On July 26th, Mayo ended 75 years of hurt, despair, heartbreak and disappointments as they defeated Kerry in the All-Ireland final, with Ryan O'Donoghue key to their success.

The Bellmullet man's previous All-Ireland final was in 2021, when Tyrone defeated Mayo, and O'Donoghue missed a penalty.

As the years went on, his game went from strength to strength, becoming the go-to man in the full-forward line, but it was a miss that haunted him until the hooter sounded on that famous day nearly two weeks ago.

“There wasn't a week that went by where it didn't enter my head, and I'd get angry, I'd get upset.

“Why did I do that? Why this? Why that?

“I would never have admitted that until Sunday, July 26th. I would have never admitted that to anyone, bar (Mayo manager) Andy (Moran), actually.

“Since Sunday, the 26th of July, I don't care what happened in 2021 now.

“Obviously it would be nice to win in 2021, I don't want to dismiss it like that, but for me, yeah, I can now have peace with that.

“I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. And maybe if that didn't happen, and the Roscommon game didn't happen (this year), who knows, last Sunday might not have happened.

“You've just got to learn from your mistakes. And if you learn from them, then it was all worth it.”

Under Andy Moran, Mayo have been given freedom across the pitch, and encouraged to take risks.

A mentality that has reaped its rewards; it has also helped O'Donoghue deal with setbacks on the pitch.

“I didn't deal with it after the penalty miss. The game for me was over. Looking back on it, I was still thinking of it, and I don't know how many times I touched the ball after that.

“It’s just about learning how to deal with things going wrong. Fast forward to 2026. I dropped the first ball short into Shane Murphy's hands, and then the next one I put it over the bar for a two-pointer.

“So for dealing with things and working with sports psychologists, learning how to deal with mistakes in games quickly and to go on to the next task: that's probably the most important thing I learned.”

From videos of the Belmullet man singing on stage at celebrations, to communities coming out in their thousands to welcome the team to their towns, it is a time this team will never be forget.

Celebrations that are only coming to an end this week as the club championship comes around. They are memories O'Donoghue will hold on to forever.

"Every day nearly got better. It is so special to see your mates, the older people in the club, and the kids around the place; it was just special and memories that we will cherish forever."

The journey of this team makes the story of ending 75 years of hurt all the more incredible, particularly the sacrifice O'Donoghue has made in his life since he was 11 years old.

From winning All-Irelands in boxing to playing for Sligo Rovers, sport has been central to his life, and he has the support of his family to encourage him in every direction.

“I'm not a fan of losing. I've done a lot of losing in my life, lost a lot of All-Ireland finals, boxing, soccer, school, and Gaelic. So anything that I take up, I kind of want to get good at.

“First of all, the boxing, like the training I did when I was 11, 12, 13 years old, getting up at six in the morning, running before school with my dad behind me in the Berlingo van, going to school, running home from school, going to eat my dinner, going for a nap, running back into training, training from 7pm to 9pm in Belmullet.

“The Broadhaven Bay Hotel used to have a sauna at the time. I'd run back out to the hotel and sleep in the sauna to lose some weight." He did that until his Dad saw him lying thre and put a stop to it.

“I'd do that Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I was only 33 kgs at the time, so that stood with me forever. And then to soccer, like just technical ability and seeing how other athletes do it, professional athletes do it. I took a lot from that as well.

“So every single sport that I've taken up definitely has helped me in my journey.”

Belmullet is a relatively isolated town, over an hour's drive from Castlebar. Now it is the home to one of Mayo's heroes, a forward who has terrorised defences across the country.

At times, a forgotten part of Ireland, the long journeys in the early hours for training were vindicated as Sam Maguire made its journey out west.

“From when I was 11 years of age, going up to Dublin and to the National Stadium, boxing, we were four and a half hours from there.

“Then the following year after that, when I made the Irish boxing team, me and Dad used to leave at half past four in the morning to be in the National Stadium for training at nine o'clock.

“Some of the lads from Dublin were 10 minutes over the road. Even going up and down the Castlebar Road, playing Kennedy Cup for soccer. Up and down the road, playing for Sligo Rovers.

“The sacrifices my parents made. Even going to training. I even live back further than Belmullet now.

"I'm an hour and 17 minutes from Castlebar and Aido (Aidan O’Shea) is three minutes over the road. I think it is more difficult, but that's what makes it all the sweeter.

“When I played soccer for Ireland, I was kind of disrespected. I was laughed at when we were asked where we were from, and I said Belmullet. A fella goes, 'Where's that?' And they all went laughing. That stuck with me for a long time. I think they know where Belmullet is now.

“We are a bit of a wild bunch below in Belmullet, but that's what makes it special. We're such a tight-knit community. It can be harder, but when things go wrong, or things go really right, it's a really special place to be in Belmullet because everyone comes together."