THE TRAFFIC STARTED building long before Castlebar.

Cars carrying green-and-red flags crawled west through Roscommon before eventually grinding almost to a halt on the approach to the county town. Drivers leaned on their horns. Families climbed out and walked the final stretch towards McHale Park.

The signs had started much earlier. Along the drive from Dublin, flags hung from motorway bridges and fluttered outside houses in Kildare, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Roscommon and, of course, Mayo.

On Sunday, Mayo had acquired a few million temporary supporters across the country (sorry Kerry, we love an underdog).

On Monday, the permanent ones, the ones who already had the victory inscribed on their brains and their hearts for the rest of their lives, had entirely taken over Castlebar.

The atmosphere was somewhere between St Patrick’s Day, a family reunion and the first sunny day of summer. Everyone seemed to know someone, and everyone had a story about where they were when the final whistle blew.

Nobody appeared bothered by the traffic. Or the rain that drifted across Castlebar throughout the afternoon.

After waiting 75 years for Sam Maguire to come home, nobody was leaving early.

Supporters started filing into McHale Park hours before the team arrived. By late afternoon, the stands were filling, children kicked footballs around the pitch and the queues for chips, burgers and coffee stretched dozens deep.

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Outside the stadium, John and Sarah Ward struggled to keep up with demand at their stall selling hats and flags.

Their biggest seller wasn’t green and red, though.

The pair had brought along “Mayo for Sam” flags produced for former US president Joe Biden’s visit to the county in 2023.

“We’re the only ones that have the flag today,” Sarah said, explaining that they had secured the goods during Biden’s visit to Ballina in 2023.

Fans pictured with the flag. The Journal The Journal

A few stalls away, Colm and Ciara Caulfield had made the trip from Achadh Mór with three-month-old Teidí.

They watched Sunday’s final at home, although Colm admitted he “might have woken him once or twice” with his shouting.

“It’s only up from here,” he laughed.

Teidí has never seen Mayo lose an All-Ireland.

Nearby, young Castlebar native Oscar Kilkenny was still recovering from Sunday night.

“You couldn’t get served anywhere,” Kilkenny said.

“Everyone was out.”

That feeling of everyone coming together cropped up again and again.

Aingeal Uí Mhaicín had come to welcome home the team, but one of the highlights of her day was unexpectedly bumping into a former pupil she hadn’t seen in more than 30 years.

“It’s the whole thing about Mayo,” Uí Mhaicín said. “We’re all one on this day.”

For her husband Mairtín Ó Maicín, the celebrations had begun almost 24 hours earlier inside Croke Park.

He had been there through the heartbreak of Mayo’s All-Ireland defeats stretching back to 1989, but said nothing compared to Sunday’s final whistle.

“There was a deadening silence,” Ó Maicín recalled.

“And then it hit.”

Back in Castlebar, anticipation steadily built.

Gorilla Radio played a rake of predictable but clearly crowd-pleasing hits at McHale Park, including ‘We Are the Champions’, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and ‘Maniac’. Every chorus seemed louder than the last.

When the team finally emerged shortly after 6pm, the noise somehow found another gear.

Every player was introduced individually, and every name brought another roar.

The Mayo team pictured in McHale Park. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Then came manager Andy Moran. Gesturing towards the packed stands, the Mayo manager smiled and told those in attendance: “there’s our Hill 16.”

A chant of “Andy, Andy” rang around the stadium before Moran stepped forward to speak.

“They sneered at us, they laughed at us. But they won’t laugh at us anymore.”

Rain continued to fall over McHale Park, but nobody moved. Mayo star Ryan O’Donoghue admitted the celebrations still hadn’t sunk in.

“It’s everything you’ve dreamed of and more,” O’Donoghue told the thousands of fans in attendance.

“Seeing videos of fans when we were coming down on the train, it’s the stuff of dreams.

“It’s very emotional. I’m not much of an emotional man, but I have cried non-stop over the last 24 hours.”

Almost as quickly as it had begun, the speeches were over.

After waiting three quarters of a century, the formalities somehow felt too short.

Nobody seemed ready to go home.

Supporters lingered long after the players had left the stage, getting one last look at Sam Maguire before slowly making their way back towards Main Street.

Within minutes, pubs along the street were filling again. Others headed towards a Tumbling Paddies in the nearby TF Royal centre, determined to keep the celebrations going for another night.

As the crowd drifted out of McHale Park, one line was repeated several times by the exiting fans.

“Sure we’ll do it all again next year.”