Thunderstruck Ballyea will never be the same again

Nothing, upon losing an All-Ireland final, quite prompts you to bite the lip and the tears to well as arriving back at the hotel and seeing and walking through your people.

As the players and mentors of Ballyea made their way through the lobby of the Johnstown Estate in Enfield last Friday night, there was an air of apology about them.

It wasn’t just they had lost to a magnificent Cuala team; it was they hadn’t performed anything like their true selves. One of them made their way over to me and shook my extended hand.