Oisín Mullin Reflects on Mayo's All-Ireland Triumph

Oisín Mullin has confirmed what many in Mayo had already suspected: the call did come.

The former Young Footballer of the Year revealed he spoke with county boss Andy Moran about a sensational return for the All-Ireland final, only for timing and geography to close the door on one of the great romantic subplots of the summer.

Mullin, now in his fourth season with Geelong in the AFL, has been based in Australia since late 2022. Twice he lined out for Mayo on All-Ireland final day, in 2020 and 2021. This time, he watched from the other side of the world.

Speaking to Channel 7 ahead of Geelong’s clash with Collingwood, the 26-year-old confirmed Geelong coach Chris Scott’s revelation that Mayo had tested the waters.

“I did have a chat with the coach back home and obviously Chris here,” Mullin said.

There was a relationship there to build on. Geelong had already allowed him extended time at home in the off-season, and Mayo had welcomed him into training while he was back. The lines of communication never really closed.

“In the off-season, Geelong gave me an extended period at home and I was fortunate that Mayo let me join them to train in the off-season as well, so there was that connection there,” he explained.

The idea, as Scott outlined on Fox Sports, bordered on the audacious: play for Geelong against Melbourne on Friday night, hop on a plane, line out for Mayo in an All-Ireland final, then return to Australia.

“Oisín Mullin had taken a phone call from the Mayo coach just planting a seed about possibly, after our game against Melbourne on Friday night, that he might be able to pop over to Ireland to play in the final and then come back,” Scott said.

It never got that far. Reality intervened.

“The coach just touched base with me from home and had a chat with Scotty, but the circumstances around where we are in the ladder here and the time of season, it just didn't work out,” Mullin admitted.

So instead of running out at Croke Park, he became a long-distance supporter. A star of Mayo’s 2020 and 2021 campaigns, an All-Star and Young Footballer of the Year in 2020, reduced to a fan on the couch.

“I was just excited watching on from here and see the boys get the result and get it done.”

From thousands of miles away, he felt the weight of history lift.

“It was massive. It's been 75 years since they've won it. There's been so many finals that Mayo have played in and not managed to get over the line,” he said.

“To finally get it done, the whole county has gone into lockdown. The celebrations are off the charts, it looks unbelievable.”

Mullin knows both stages now: the fever of an All-Ireland run and the grind of an AFL season. Last year he played in the AFL Grand Final, where Geelong fell to back-to-back champions Brisbane Lions. This year, Geelong’s ladder position and the intensity of the campaign meant there was no room for a detour, no matter how tempting.

The call from Mayo planted a seed. The county’s long-awaited triumph watered it. The question now is not whether Oisín Mullin still feels Mayo in his bones. It’s how long it will be before that pull becomes impossible to ignore.