Fitzgerald's thoughts turn to injured friend

It is not given to many to paint their destiny with a series of extravagantly beautiful brushstrokes. Maurice Fitzgerald made Croke Park his canvas yesterday and painted his masterpiece. Afterwards, as anybody who had observed his quiet dignity for 10 years might have guessed, he was understated and gracious in his time of triumph. "The supporters are ecstatic and I suppose I'm delighted myself, a bit emotional though."

Uppermost on his mind was the fate of his colleague, Billy O'Shea. The pair had made awkward connection with each other after 22 minutes and O'Shea had ended his day in a hospital ward nursing a suspected compound fracture. With the best will in the world most Mayo people must have wished that it was Fitzgerald who took the ambulance trip. Even in victory, though, Fitzgerald had his mind on his friend from Killorglin.

"I pulled across Billy O'Shea, it was a tackle, an accident. The ball spun loose and I pulled on it. I was probably a bit over-anxious. That made me very emotional, to see Billy carried off like that. I felt at fault. I want to go and see Billy now. It was a 50-50 ball, an accident. I spoke to him as he left the pitch he just said `do it for us'."

Reflecting on the second half, when Mayo seemed to reverse the thrust of the game, Fitzgerald felt inclined to donate credit for this All-Ireland to his team's defence.

"Once Mayo got the penalty things went their way. Thankfully, we were well focused, well tuned. Thankfully, we got back into it. The defence were great today. In the second half, especially, Liam Flaherty made some great catches."

He interrupts his thoughts. "There's the cup," he says. "I haven't had a look at it yet."

He had been too swamped with well-wishers from Cahirciveen and environs to make it up the steps for the speeches and trophy waving.

"Well, we are just delighted with the result, we came up focused and quietly confident. This was one of our best performances of the year. Everybody deserves the credit. We are thrilled with it."

Mike Frank Russell was quiet and respectful of the tradition from which he had sprung. He played for 12 minutes or so yesterday, enough to secure his place in history. At 19 he has won minor, under-21, senior, club and colleges All-Irelands. "I think I have a long way to go before I scale the heights. It's a compliment that people compare me with people who have gone before. "It was an unbelievable experience to play today. The zenith, you can reach the peak. I was privileged to get on. I just went out and kept my head down and did my best for the green and gold. I'm a very happy man."

Liam Flaherty had turned in a superlative performance.

Criticised by many all season and trusted by few outside the team, he left his mark on this All-Ireland, his distinctive figure popping up in all manner of emergencies.

"'Twas a great performance by all of us. No matter who played good or bad. We won the cup. The ball just came right to me. I got stick after Cavan (the All-Ireland semi-final) which I felt I didn't deserve. That's Kerry, though.

"The average age of this team is 221/2 . There is a lot left in this team. They will win a few All-Irelands. I don't know about the old fellas like myself, but they will go on to win a few, I think."

Declan O'Keeffe had turned in a fine performance in goal for Kerry, thwarting several Mayo attacks. Like most goalkeepers, though, the blemish on his sheet bothered him.

"I thought the penalty was a bit harsh. I'd looked at them in the last week and I saw Maurice Sheridan taking a penalty. I didn't expect Kieran Mcdonald to take it. He took it well."

Dara O Se was born to sit in dressing-rooms like this. A nephew of Paidi's, he has it in his blood.

"We had to hold out for the last few minutes. It hasn't sunk in yet. We were very cautious at half-time. We knew Mayo hadn't come at us. It didn't come until midway through the second half, though, and by then we were equipped for it. We expected them to come at us earlier. "It means a lot, with the football tradition in my family. I'm delighted. Means a lot. The older I get, I suppose, the more it will mean. I remember seeing Paidi in the final in 1982. I was only young. I remember a few wins too. Good memories."

Seamus Moynihan, another thoroughbred footballer, has looked likely to win All-Ireland medals since he was an outstanding under-age player. Yesterday he reached the promised land.

"I was very wary at half-time, we all were. I thought though that Liam Flaherty, in particular, caught some brilliant ball. We could have killed the game. I think John Crowley and Denis O'Dwyer had a chance of a goal. Could have consolidated. The goalie made two good saves. We let them back into the game."

In this dressing-room, however, all conversations lead the same way.

Pa Laide is talking about the difference between the sides. We are speaking about Maurice Fitzgerald again.

"We knew they would come back to us. I had visions of 1982 (Kerry's famous last-gasp defeat by Offaly) for a while. The kicking of Maurice was what got us through. He was the difference between the two teams. He deserves all the credit he will get from today. Maurice is getting the All-Ireland medal he deserves. He is truly exceptional."

They all got what they deserved after a year of obsessive work.

Looking about the place at the intense young faces and the maturity in which they were taking their win, one thought lingered. We will be visiting Kerry dressing-rooms on days like these again.