IF you are a Mayo footballer the question can be legitimately asked, just how do you come back from last Sunday?

Of course there is only one answer. You get right back on the horse. You try to keep the group together and use the hurt to fuel another trip down Jones’ Road next September.

Waiting twelve months to do that makes for a long winter though.

As for the supporters, they’ll be ready to drive their men on again. And their women before that.

In case a day or two at the Ploughing doesn’t clear their heads, they can return to the scene of last weekend’s heartbreak this Sunday, as Mayo take on Dublin in the All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Final.

Reverse therapy or shock therapy, call it what you want, it’s an All-Ireland final and this one means something as well. They all do. Mayo haven’t won one of these in a while either, but this famine only stretches back to 2003. Of course it was Dublin they beat back then as well.

The Dubs are the hottest of favourites – we’ve heard this before.

That is based on their impressive year and the fact that they have lost the last two All-Ireland finals to the previously all-conquering Cork by two points in 2015 and last year by a single point. They were the unluckiest of losers on both occasions. Does that ring a bell Mayo?

Of course it does and this is why the Dubs are expected to complete the senior double. But, if Cork have been the gold standard since 2011, we can’t forget that it was Mayo that handed them their first championship defeat since 2010 when they took their scalp in a thrilling semi-final.

That day reminded us all of the genius of Mayo’s best forward ever.

She is the story of this final and the name you will be constantly hearing in the build-up is that of Cora Staunton, the first superstar of the ‘televised era’ of Ladies Football. Staunton burst on the Mayo scene back in 1995, yes 22 years ago, when she made her debut for the county as a girl. In this politically correct world that statement could get you in trouble, but back then Cora Staunton was 13-years-old!

Four years later she was registering on the national conscience when she was part of the Mayo team that won their first All-Ireland – although Cora only played for about a minute that day due to a broken collar bone she brought into the game.

A year later she drove Mayo to their second title, scoring 2-2 in the final, and the legend was born. Two more titles followed in 2002 and 2003. Indeed Mayo could have been going for five-in-a-row in 2003 had they not lost to Laois in the 2001 final due to a late defensive mix-up. No matter, four titles is an excellent return in a world where one would suffice.

By the height of Mayo’s fame Micheal O’Muircheartaigh was commentating on radio on the games, RTE were showing them live and the public were waking up to the game.

The pick-up from the ground speeded the game up, the countdown clock showed how a football match should be managed.

Cora was unmarkable – the David Clifford of her time!

Then Mayo went away for a while but reappeared in the All-Ireland final of 2007, Cora playing in her sixth final when her county put it up to the greatest team of all time, Cork, then in the early days of winning 12 out of 13 Brendan Martin Cups.

And that was it. For 10 years we didn’t see much of Cora, some of us maybe thought she had hung up the boots. Then a couple of weeks ago, thanks to the wonderful TG4, she and Mayo suddenly reappeared again on our TV screens and it was like she had never been away.

How’s this for scoring in the championship proper; 1-11 against Kildare, 1-6 against Donegal, 1-9 against the mighty Cork in the semi-final, the biggest shock in Ladies Football for years.

Eighteen years after playing in her first decider, Cora Staunton takes to the Croke Park pitch for her seventh final. And she’s as good as she ever was (Andy Moran, I hope you’re paying attention).

There was a record crowd at last year’s final and that 34,445 figure might be bested. Because Cora’s back and so are Mayo.

Heartbreaking and heartwarming

LAST Sunday was a remarkable All-Ireland football final. It seems there are no other kind these days. There simply didn’t deserve to be a loser after the battle we were lucky enough to witness.

Dublin are to be commended for the composure they possess.

It is that incredible quality, to keep their heads in the closing moments of every All-Ireland final, no matter what level the tension has reached, that has now seen them win five All-Irelands by a combined seven points.

Kerry were beaten by three, Mayo by a point three times now, and Kerry by one back in 2011.

It is not a coincidence that the Dubs do not reach previous highs in September, but always manage to reach high enough when it ultimately matters.

They are also to be congratulated for their graciousness in victory. This filtered down to their supporters who were almost muted in the immediate aftermath of their win, such was their obvious respect and depth of feeling for the Mayo folk in their midst.

Leaving Croke Park on Sunday I was struck by the surreal nature of the mingling that was going on around me.

Supporters spoke almost in whispers, seeking out their Mayo brethren to try and console them.

The Green and Red army were rightly proud of their team, but also a little dumbstruck by what had happened. They needed comforting, not patronising.

I witnessed only the former. We don’t know how lucky we are, us GAA lifers.