MARK Hanahoe was in Croke Park to watch his native Mayo shock the football world and spark incredible celebrations that are still ongoing – and he has Adrigole GAA Club to thank for his front-row seat to history.

Mark has plenty of connections with West Cork, so when he was struggling to source two tickets for the All-Ireland final with Kerry, he was directed towards Adrigole’s competition.

‘I have a few contacts down in Bantry and Durrus, and a few cousins put me onto the link for the Adrigole GAA draw. They said, “Sure look, give it a try. It's a genuine, great club just out the road from Bantry. Give it a go”,’ Mark explains, taking time out of the celebrations in the wake of Mayo’s magical moment.

West Cork delivered: two lower Hogan Stand tickets for Knockmore GAA Club man Mark and his son Matthew (10) for what turned out to be one of the greatest All-Ireland final triumphs ever.

‘I got a phone call from Joe Blake to say I’d won the tickets, and it turned out Joe knew my late aunt, Noady Naughton from Durrus, well.

‘My cousin Robbie Sheehan from Bantry would be friendly with a fella teaching in Castletownbere, who’s involved with Adrigole GAA Club. That's where the link came from.’

Mark visits West Cork every summer, so knows the area well. He spent time in Bantry and Clonakilty last month. His aunt, Greta Sheehan, still lives locally in Bantry.

Given his connections to West Cork, it felt fitting that his home away from home came up trumps in his search for tickets.

‘I’ve been going to every All-Ireland Mayo have been in since 1996. I can’t even count the replays and everything. I think I’ve been at 11 of the 13 – there are only two I missed,’ Mark says.

Being there for Mayo’s epic 1-20 to 1-17 victory over Kerry is a moment Mark and his son will never forget.

‘We didn’t know how to celebrate. I think they even said on The Sunday Game that Mayo people didn’t know how to lift the cup. It was the same with us fans. I always say it’s like a dog chasing a car. When the dog finally catches the car, he doesn't know what to do with it. We were kind of like that.

‘For my young fella, Matthew, it was his first All-Ireland. He’d never experienced the heartbreak that went before, but it was an emotional experience for all of us. It was brilliant to be there beside him, and to have the two tickets together was unreal.’

Not surprisingly, the party is still going on in Mayo. Having to wait 75 years for this All-Ireland success, they’ll celebrate this one.

‘The whole county has just gone mad. It still is a bit nuts, but sure, when it finally comes, you have to celebrate it,’ he says.

For Mark and Matthew, Mayo’s greatest day will always have a West Cork connection.