THE LAST POINT: Mentality as important as ability

Hard to know if we Irish are more predisposed to negativity than other folk, we think we are but it seems to be an almost universal trait these days. But, as sure as night follows day, if somebody out there finds a reason to enthuse about the performance of their team in this championship season, there'll be someone quite quickly pouring cold water over their parade, metaphorically speaking of course!

You don't have to look too far for the phenomena to manifest itself - Meath's victory over Dublin was greeted with quite a bit of hyperbole, one sage reckoning it was the greatest shock in the history of Gaelic Football! Really? What about Leitrim beating Mayo in 1994 or the Banner lowering the Kingdom in 1992?

Even Donegal's breakthrough 1992 All-Ireland triumph against a Dublin side reckoned to be nailed on certainties has got to rank a bit higher than what we witnessed in O'Moore Park last Sunday.

As one of the Dubs who made the journey to Portlaoise, Sunday was tough but it wasn't exactly a surprise either if you witnessed the vacillating form Dessie Farrell's troops have produced in 2025, mixing the sublime with the ridiculous as we saw quite liberally on Sunday but none of that should detract from what a now buoyant Meath achieved, a fantastic and well deserved victory.

But two things can be true at the same time - Meath were worthy winners but the Dubs were terrible for long periods yet had enough opportunities to win the game. It would have been a travesty had Meath lost the game but as Louth discovered in 2010, sport and justice don't often come hand in hand and the Royal County just about got across the line despite being vastly the better team.

THE LAST POINT: EASTER MEMORIES LIKE A GOLDEN EGG

It's a thought that has been lodged in my mind ever since Leitrim's barnstorming display against Mayo. Most of the county was overjoyed with what Steven Poacher's squad produced against one of the country's perennial super powers but not everyone shared the joy, one poster quipping that you think Leitrim had won the game judging by the reports in the local media last week.

Fair enough comment - I won't speak for anyone else in the local media but I'll admit that I was pretty revved up by the display Leitrim produced against Mayo. I had feared the worst and by worst, I mean a record setting defeat and given what the team had endured throughout the League, on and off the field, that didn't seem beyond the realms of possibility. 

So why shouldn't we get excited by what we witnessed when our teams exceed our hopes? Is there some law that prescribes how you must feel in any given situation? Should Meath fans have stormed the pitch to celebrate with their heroes given that there is a Leinster Final yet to be played? And who exactly decides what you can be happy about and what are their credentials I wonder?

There is no escaping the fact that a new wave of enthusiasm has swept Leitrim's footballing fans following that Easter Saturday encounter in much the same way as a tsunami of negativity flooded the county just two years previously on another infamous Easter Saturday when New York dumped Andy Moran's side out of the Connacht Championship.

That torrent of abuse never abated and probably carried over into the Tailteann Cup - the performances in that year's competition were much better than the results suggest, Leitrim coming up against three teams who were in a much more positive frame of mind than the Green & Gold were back in 2023.

It is an important lesson as Leitrim set their sights on this year's Tailteann Cup, the draw being made on Wednesday afternoon. It will be interesting to see what the mood music around the county is for this campaign because the mood is already very different to what we anticipated before the Mayo match.

Lest you think Leitrim fans are running away with themselves, judge the fallout in Mayo from their performance in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada - there hasn't quite been a bloodletting but dissatisfaction, never far from the surface in Mayo, is being made plain - defeating Leitrim by only seven points is plainly unacceptable for a team with Mayo's ambition.

Again, two things can be true at the same time - Mayo can have played poorly and Leitrim produce their best of the year, neither is mutually exclusive and for all we know, Kevin McStay might have been keeping his powder dry for the visit of Galway to Castlebar and a win there would have wiped away all perceived failings!

That is usually the way of it when it comes to sport - unless of course you've hitched your wagon to a particular point of view. The 'Poacher out' brigade on social media have had a rough couple of days since the Mayo game but if the Tailteann Cup doesn't go to whatever plan they deem appropriate, they'll be back out and in full voice.

Dessie Farrell is getting something similar right now - he took over, by titles at least, the greatest Gaelic Football team there has ever been and won two All-Ireland titles in four seasons. But for quite a large coterie of the Dubs fan base, it is time that Dessie walked the plank. Doesn't matter that the team he inherited was aging and the supply lines were drying up, Dessie's time is up!

Poacher's problems are not what is facing Farrell but there are similarities! The Dubs boss lost a few legendary performers over the winter and his team are struggling - Leitrim lost virtually an entire starting 15 and four subs for most of this year's League and the solution was to get rid of the manager.

Negativity is just as infectious as positivity - it is why Jonny Garrity is such a breath of fresh air. His Leitrim Ladies team were devastated to miss promotion in the League for a second successive year, and devastation is exactly the right description, but instead of downplaying his team's chances in this year's Connacht Senior Championship, Garrity actually talked up his team.

Doesn't matter that Leitrim were facing Mayo & Galway, doesn't matter that the number one goal of the year was not achieved, Garrity preached positivity and Leitrim almost brought off a result that would have shocked the Ladies football world.

As I've stated many times here before, I'm not a great fan of the whole “believe” concept - wishing something to be true doesn't make it so and believing your team can mix it with the best won't happen unless the raw materials are there. Jonny Garrity quite clearly believes the raw materials are there and so does Steven Poacher, it is just that he has been robbed of them for the entire League campaign.

THE LAST POINT: MENTALITY AS IMPORTANT AS ABILITY

One swallow doesn't make a Summer and both Leitrim Mens and Ladies have got to back up what they showed against Mayo in the coming weeks. There will be more expectations now - admittedly the bar was set pretty low for the Mayo game but now, fans will expect a competitive team and that adds its own pressure.

If I were of a negative frame of mind, you'd frame both Mayo performances against Leitrim as the Green & Red underperforming and that either Leitrim team won't be able to replicate those performances again. But the positivity that has flowed over the county in recent weeks, backed up by Minor & U20 success in Connacht Shield Finals, had changed the mood of the county.

I don't know if that newfound wave of positivity will lead to results, teams will look at and prepare for Leitrim differently, but I do know that achieving something is much easier if your mindset is positive so here is hoping the positivity infection spreads in the next few weeks!