“These are great days to be playing football for Dublin and we should relish these moments”. The words of Cian O’Sullivan a few days on from him collecting a fourth All-Ireland medal after the Dubs edge out Mayo in the final replay.
The Kilmacud Crokes clubman has also bagged four league titles and is a two-time All-Star. He’s had a stellar career so far.
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In his role as an ambassador for Sure – the official statistics partner of the GAA – O'Sullivan recalls “the best feeling” in the world after he and colleagues made it back-to-back All-Ireland wins – but as of now is entertaining thoughts of completing the treble.
“It’s brilliant to be on the pitch with the 30 guys you've soldiered with for the last nine or ten months as All-Ireland champions,” he said.
“There have been difficult, tense moments along the way, but then getting the rewards at the end of all, well it's just a great place to be.”
“Having done the two-in-a-row, you can say ‘wow, we’ve done it’. It’s something we didn’t focus on at the start of the year. You can now give yourself a pat on the back.”
As for the aim of becoming the first team since Kerry in 1986 to achieve three successive All-Ireland titles, O’Sullivan offered a curt response: "It's a distraction and you're getting into dangerous territory if you're putting that out there,” he added.
"A treble would be a massive achievement but it's something we’ re not going to focus on or think too much about as of now.
"For us, next year starts off with the O'Byrne Cup in January.
"Jim Gavin is very methodical and is process driven in the way he manages. He won't be letting the lads get carried away with talk of three-in-a-row in January."
Reflecting further on the two games with Mayo, O’Sullivan could not put his finger on why Dublin were somewhat flat in the drawn game, while adding that All-Ireland final day does bring that extra pressure.
“We didn't get the performance we wanted on the first day which was disappointing because that's what we focus on. It's about getting a performance and hopefully the result will be a by product of that.
“It's very hard to figure out why we didn’t perform that first day.
“We had a marked improvement on the second day. It was enough to get us over the line but it still wasn’t a perfect performance.
“In the All-Irelands I've played in, they haven't been attractive games. You tend to be a little bit cagey I suppose. Maybe the nerves and the occasion gets to players. Winning is what it’s all about at the end of the day.
"There is very little between the two teams and people go on about Dublin and say we're world beaters."
Sure is the official statistics partner of the GAA, uncovering the stories behind every move.
