It was another lopsided All-Ireland final, another showpiece that gradually filtered into an easy-going matinee performance of Kerry splendour. Like last September, the sense of competition was so utterly drained from this match early in the second half there was no alternative for the packed house but to sit back and watch the champions going to work again.

Kerry had marvellous performances all over the field. Aidan O'Mahony looked invincible. Darragh Ó Sé played with such self-possession and authority there may be public protests if he tries to call it quits. Pádraig Reidy confirmed a stunning debut summer.

Up front, Colm Cooper and Kieran Donaghy were like some unimaginable double act from the old days of vaudeville. They cut a strange pair waiting to meet the President, the hulking Tralee man who has added meat over the winter and beside him Cooper, that flash of pale lightning who already ranks with the best of any era. They are both 24-years-old. Their best years probably lie ahead. And on the evidence of the last two Septembers, no defence can live with them. This was a landslide win but such devastating victories are born of small moments.

Sixteen minutes and Séamus Scanlon launches a long ball and the world follows its trajectory, expecting Donaghy's huge frame to meet it. But instead it is Cooper, squinting into the sun, perfectly placed and Alan Quirke, the Cork goalkeeper has committed himself. The goal is exposed.

"I can't emphasise how brave the man is," Donaghy will say later on. "He went in for that knowing he was getting a rattle, the goalkeeper was coming out full belt. He went up there with his body on the line and that is why he gets his rewards. He is a powerful man and I am delighted for him. He was absolutely out of this world and anybody who doubted him last year . . . is mad in my eyes. I think he gave all the answers. Every time he got the ball, he was electric. Nobody could mark him. Inside, up in the air, kicking points, giving passes, getting goals, he was unbelievable."

Flashes of what Kerry did to Mayo last year ghosts across our minds and then Cooper has the ball again. He is 30 yards outfield and this is the first quarter of an All-Ireland final, the heavy one where conservatism rules. But Cooper has a glint in his eye and his instincts are telling him to run. He has goal on his mind and he holds us all mesmerised as he darts inside and out and then lets fly. Too high: we breathe out. The game is still alive.

"I kind of did think of goal," Cooper acknowledges. "I remember coming inside Kieran O'Connor and I don't usually blast the ball. I was looking around to see if I could roll it into any corner but there was a lot of traffic so I said if it was going to go in, I would have to hammer it so I forced it. But it didn't matter because every point is crucial."

For a short while after that, Cooper and Donaghy take wrong options. They push too far outfield. The Cork full backs are coping. Donaghy forces a couple of ambitious points. Alan Quirke bags them. Donaghy imagines his uncle, Aidan O'Connor, who coached him at Stacks, bawling him out of it. "I would say he could have strangled me. It was a mortal sin in his books at Stacks to kick a ball into the goalkeeper's hands. I did it twice today and I was disgusted with myself."

But Donaghy is working like a demon. Football is a 70-minute game but in Donaghy's mind, the game boils down to seconds. After half-time, the crowd is still ambling in by the time he has his work done. It was just a tiny error by Ger Spillane, the Cork centre back. On most days and against most forwards he would get away with carrying the ball near his hip as he moved across goal to make a clearance. Donaghy half lunges and half thieves, like his hero, Michael Jordan. Later, he will say it is luck but he has tried this steal a thousand times. He has the ball and, weirdly, an open goal. He almost forgets to kick it. "When I saw no one I got a bit of a fright. I said: am I gone mad or what. But you can't blame the goalkeeper, he was going for the pass."

Croke Park settles back for a rout. It is 2-10 to 0-6 and Donaghy is loitering under another cloud-busting ball and Michael Shields is behind him. Donaghy breaks it and canters away and half-volleys another open goal. Like Drogba, he will joke later.

"I didn't see too much," Cooper says. "He was working fierce hard. He was very tight to him and it shows a little bit of work-rate goes a long way. Kieran is a great player. This year was going to be tough. He came in as footballer of the year and everybody wanted a piece of him, I suppose. He did fantastically well and it is easy to play with him because he can catch, he can kick, he has got the ball skills and he is a pretty mobile guy as well."

Donaghy will shake his head when asked about his partner in crime, who keeps the last quarter entertaining with fabulously crafted points. "The whole country saw today he is the best footballer in Ireland. He was man of the match by a country mile. When I first went in there at full forward I was nervous enough and he kept me steady and kept me cool. We are getting to know each other better and better. I think when the two of us are inside, we are dangerous enough."