Larry Ryan: We take it for granted that Dublin will always be ready

We need to know the scale of Mayo's defiance and the depth of their yearning, interrogate the potency of ‘the curse’, and adjudicate whether or not they have the unbelievable belief

TINSEL ALL THE WAY: Bernard Brogan with his twins Keadán and Donagh after Dublin’s victory over Kerry in last year’s All-Ireland SFC final replay at Croke Park. Brogan retired from inter-county football a month later. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Traditionally, at this juncture, we invest a lot of time and energy into analysing the Mayo state of mind.

To establish what shape they are in, we calibrate the sizes of their local newspaper supplements, we parse their All-Ireland songs, we translate the teachings of David Brady, and we see what hashtags they have trending.