With all the analysis and talking points leading up to an All-Ireland final it can be easy to forget about what the moment means to the supporters. 

Speaking on Thursday’s OTB Live Drive for Five, former judge Bryan McMahon went on a trip down memory lane recalling the importance of All-Ireland final day.

"When you asked me to come in today, I'm not going to talk about statistics, I'm not going to talk about the present day team and I'm not talking about the game next Sunday.

"You have all sorts of statisticians and pundits who know a lot more about the technical aspects of the game than I do.

"I am going to talk about something that is forgotten, it's almost in the background of our memories, but not articulated often enough.

"It's the excitement of it all, whether you're at the match or not," he said.

Local communities  

For a man who used to play for Kerry back in his heyday, he spoke about what playing in an All-Ireland means to players and supporters.

"It's the effect these things have on local communities, in particular if one of their local sons is picked on the team or the panel.

"The stories, the debates, the narratives , the history and the comparisons.

"It's the rumours that went around, we had no formal sources of information, they were spreading out rumours and there was no TV, radio was limited.

"There was no PR delivering definitive statements as to what was happening," the former High Court judge said.

He remembered being a kid watching the All-Ireland final and how it would capture your imagination.

"It sets a torch to your youthful enthusiasm and your dreams. It was the making and embracing of heroes, that was it.

"It was magic really and the pageantry of the whole thing as well," he stated.

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