They were the favourites going into the final last weekend, but Mayo Gaels always knew it was only ever going to be a massive battle against Ballyhaunis to lay their hands on the Sweeney Cup.
With an average age of just 21, Mayo Gaels were chock full of youth and exuberance - but allied with that was an inexperience of games of this magnitude at this level. Ballyhaunis as recently as 2019 had been in the final and were unlucky to come up short and headed into it with a teak tough experienced side - who were more than capable of making their way back up to senior.
For long periods of the game it looked like this was what was going to exactly happen, but come the final quarter of the contest, when it was really there to be won - the wind was at the back of the Gaels and they powered home to win by two points, kicking seven of the last eight points.
The oldest man on the field for the Gaels, was goalkeeper Paul Mannion who turns 29 today (Friday ) and after the game, he found it hard to fight back the emotion he was feeling when speaking to the Mayo Advertiser.
He told us: "This is my 13th season playing with Mayo Gaels, and I'll get emotional saying this, but it has been a long time coming this. We've had some bad days, a lot of relegation battles, to get over the line, now it's something special and what a way to do it."
As for any doubts he had that they were going to win it when things were going against them early on, there were none in his mind. "I swear to God, with this team I was never in doubt. I was very calm throughout - my bad two kick-outs in the first half may say otherwise, but no, I was never in doubt.
"A lot of people might say we are too young, I'm 29 on Friday and I'm the oldest starting on the team - it shows how young we are. I think our average starting age is 21 or 22, what character by our young lads. The standards they set are impeccable - we are so blessed to have them coming through and it is an amazing day for the club.
"No more than myself, a few people were a little nervous, even though I try not to show it - but we were, it took us a little while. But we knew when we had the wind we would be able to pick them off and keep them out in the second half, I think they scored 1-1.
"We'd a good run, then they got that goal, but the character and maturity of these young lads. I had a bad kick-out after that but then we went back down and got a few points, Ethan (Henry ) hit a few bombs and James (Jennings ) hit a few bombs, they were sensational and amazing."
While they have been building towards an occasion like this for the past few years, they don't have to go far back into their past to remember when things were a lot grimmer and they were staring relegation to junior football in the face, Paul said: "We went right down to the final day against Castlebar B in 2018 and like, we were in a bad way. Jimmy (James Fallon ) came on board then and he took us over and the standards have just got higher and higher every day - it didn't come overnight or anything, our underage and the work that people are putting in is class and I know that is an old cliche and people say that, but it really is. Our underage and the people looking after them are fantastic and a huge credit to them."
As for what James Fallon brought to the side since he took over as manager, it all started very simply, Mannion said: "Very simple, he started by getting numbers back, getting lads out which we weren't doing and then bringing good people on board. Kevin Walsh coming in was huge, he was well scouted and for Jimmy to get him in was huge, he is one of the best trainers in the country and we are blessed to have him."
While it's a good few months away yet, Mannion can't wait to get out there and test himself against the best clubs in Mayo next year when they take part in the senior championship. "It is a dream, I've a lot of cousins in Hollymount-Carramore and they got to play it, a lot of mates in Claremorris and Garrymore, and I was living with a few of them and them were always on about senior football and I was like, Jesus, I really want to play senior football. Look, it has taken a while, I've been playing since I was 16 - but it is all worth it for days like this, it is an amazing feeling.
"Like I said, 13 seasons trying to get out, I think we've won eight or nine out of our last ten games but it is so hard to do, if you lose one game and you're gone, it is so hard. The difference between the top four in senior championship, they are probably in a league of their own, but the bottom eight to the top eight is intermediate, I'd say there is a kick-of-the-ball between them on any day.
"It is a credit to Mayo football, it's in a great place, our club scene has to be one of the best in the country. No more than intermediate this year, I'd go as far as to say it is probably the best championship in the country, it's like a deaf dog, it's so hard to call."
Another man who has soldiered for Mayo Gaels for a long time alongside Mannion is Adam Gallagher, who kicked one of the late vital scores to get his side over the line and the attacker was equally as thrilled to have gotten over the line last weekend with his club.
"It's unbelievable, absolutely amazing. Probably can't put it into words, better than I ever imagined - I imagined it a couple of years ago when I first started out, but there was probably a couple of years there when you could never have imagined it. It's phenomenal."
It didn't put him off, but he did admit that there was a time in the game that he felt it might be slipping away from his side. "Absolutely, I'd say the fans there at half time weren't to impressed at some of the stuff. But, Ballyhaunis are an absolute super team. They made it really hard for us in the first half, against the win we only had two scores on the board. Thankfully one of them was a goal. But all year we have just been drumming it in to keep working, working, working, run and run and run and thank God it paid off."
While the average age of the starting 15 was 21 and Gallagher was full of praise for those young players, he also paid special tribute to the lads who've been around a long time and kept driving the standards and didn't get to see game time, but the victory is as much down to them as those who did get on the field.
"I think there was a lot of talk at the start of the year that our average age is 21/22, but between the mix of the boys that are there, there are some boys on the subs who have really pushed on and really led stuff, Mally Byrne, Alan Brett, Niall Brett; those boys have pushed and been on the road for a long time, Shane Vahey also and they are keeping us grounded and stuff. The young lads, all they know is winning games and championship games, but for a lot of us - it's knowing losing games, so for us it is nice to have the balance."
