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Cillian O'Connor has left 2017 in his rear-view mirror

Cillian O Connor

Cillian O Connor

By John Harrington

Today must have felt like Groundhog Day for Cillian O’Connor when he attended the Eir Sports launch of their Allianz National Leagues live coverage.

Just like at a similar press even this time last year, he was asked to relive what it felt like to lose an All-Ireland Final after missing a late free that might have changed the outcome of the game.

In the 2016 All-Ireland Final replay against Dublin he had a chance to level up the game deep in injury time with a free outside the ’21 yard line and near the left sideline.

On that occasion he pulled it slightly and it sailed past the wrong side of the near post.

In last year’s Final he had an opportunity to push Mayo a point ahead at the end of normal time from a similar position, but this time the ball hit the far post.

That let-off ultimately gave Dean Rock the chance to win the match for Dublin with a late free of his own.

It’s cruel luck for O’Connor to have had to process that sort of personal disappointment two years in a row, but his outlook on the experience is a stoical one.

“I wouldn't say it's any easier or any harder, it just is what it is,” he said. “Much the same, as hard as it is you just can't dwell on it for too long.

“While it is fresh in the head you just try to process it and review it and take the positives from my own performances that day and throughout the year.

“And then I was straight back into club championship the following weekend. And that was great in the sense that you had a new focus and could go chasing another title.

“The hardest time is probably when that finishes and you have that little bit of downtime. That's when you need to just switch off because you can't find yourself harping back to ifs and buts from throughout the year.”

Dublin v Mayo - GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final

Dublin v Mayo - GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final

Not surprisingly, when O’Connor played for his club Ballintubber a week after the All-Ireland Final defeat and stood over his first free of the match, his late miss against Dublin flashed through his mind’s eye.

“I think the first time I took to the field afterwards it was a league game and the first free actually I remember thinking, 'This is the first free I've taken since’

“That did run through my head alright. I hit that well and then that was it. I parked it and moved on after that.”

Like the rest of this Mayo panel, O’Connor is no stranger to disappointment having lost four All-Irelands in the last six years.

Their resilience and ability to keep coming back year after year is impressive and a testament to their mental strength as individuals and a group.

O’Connor has left 2017 very much in his rear-view mirror and is fully focused on driving Mayo forward again this year.

“I think it's up to yourself, to be honest,” said O’Connor.

“If you find yourself thinking back and getting down about it and replaying things then you just need to check yourself straight away and realise that, right, this is not going to be productive or get you anywhere, how can I channel this into something productive.

“Thankfully I did switch off really for those couple of weeks and got away from the bubble for a while and the training.

“It was good then to link up with the lads again in December and January and it was full steam ahead again.

“It's 2018 now so there's no time to harp back.”