THE LAST POINT: What a change in just 24 hours!

What a difference 24 hours can make to the mood of a county and that something as trivial, in the greater scheme of things, as a football match possessing an almost otherworldly ability to lift, or depress, the inhabitants of an entire county but certainly, in the space of 24 hours, Leitrim's long suffering GAA fans discovered a new-found pep in their step.

If, without knowing the result,  you conducted a vox pop of fans leaving  Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada late on Saturday , you'd think  that Leitrim had won a famous victory and Mayo endured a damaging and demoralising defeat such was the mood of the fans  - yet this Connacht Semi-Final ended with a seven point defeat for the Green & Gold but it was the Green & Red who went home with furrowed brows. 

It was a transformation I didn't see coming - I was one of the few with Leitrim connections who travelled to King & Moffatt Hyde Park on Wednesday for the Connacht U20 clash against Roscommon, I left the bitterly cold stand after the game both frozen and depressed, a feeling I felt was sure to continue over the weekend.

That hammering in the Hyde just seemed to sum up a run of defeats that saw not one win between seven National League games, five U20 and four Minor Connacht Championship games in 2025, bringing a whole world of new meaning to the word downtrodden - Leitrim fans left battered and bruised by a season, that had promised so much, disintegrating before our eyes.

But those 24 hours, starting in the wet Kilcoyne Park in Tubbercurry on Friday night and ending in an equally wet Pairc Sean on Saturday, has completely transformed the mood of the county and has us actually looking forward to whatever the Tailteann Cup might bring!

THE LAST POINT: EASTER MEMORIES LIKE A GOLDEN EGG

The last time Mayo beat us by seven points was back in 1997 and the result was not regarded so favourably. Leitrim escaped from Ruislip with a controversial win over London earlier in the campaign thanks to a dubious penalty decision that took the game to extra-time as we were witnessing the gradual disintegration of the great 1994 team right before our eyes.

That game in Castlebar became famous for Gerry Flanagan deciding to meet out some Leitrim justice to John Maughan who had wandered out into the middle of the park after Seamus Quinn was flattened by a haymaker from Colm McMenamon - a fact that got lost in the hysteria after the Aughawillan man's challenge but that seven point defeat was almost regarded with a mix of relief and sadness, considering what had happened over in Ruislip.

I'll be honest - I did not see last Saturday's performance coming even if I am of the firm belief that judging Leitrim's League and the impact of Steven Poacher is almost impossible given the injury crisis the Green & Gold and player drain the team have endured. But what I witnessed against Mayo speaks of a coaching ticket that had a team well prepared, expertly coached and incredibly well motivated.

I get that, for some, Poacher is persona non-grata but to fail to acknowledge the excellent job he and his team did in stifling Mayo last Saturday would be churlish in the extreme. You only have to read his words after the game to understand how much thought and work went into producing an uplifting Leitrim display.

Poacher was the first to say that it wouldn't have happened without the return of Barry McNulty, Cillian McGloin and Donal Casey to the front line - I've got into the habit of saying McNulty is the equivalent of two players for this Leitrim team, such is his influence on those around him, whatever else he does with the ball. Confirmation came from my good friend Willie Donnellan who spoke admiringly of how the Glencar Manorhamilton player was more of a director general, guiding and cajoling his teammates around the field last Saturday.

Casey and McGloin have been through the proverbial ringer over the past 14 months to two years with injury but to see what they produced against Mayo, speaks not of a team at war with itself but of a team that believes and has the ability of doing something in the coming years.

Before you think I'm losing the run of myself - there is a caveat or two! Mayo looked like a team who may have trained through the Connacht Semi-Final and the news that their extended panel members had a challenge game on Friday night against Carlow tells the story that Kevin McStay's side have their eyes on much further down the line, a Connacht Final and the All-Ireland series.

Despite what some excitable fans may suggest, I don't think a shock upset was on the cards - Mayo struggled to pull away but they set the pace throughout the contest and only some remarkable long range kicking from McNulty kept Leitrim in touch. And maybe, with nothing to lose, Leitrim found a verve and self belief that we find so hard to replicate when results are expected.

But for all that, Saturday's display warmed the heart - at halftime, I was thrilled but worried that the effort couldn't be sustained. I need not have worried because Leitrim battled to the bitter end as if their lives depended on it and that is the most pleasing aspect of all.

THE LAST POINT: INNOVATE OR STAGNATE IS THE QUESTION

That dogged refusal to take a step back was something the Minors displayed in abundance on Friday - they struggled early on but when they got going, they played with a precision and ruthlessness we don't normally expect from Leitrim teams. Having said that, being a Leitrim team, they couldn't make it easy on us fans, a late Sligo rally threatening to swipe victory away from the Green & Gold.

But what impresses me most about these Minors, after all their disappointments this year, is their mindset - I was chatting to two of the team at the Senior game on Saturday, I'll not name them, but far from getting swept away by the joy of victory, they spoke of how disappointing the Sligo challenge had been and, even more encouragingly, talked of having a real crack at the Tier 2 All-Ireland Minor series.

That brutal honesty is a trait I see in the Senior squad - they've been through the wringer this year and still they believe and perform. I'm not going to make wild predictions or pronouncements, that's not in my nature, but if you can't see what these Leitrim teams have come through and they are still standing, you simply haven't been paying attention.

So thanks to the Senior & Minor teams, they lifted the entire county and for that, those of us who were in Pairc Sean, are entirely grateful!