Macauley dedicates 'unbelievable' victory to heroes of recent past

DUBLIN REACTION:EVERY ONE of the Dublin footballers woke up yesterday feeling like they'd come a long way, even those with a short career. A year ago Michael Dara Macauley was still better known in some quarters for his basketball exploits, having been an underage international and winner of two under-19 All-Irelands with Notre Dame Hoops.

He played some minor and under-21 football with Dublin, but first made a real name for himself with his club, Ballyboden St Enda’s, when winning the Dublin title in 2009. And while Macauley still credits his basketball background for helping his breakthrough onto the Dublin senior team, there’s still something surreal about now being crowned an All-Ireland winner.

“I’m actually not allowed to say unbelievable one more time,” he says. “The abuse I’m getting for saying that word, over and over. Even in the interview out on the pitch straight after the match I kept saying it. Unbelievable.

“But there’s no doubt about it, All-Ireland-winning midfielder, has got a nice ring to it. When you look at it, that I wasn’t even on the panel two years ago, it’s ridiculous, that it’s come full circle so soon.

“Definitely when I was a teenager I never thought I was good enough. I don’t think I was good enough but then out of minor I thought, ‘I’m going to have a crack at this’ and it was firmly on the radar then.

“Once I came out of minor I said, ‘I’m going to do something about this now’. It was good old craic wearing the blue jersey so I said I may keep this up.”

Macauley’s summer looked in doubt at one stage when he sustained a broken finger, yet he never let that hold him back: “No, I knew it wasn’t my season gone. Last year I’d a straight run at it, I didn’t pick up a knock all year. We had a few little niggles this year and you have to roll with that. We came through in the end. I’m delighted with the way it turned out.”

He has in the past singled out his admiration for Ciarán Whelan, and said he would have loved to play alongside him, and naturally he thought about that again on Sunday.

“There’s huge names that have worn that blue jersey that have tried to bring Sam back with all their intentions. The likes of Whelan and Collie Moran and Senan Connell, there’s loads of these lads, Peadar Andrews. A lot of things just fall in together at the right time. There’s a lot that has to happen for a team to win an All-Ireland. It’s not just talent. It’s not down to talent at all. It’s huge amount of things that have to fall in together and it fell together for this team.

“So we can chalk it off their list now. It’s always good for lads that have been pushing on just to get that first one and work from there. It was the same with Ballyboden. Lads who had been plugging away in a Ballyboden jersey for years. It’s the same here, there’s lads who have given everything for the blue jersey for 10 years before they got one so it was for all the lads.

“Everyone just wanted to get that first one out of the way, that’s job done for us now. And I think hopefully we’re coming into a good era for Dublin football. I think we’re capable. I think there’s a good mix. The minors have shown, coming through, the under-21 footballers. Dublin football is in a very healthy state at the moment and it’s going to be an interesting few years.

“There’s lads that came into the team that didn’t have this hang-up about northern teams and Kerry teams and just went out there to play football. There’s a nice balance in the team at the moment.”