By Seán Breslin

42.

According to the book “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, it is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

It’s also the number of football championship matches that Dublin have now gone without a loss, stretching all the way back to August 2014.

This past Saturday, the Dubs reaffirmed their dominance over the gaelic football landscape with their sixth straight All-Ireland title, but it was hardly a stroll in the park. There was no doubt that irrespective of all the missed opportunities and heartbreak that had come before, Mayo were still as determined as ever to bridge the gap that stretches back to 1951, and they had the champions to the pin of their collar for three quarters of a final unlike any other before it. Ultimately though, it would turn out to be more missed opportunities and heartbreak.

There will be the same calls from the more jaded members of the GAA community that Dublin are too dominant, that something needs to be done, that the sport is in danger of having the life choked out of it by this unfeeling, all powerful winning machine. First of all, that seems a touch dramatic, and it seems wrong to criticize a team for making history.

Secondly, it was not as if the Dublin we saw on Saturday night were invincible. Yes, they did an exceptional job of closing the game down from a winning position, which only irks those rooting against them. Granted, that contingent does appear to swell with every Sam Maguire Cup that finds itself in Stephen Cluxton’s hands, but that’s not the point.

The point is that on another day – more days than the anti-Blue brigade may care to admit – Mayo would have won that game. However, they were guilty of far too many unforced errors that scuppered strong scoring chances. And in a game that was only won by 5 points, those little mistakes can prove to be crucial, and so they did. There is no evidence that the alleged advantages enjoyed by Dublin were responsible for Mayo dropping balls and misplacing passes.

Thirdly, Dublin are not the only team that have had sustained periods of dominance. Much is made of the Kerry team that narrowly missed out on five in a row, but they still contested 10 of 12 All-Ireland finals between 1975 and 1986. The Kingdom are not the juggernaut that they were in those times, and there will come a time when Dublin are not either.

However, for many people, that time is overdue. And none of this means that an investigation into how we arrived at this point is not invalid. Incoming GAA President Larry McCarthy will be under pressure to come up with some answers, not just as to how the capital became the longest reigning champions in GAA history, but whether it is a coincidence that the win over Mayo was one of three All-Ireland finals contested by teams in blue this weekend.

If he does not produce these answers, maybe there is some credence to the conspiracy theory that the Dublin-dominant way of going is something that the GAA are totally fine with. But that is delving into some very murky territory, with rabbit holes aplenty. So, for now, all that can be done is applaud Dessie Farrell’s team for their historic achievement. No matter how hard you grit your teeth as you do so.