Billy Joe Padden reflects on a special and surreal day

By Niall Gartland

BILLY Joe Padden was fresh as a daisy on Monday morning. Yours truly expected a delayed response – or possibly none at all – having fired through an interview request via WhatsApp, but the former Mayo and Armagh footballer responded quick as a flash and was free to chat. He wasn’t even hoarse – let alone hungover.

So Sunday was a sensible enough day in at least one respect for Padden, who was part of those Mayo teams swatted aside by Kerry in the 2004 and 2006 finals. Father Willie Joe, an everlasting Mayo icon, also tasted the pain of defeat on All-Ireland final day. That’s been the way of it for generations of Mayo footballers spanning all the way back to 1951. Until now.

Padden certainly savoured their long-awaited day in the sun, but it was also tinged with a sense of surrealism – especially when viewed within the context of a season that threatened to unravel completely following their Connacht semi-final no show against Roscommon.

Padden commented: “In Croke Park, there were a lot of teary eyes, for sure. Some people were saying it wasn’t just Mayo people! I was lucky enough to be there with no connection to Armagh in 2002, just as a regular supporter, and there was a huge outpouring of emotion as well.

“To be back there for my own county and to see so much emotion, was something else. I think maybe, personally, its significance came down to the fact that every Mayo player in the last 30 or 40 years, definitely since the 80s, has had this thing, not so much hanging over you, but we all knew it’s a piece of work that has to get done, and we haven’t been able to do it in 75 years. My emotion was just pure joy to see them do it. That’s it for me, really.”

He continued: “And I think adding to that, it was unexpected. Nobody really gave them that much hope. If you’d have asked me two months ago, even before the Roscommon game, if Mayo could win the All-Ireland, I’d have said, ‘No chance.’ After the Roscommon game, I would have said, ‘When can the season be over?’

“But to turn around like that, I think that added to the whole surreal nature – that it all came out of nowhere in the last six weeks. And I think it just proves that the nature of winning an All-Ireland can be bizarre and peculiar.”

Padden’s home club is Belmullet. That’s also the club of Ryan O’Donoghue, who produced a performance for the ages on Sunday, adding another layer of magic to the day’s proceedings.

“Ryan was just fantastic. Knowing his parents and knowing what he does for the club at home, that adds a layer of pride to it as well.

“I’m probably far enough removed from most of them at this stage of my life. I obviously know Andy, Colm, Keith and Aidan, they were playing when I was there. To know them personally is great, but then to have that connection with Ryan and Belmullet, that just fills you with pride and joy as well.”

“It was an amazing experience really. I’m really lucky from a family point of view. I went down with my wife and kids, brother, sister, mum and dad, cousins. I met nearly everyone I needed to meet, and then people from Belmullet as well. Meeting Ryan and Ryan’s parents after the game as well.

“I don’t think I left Croke Park until nearly eight o’clock last night. Even just standing around for a good hour and a half afterwards, I met so many players that I’d played with in 2004 and 2006. Everyone had the same feeling. It was a surreal thing, that it’s finally happened.”

Padden also heaped praise on Andy Moran, whom he argues successfully blindsided the rest of the country with his tactical approach. Their high press worked a treat with one Kerry player after another getting caught in the web.

“I think Andy deserves credit in that we’ve new rules and there’s still so many unknowns. We’ve seen teams ask other questions and they might not have the answer.

“Last year, you look at Kerry’s second half against Armagh, and those four big men across the midfield just squeezed the life out of the Armagh kick-out. You think, ‘OK, that’s one way of doing it.’

“Then Mayo put on that high press against Louth and Kerry, something which no one has had the courage to do, or maybe they just thought it wouldn’t be successful or sustainable.

“That is totally understandable and I don’t know if many teams would be able to sustain it. When you look at the make-up of the middle third for Mayo, they’re really athletic, with big, big engines. I’m not comparing them as footballers but It’s like the athleticism that Dublin had in their peak years.

“McBrien’s a serious athlete, Bob Tuohy for a lanky guy can keep on going and going, Jordan Flynn, Jack Carney, Sam Callinan – they can run forever, and that’s probably some of their greatest strengths.

“To basically steal a march on the rest of the country, Andy deserves credit for that. He says, ‘We can win an All-Ireland doing it this way,’ and Kerry weren’t really ready for it.

Padden also singled out David Clifford’s direct marker, Donnacha McHugh for praise. Clifford may have scored 1-6 from play but that’s almost par for the course with the Fossa star, and McHugh did as good a job as any in attempting to negate his influence.

“I think Kerry probably made a mistake in going for the two-pointers. With three minutes to go, maybe, they were two points down. I think if you get the one-pointer, the team that concedes really panics.

“I’m glad they did what they did, but I think that’s credit to Mayo as well. Donnacha McHugh had a tough first half, but he got better as the game went on against Clifford.

“Mayo are lucky to have him. He’s been injured a bit, but he’s big and he’s a man-marker, and that’s so valuable in the modern game when you come up against a Con O’Callaghan or a David Clifford, when they’re so big and strong as well.

“He’s only going to get better and better. He’s only about 23. I think he was doing better on the balls they were winning around the square. There were a couple that went to the corner and he was able to get there before Clifford. So I think that probably influenced Kerry as well in thinking they needed Clifford around the arc to get two-pointers.”

“I talked to him after the game. I think he was like the rest of us – he was a bit shocked and surprised.”

And what about father Willie Joe? How did he react to a day some thought would never come?

“I think we were all tired! I was talking to him yesterday evening and he said he wasn’t going to stick around too long, but I’m sure he’s going to enjoy it this week.

“I think every Mayo player is the same. It’s just delight to see it happen and, in some ways, it changes everything.

“I’m a big Chicago Cubs fan, and they went from 1908 to 2016 without winning the World Series. I remember thinking they’re not the lovable losers anymore. The national perception of Mayo will probably change over the next couple of years! We might be even more insufferable! And we might have to deal with that down the road, but that’s all part of it.

“And it’s all worth it for a day like yesterday.”