue went full Maradona 1986 and that dribbled goal against England.

Face the ball, the game is on. O’Donoghue slalomed through Kerry like they weren’t there.

Looking on at the TV, everyone in my sister-in-law’s living room could see McBrien in a central place and Beirne in space beyond. McBrien’s flick and Beirne was in on goal. Boom. Top corner.

This was the day. Only not just yet. Paudie Clifford – with help from David – took 13 other players on his back.

When Kerry were back to within a point, there was the familiar ‘oh no, not again’ feeling to Mayo’s search for Sam.

Andy Moran’s men didn’t blink. They hunted the ball like they’d never play another game. Carney and O’Donoghue’s two pointers twisted the knife again.

With 50-50 possession at midfield and with chaos, this was a brilliant advertisement for the new-look game. Entertainment bullied control into oblivion.

The Saw Doctors are riding high in the iTunes charts this morning: Green and Red of Mayo is No. 6 and ’To Win Just Once’ is No.16. Is there something going on—what’s the story, sham ?#gaa #CrokePark #allirelandfinal pic.twitter.com/CPeUHr6eH5

— The Saw Doctors (@sawdoctors) July 26, 2026

In the end, it came down to one moment. When David Clifford arrowed a two-pointer towards the Mayo goals, there was a collective holding of breath.

Extra-time? The world stood still. As it dropped short, Mayo swept upfield before Tommy Conroy fisted over the insurance point.

No more sorrow. No more pain. Mayo were All-Ireland champions. Cue the irony of their anthem of the summer, another Saw Doctor’s number – the Green and Red of Mayo.

One line jumps out: “Where one Sunday every summer, the pilgrims climb the reek.”

The last Sunday in July is ‘Reek Sunday’ when masses climb Croagh Patrick. For the first time in history, it coincided with Mayo being in an All-Ireland final.

The Saw Doctors are playing at the Féile in Belfast on Friday week. I have a ticket but it’s time to get a Mayo jersey.

Sport is more than sport. Just ask the people of Mayo.