Keegan gets his reward as Westport win in Croke Park

Lee Keegan celebrates with dad Phil. Pic Conor McKeown

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Mike Finnerty

‘FINALLY’ he smiles, as he shakes your hand.
The sound of relief in Lee Keegan’s voice is obvious.
After all the trials and tribulations in All-Ireland finals at Croke Park with Mayo, Keegan has become a champion with Westport.
Twenty weeks after leaving this same stadium with nothing but regrets and broken dreams after the defeat to Dublin, the Footballer of the Year has got what he wanted.
“There've been a lot of long years of hurt and pain. It felt like that way again today, that we were going to lose it at the end,” he admitted.
“We put a lot of work in today and if that ball had went over the bar, I'm not sure how much would've been left in the tank after the semi-final.
“Finally we just got one lucky break.
“I think we were deserving winners, even though we tried our best to lose it.
“The scenes here now, I'm just over the moon. It makes up for all those hard years, the long slogs, the hurt, pain, and losing All-Irelands here in Croke Park.
“Finally, a Mayo team has come to Croke Park and won an All-Ireland. You have to make your own luck when you come up here and today we did, thankfully.”
Minutes earlier Keegan was down on the pitch, lifting the trophy, embracing his father, brother, girlfriend Aoife, and any of his team-mates he could find.
Now he’s up on Level 7 of the Hogan Stand, looking down at the thousands of Westport supporters who have travelled to support the team. He just can’t stop smiling.
“Today shows what it's all about. The support we have here today, the man beside me ­– I have my brother in the squad ­– it's a fairytale and it's a dream come true.
“I've openly said that I was never the biggest club man when I was younger but I've grown into it and this year has just been an absolutely amazing experience.
“It's been the best journey of my life and it's something that I'm going to treasure for the rest of my days.
“All-Irelands are hard won and, if you only win one, you have to enjoy that success.
“And believe me we’re going to enjoy this one, there might not be many in work but the pubs will be busy!”
Phil Keegan laughs in agreement.
It’s easy to see that the Keegan brothers get on well.
Phil has been better known as a key man in Westport United’s set-up until recent times, but on Sunday he showed he play a bit of Gaelic too.
“I never thought I’d be in Croke Park kicking a ball over the bar,” he chuckles. “I might have had one or two more if I could shoot better.
“I love soccer, but there might be another year or two in Gaelic, you never know.
“The fitness levels of this group are insane, the group just keep going,” he adds when asked about Westport’s late rearguard action. “We were just going to keep going.”
The last word goes to Lee, as he catches sight of Kevin Keane. “It means everything in the world for me to see how happy he is to win this All-Ireland,” he says.
The feeling, you can be sure, is mutual.