And so the dust has settled on the 2016 campaign.
Sam Maguire will again winter in the capital, with more Croke Park heartache for Mayo when it matters most.
Tipperary went all the way to an All-Ireland semi-final. Neighbours Clare made waves through the qualifiers.
Galway regained top spot in Connacht after putting Roscommon to the sword. An arm wrestle of an Ulster final saw Tyrone edge out Donegal.
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Longford again provided a back-door upset when dispatching Monaghan on Farney soil.
The black card continues to provide much debate.
A new championship format was proposed.
Was there ever such a frenzy to get those elusive All-Ireland tickets?
Much to reflect on then.
Rossies nearly fall flat in New York
After a spring where they comfortably retained their Division 1 status it was expected that Roscommon would have no difficulty in clearing the first hurdle in the quest to make a dash in Connacht.
What transpired in the Bronx on that Sunday evening in May was anything but easy for the Rossies. New York showed commendable spirit throughout and were most unlucky to lose out by the bare minimum - 1-15 to 0-17. Ciarán Murtagh's first half penalty for the visitors ultimately was decisive.
New York's effort was, perhaps summed up as follows by reporter Joe Callaghan: "They had more scores than their vaunted opponents. They had more fight too. It was startling, stirring stuff and the Gaelic Park crowd, who had braved the most unseasonable day of low temperatures and steady drizzle, rose to acclaim the brave but again beaten hosts."
Roscommon would eventually reach a Connacht final, but were very much running an empty by the time Galway overwhelmed them in the final replay. Their season ended in a whimper against Clare in the qualifiers.
What has happened to Down?
It's only six years since the Mourne County reached an All-Ireland final but those heady days are but a distant memory now.
Seven straight defeats in the league's top flight was followed by a thumping by Monaghan in the Ulster quarter-final. Longford then accounted for Éamonn Burns' side in the qualifiers.
Antrim, Armagh and Derry were also easily cast aside in a province that has been notoriously competitive for many years.
No laughing matter for Laois fans
On the weekend of the Cat Laughs in Kilkenny, Nowlan Park played host to Laois and Dublin in the Leinster quarter-final.
However, it seemed like another home match for Dublin, with the vast majority of the 16,764 crowd cheering the All-Ireland champions, as Laois fans stayed away in protest at the game not being played in Portlaoise.
As expected, the Dubs ran out easy winners in what was their first championship game outside Croke Park in ten years.
Depending on next week's draw, Laois might get the chance to welcome the Boys in Blue to O'Moore Park in 2017.
Seismic shift as Tipperary signal intent
Who would have thought that Tipperary footballers could beat Cork and Galway in the one season? And let's not forget the thrilling victory over Derry in the qualifiers - in what was one of the games of the year.
Summing up the attitude that drove Tipp to new heights, manager Liam Kearns said after the win over of Galway: "Everyone was talking about Galway's tradition but Galway hadn't won in Croke Park for 15 years. They are a young team and Kevin Walsh is building up that team at the moment.
"They've done well to win a Connacht title but we felt we had as good a chance as they had.
"The script was that we'd have our day in the sun and then disappear stage left and let the serious counties get down to business. As I said to the media afterwards, we weren't buying into that. We were there to win the match and we're in an All-Ireland semi-final now."
In that semi-final, Tipp again acquitted themselves well when going down to Mayo. Much focus then will be on Kearns' troops, as well as provincial rivals Clare, in 2017 as they strive to make further gains.
Galway did bate Mayo
In a season of few shocks, Galway taking out bitter rivals Mayo in the Connacht semi-final was a surprise.
The Tribesmen had five newcomers in the side, with most of the view that they yet again would play second fiddle to their neighbours. However, despite trailing for a lot of the game, it was the Tribesmen who finished the stronger.
A cracking goal from Thomas Flynn proved decisive as Galway ended an eight-year win for a win over the green and red. Provincial honours followed with a win over Roscommon after a replay, though the nature of the defeat to Tipperary in the All-Ireland quarter-final took some of the gloss from an otherwise productive campaign.
The Brolly quotes
From the comfort of The Sunday Game studio, Joe Brolly again had much to say on this year's campaign:
On Kieran McGeeney after Armagh's loss to Cavan:
“I have never seen a Kieran McGeeney team, whether with Kildare or Armagh, win a tight game against good opposition.
“In the modern era, when the manager is very important and systems are important, I genuinely think that he hasn’t a clue about these systems and how to play."
On the strength of Kerry:
"They've got glorious kick-passing skills, they attack beautifully and you've got to be right in their face and have very strong plans for them. Otherwise you'll be blown away.
"They defend like Donegal, but they attack in a way that's unique to Kerry now - that rotating system in the forward line. It's very, very difficult to deal with.
"Any lesser team that steps up against Kerry in Croke Park is going to be blitzed. For them the opposition is largely irrelevant.
On Mayo's quest to win an All-Ireland:
"They don't look as if they believe they can win an All-Ireland. This is a team that has never won an All-Ireland.
"They should have been ravenous against Tipperary, you had Andy Moran waving up to the crowd when they are cheering. This is it. This is shit or bust for Mayo."
On his moment of 2016, Brolly referenced the story of Shane Halligan, who is part of the Mayo backroom team.
"Last year, he was at death's door and then he received a lung transplant at the 11th hour and he's gone on to become the Mayo kit man. Every match when they're in Croke Park, I'd go down to see him and say hello to him.
"That transformation from death to life I think it's something very special. Gaelic football in the end is something that's just fun for us but that's serious business."
Black card is "idiot proof"
Much confusion still surrounds the interpretation of what constitutes a black card. The All-Ireland final replay saw Jonny Cooper and Lee Keegan both get black for offences that in other games may only have warranted yellow. Likewise Tipperary's Robbie Kiely and James McCarthy of Dublin can also feel hard done by for also seeing black at crucial times.
Eugene McGee, chairman of the Football Review Committee (FRC) that championed the rule, claims that the frustration about how referees interpret fouls applies to all sports.
The main word that attracts the attention is ‘deliberately’, and that’s the crucial word, ‘deliberately pulling down an opponent to the ground',” he explained.
“You could elaborate more than that but that’s fairly idiot-proof for most people.
“When people talk about variations from referees, the interpretation of a referee – one referee, whether it’s deliberate, and the other referee – whether it’s not, that’s a matter of opinion, the same as all the same as all the other topics in all refereeing around the world.
“It’s the same in the Premiership, in Australian Rules, American Football.
“A big issue is made of that but ‘deliberate’ is the crucial thing."
The black card debate will no doubt rage on.
Dubs prevail in final of fine margins
In the All-Ireland final replay, Dublin found scores easier to come by, had better reserves off the bench and crucially made less mistakes than Mayo. Sport is cruel and Stephen Rochford's decision to start Robert Hennelly in sport is one that will be talked about.
Hennelly was brought in for the additional length he had on his kick-outs, though his accuracy off the tee during the first half got his team into trouble. In the second half, the Breaffy custodian allowed a Paul Flynn shot slip between his hands.
Paddy Andrews pounced and the keeper did what he had to do under the circumstances - he dragged him down. Hennelly was was shown the black card and put the keeper off. Diarmuid Connolly sent the penalty to the net past the replacement David Clarke.
That score put the Dubs three points up. Mayo could not erase the deficit and so suffered a seventh straight All-Ireland final defeat. Another crushing loss. What's done is done, however. Rochford and his management team know where they fell short.
Unearthing a forward or two with an eye for a score will be paramount. For the Dubs, they now have the target of a three-in-a-row.
And my awards go to...
Manager of the Year: Liam Kearns
Team of the Year: Dublin - but honourable mentions to Clare and Tipperary
Player of the Year: Brian Fenton
Game of the year: Dublin v Kerry
Surprise result of the year: Longford's win over Monaghan in the qualifiers
Score of the year: Peter Harte's outrageous point for Tyrone to draw them level late on in the Ulster final against Donegal
Quote of the year: "The provincial championships should be scrapped and done away with. The system is not fair. If the proposal was in place this season, Donegal would have to win 11 games to win the All-Ireland, Kerry would have seven. All teams should have an equal chance of winning an All-Ireland." - Martin McHugh
So near and yet so far team of the year: Not surprisingly Mayo are the winners here, with New York also referenced after coming so close to a first ever championship win against Roscommon.
