Green (and red) shoots of recovery the Mayo way

When Mickey Harte told his minor team to fold the county jersey carefully and gently place it on a table in the centre of the dressing-room after a match, he set a precedent. Tyrone’s players needed to realise the jersey they were wearing embodied a tradition.

Those minors went on to win All-Irelands at every grade as that lesson helped develop a county of also-rans into one of the giants.

It also developed a new style of thinking in the GAA. Pride in the jersey became more than a cliché, it showed creating a positive ethos at underage level could permeate through the county at all levels.