James McCarthy couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
Long before a Dublin back-room team member entered the media zone holding a pint of Guinness that had his name on it, the smile was wider than the moon.
He shook his head then when the pint was given to him, laughed a little, and looked at it like it was the best thing he’d ever seen.
If you’ve nine All-Irelands medals, the ninth as captain then what are you waiting for, get it into you, there’s another one on the way.
James McCarthy is a man-of-stone.
He’s so physically hard that you’d run into a wall before running into him but emotionally, this win has broken him down.
It’s brought him right back to the start, innocence and simplicity and running your heart out, it’s like he’s a kid all over again, experiencing for the first time the elation only winning can give you.
This could be the last time, he admits it himself, and says that it would be some way to go.
“I have no doubt in saying that, it was the most special All-Ireland I’ve ever won,” says the Ballymun man.
“To come back after being knocked down twice and a few people ruling you out… he takes a sip of Guinness.
“and thinking the time has passed… I knew we were still good enough to win it.”
“I had no doubt in my mind.”
“It was just getting a few pieces together, try and drive a few lads on to get a bit better and for myself to get better, for Mick Fitz to get better, for Stephen Cluxton to get better.
“Look what Mick Fitz done today.
“Mission impossible, some would say, but he went one-on-one with David Clifford all day. I played with Mick a long time, he is an incredible player. He is like glue. That’s the type of player you have on the team, sacrificing everything.
“I’m just so happy for this man, he cares so much.”
Dessie Farrell is on McCarthy’s right-hand-side and they’re singing off the same page to the extent that, right now, they’re finishing each other’s sentences. Will someone get Dessie a pint?
“I just thought some of the shots at him the last two years were disgraceful to be honest,” says McCarthy.
“Like, it’s always on the players who cross the white line out there. We lost two All-Ireland semi-finals, one by a kick of a ball, one after extra time.
“The margins are tight. Very, very tight. We’ve come out the other side of them plenty of times as well.
“We were ferociously disappointed with the last two seasons. We were hurt. They really did hurt. But life goes on.
“I’m so happy for this man,” he elaborated.
“His care for everyone is truly special.”
You’d have to think the disgraceful pops McCarthy is referring to are the ones that said Farrell wasn’t up to it. That the 2020 All-Ireland, his only one as manager, was a legacy of his legendary predecessor Jim Gavin.
Christy Dignam rings around Croke Park as Dublin are crowned All-Ireland champions💙 pic.twitter.com/xuv266SWfz
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) July 30, 2023
Farrell was asked if this commentary ever made his job difficult.
“No (it wasn’t difficult),” he replied.
“I’ve said it many times in this room, I don’t engage in it,” Farrell added.
“I genuinely don’t.
“I’d have other people who might have to tell me what’s been in the media or seen something that has happened with an opposition player that’s supposedly out, because I don’t look at the stuff and I think it’s a race to the bottom engaging with that, because people never know,” he said.
“Like, it’s all speculation, it’s all bullshit and it’s all nonsense and if you engage with it as an individual then, you are letting them win at the end of the day so you have to be bulletproof from that, and staying on task.
“It was all about this group of men at the end of the day, and making sure that we keep it between the ditches because I knew we were capable of getting things right back on track, so just having that faith and belief was always going to be important.”
Is this the end James?
“Look, this isn’t a bad way probably to wrap it up but there’s a lot of guys have to make decisions in the next couple of months but we’ll enjoy this now and see what happens.”
His glass is nearly empty…
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