Mayo All-Ireland: Oisín Mullin Reveals He Was Asked To Come Home

Speaking on Australian television ahead of Geelong’s clash with Collingwood, the 26-year-old confirmed that Mayo manager Andy Moran had made a late approach to bring him home for the final. That the county even asked speaks to how much this triumph meant – and how thin the line was between Mullin watching on and lining out at headquarters.

The approach that nearly happened

Geelong head coach Chris Scott let the cat out of the bag earlier in the week, revealing Mullin had taken a call from the Mayo coach about possibly popping over after the Cats’ game against Melbourne to play in the final and then flying straight back, as The42 reported.

I did have a chat with the coach back home and obviously Chris here. … The circumstances around where we are in the ladder here and the time of season, it just didn’t work out. I was just excited watching on from here and seeing the boys get the result and get it done.

Mullin, who played in the 2020 and 2021 All-Ireland finals before joining Geelong in the AFL in late 2022, was always likely to find a mid-season transatlantic dash unrealistic – but the fact it was even floated shows how badly Mayo wanted every option on the table.

A Mayo All-Ireland 75 years in the making

For a county that had lost so many finals, finally getting over the line was seismic, and Mullin could feel it from thousands of miles away.

It was massive. It’s been 75 years since they won it. There were so many finals Mayo played in and didn’t manage to get over the line, so to finally get it done … the whole county has gone into lockdown, the celebrations are off the charts. It looks unbelievable.

Ryan O’Donoghue led from the front against Kerry, with big displays from the likes of Kobe McDonald, Darragh Beirne and Enda Hession helping Mayo see it out, as Balls.ie noted. Fittingly, McDonald is now set to follow Mullin’s path and try his hand in Australia.

A homecoming that will have to wait

For Mullin, watching from Melbourne, the timing of the AFL calendar simply would not allow a fairytale return. But even from the other side of the planet, the pull of home was obvious – and Mayo’s long-awaited day in the sun clearly meant as much to the ones who got away as to those on the pitch. For more, see our latest GAA coverage.