It's almost two months since Mayo left Killarney with an emphatic championship win, but that performance may have had a lasting effect on the Kingdom as they now gear up for an All-Ireland showdown with Dublin.
Mayo bowed out at the quarter-final stage at the hands of the Dubs, but the manner in which they dismantled the reigning champions on their own patch in Killarney in May had people pondering the prospect that Kevin McStay’s men could make a serious stab at claiming Sam Maguire.
The green and red won by five points, but the scoreline flattered an out-of-sorts Kerry, and given the way the visitors dominated the middle third, former Kerry manager Éamonn believes there’s a chance the chastening defeat has had an impact in Kerry’s approach since then.
Yesterday they overcame a dogged challenge from Derry, where the Oak Leaf County enjoyed a strong opening 35 minutes and created a number of goal scoring opportunities in both halves.
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, Fitzmaurice suggested that Kerry’s rather passive approach on the Derry restarts, and indeed their pressing game in general, may have been a combination of the round-robin defeat to Mayo combined with the strength of the Brendan Rogers/Conor Glass midfield partnership.
"There was a bit of scar tissue possibly from the game against Mayo in Killarney where they went after goalkeeper Colm Reape (from restarts) and Matty Ruane, Diarmuid O’Connor and Jack Carney all had a field day," he said.
"Kerry were very open and vulnerable. Derry are very strong in the middle, but the performance of Jack Barry and Diarmaid O’Connor yesterday, it will give everyone a bit more confidence going into the final and going after Stephen Cluxton (restarts) in stages.
"I think when Kerry had to go after the game, it suited them. After half-time they were more aggressive all over the pitch"
With Dublin showing similar grit to overcome Monaghan in the first semi-final, the 2014 All-Ireland winning manager believes that the experience levels within the Kerry and Dublin camps was key to getting over the line and set for a collision course at Croke Park later this month.
"Both Kerry and Dublin have that know-how. They've both been there and done that in terms of going down the stretch in those tight games and knowing how to win it and what the right things are to do," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"For emerging teams like Derry and Monaghan, it is kind of the chicken and the egg situation. You need to get it done to develop that experience because when you're in that situation and you don't have the experience of winning, you can make a few rash decisions and just a couple of things can go against you.
"Whereas that Dublin team for years were brilliant at seeing out games and knowing how to go and win it and Kerry have developed that brilliant habit over the last season or two as well now.
"So credit to Derry and Monaghan but that bit of know-how and experience from Kerry and Dublin shone through in the end."
As for the final itself, Fitzmaurice is confident that the traditional rivalry between the two powerhouses of the code will prevent a cagey fixture.
"Any time that Kerry and Dublin play, it's often a six and six contest up front where both teams will play with six forwards and play them as forwards," he said.
"But at the same time when they're out of possession then both sides will be trying to get plenty of bodies back into their own half and defend in numbers as well.
"But these games tend to take a life of their own. We haven't been disappointed by too many Kerry-Dublin games over the years and I don't expect the final to be any different.
"Both teams have had indifferent patches to their seasons but both of them are really coming to the boil at the right time."
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