Andy Moran's prayer to John O'Mahony with Sam Maguire on the line: 'he came up with the goods'

Mayo bridged a 75-year wait for the championship title on Sunday.

LIVING ON A PRAYER: Mayo manager Andy Moran. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Victorious All-Ireland manager Andy Moran revealed he said a prayer to the late John O'Mahony in the dying moments of the historic win over Kerry at Croke Park on Sunday. 

O'Mahony's 2001 Galway team were presented as the jubilee side at GAA HQ before the epic win over the Kingdom.  

"It's a bunch of guys to be honest," Moran told RTÉ's Damien Lawlor in the moments after the game, when asked about the psychology of turning Mayo's season around. 

"We brought in youth and I think it invigorated Ryan and Jack Kearney and Jack Coyne and David McBrien. 

"It gave them new life which they probably didn't have and all of a sudden they've seen a bit of light. They said okay, what can we do here? We'll go for it.

"When you're trying to change systems, I'm not saying there was anything wrong with the last system, but when you're trying to change it, you get days like Roscommon, unfortunately. We did so we just kept trying to build on it and kept trying to go. When you talk about the psychology, I'd be lying if I said at 69 minutes there I didn't say a little prayer to Jono (John O’Mahony). Jono's team is here, it's 25 years. My mentor, my friend, he tried twice at us.

"And when 69 minutes came up, I looked up, we have a little friend called Aidan Drake who passed away last year and Jono and I have to say I said a little one. I said Jono if I need you it's now and he came up with the goods."

Moran continued: "We were in such a good place coming into the game I thought.

"It started a bit shaky, no doubt about it. But I thought for the next 40 minutes that game from about the 18th minute on we were just sensational.

"I try to say it in the media room a lot. It's a new game and the two-pointers are so valuable. And playing against the likes of Kerry, Dublin and these guys it keeps you in the game if you can hit them. Today we took a lot but we maybe got 50% and it made a big difference."