All-Ireland SFC Final: Keith Duggan talks to the Kerry hero whose move to full forward transformed the Kingdom's season.

It was the Summer of Star. Master-strokes abound in Gaelic games as the years roll on and although Jack O'Connor, the south Kerry interloper, has never been part of the Kingdom Old Boys' Club his decision to convert big Kieran Donaghy into a traditional full forward defined a season and will be remembered as the key note of a brilliant managerial era.

Against Longford, Donaghy's languid class and lacerating vision gave Kerry the electric shock that sent a jolt of warning around the country. Against Armagh's Francie Bellew, he unforgettably demonstrated there was long-term substance to the decision. In the rematch against Cork, Donaghy kicked points that belonged to the Kerry handbook of style and accuracy.

And yesterday, on a gorgeous autumn September, he did what was so widely anticipated with such speed and apparent ease that there was a distinct air of unreality about Croke Park for the first 15 minutes of this All-Ireland final. When it mattered, Donaghy was unstoppable.

The first ball he won was, ironically, on a low, clever delivery from Declan O'Sullivan. Mike Frank Russell tapped the free that the big full forward won from that first possession.

Then it was back to business - the perfect flick for O'Sullivan to hammer Kerry's first goal on six minutes and, two minutes later, the huge leap in front of the Canal End, wingspan of an albatross as he claimed the ball and David Heaney, a clever, seasoned defender, lost in his shadow. He had no sooner landed than he fell into the classic triple-threat position and he knew what was on his mind. David Clarke had no chance. It was, as Donaghy would have said on the hardwood basketball court in Tralee, all net.

Two goals in two minutes and the lock picked to a 34th All-Ireland. In those first 10 minutes, Kerry's football seemed at once perfectly simple and utterly unknowable. The surprise - the shock - was that, in a strange and madcap All-Ireland football final, the Kerry full forward did what many predicted and Mayo feared he might.

"Ah, there are ways to stop it all right," the amiable Tralee man beamed afterwards, lounging against a wall at the tunnel. " But I think today the ball fell our way. And Gooch, he stuck his goal really well. Great save by the goalkeeper the first time but the bit of cuteness from the Dr Crokes man. And Declan O'Sullivan, too, I was delighted for Declan because a lot of people were criticising his recall today but I think he was awesome and was up for the man of the match.

"And it was a credit to him, and Jack O'Connor for making the decision. And then Eoin Brosnan came in half-time to do a fantastic job. This is a team game."

With Donaghy, there is meaning behind the old cliché. If he had done nothing else, Donaghy's exuberant personality gave some of the Kerry veterans a lift at a crucial part of the season. Late on yesterday, when the All-Ireland final had come to resemble a free-wheeling underage contest, Seamus Moynihan came bursting through the Mayo back line and fired a point that was supplied by the big man. Donaghy is unabashed in his admiration for the Glenflesk man and for Darragh Ó Sé. When he saw Moynihan up in scoring country, it reminded him of a conversation they had at training.

"I was slagging him about three weeks ago, asking him if he ever got a goal in the championship. He said no and I was saying it would be nice. And then I just turned and saw him coming through and I just said, 'Fuck it Seam, have a go'. But like, being the player (he is) he was thinking about the team. He has always been awesome, an inspiration.

"He has taken grief in the championship on one or two years but he is awesome."

By then, Mayo had long taken measures to try to stop Donaghy. He inadvertently ended James Nallen's All-Ireland, the Crossmolina man coming off with Heaney moving to centre-back and David Brady coming on.

The battle between the Ballina warrior and the new kid on the block was perhaps the only satisfying contest of the day for neutrals to savour.

Brady, stoic and inspirational through a series of great cameos, left Croke Park on a personal high note, winning three crucial balls against Donaghy at a time when Mayo were bereft and staring down the possibility of an unprecedented hiding.

"David is a tough operator and a credit to Mayo," Donaghy nodded. "I said that to him afterwards. He is an inspiration really and fair dues to him for hanging in there. I know he hasn't got his All-Ireland medal but he can walk away with his head held high. And hopefully, he might have his day."

That won't happen.

Donaghy was a child when Brady lost his first All-Ireland medal in 1996 and in the haunting silence of the tunnel underneath Croke Park, after loading his gear bag into the storage compartment of the coach, Brady confirmed, with a rueful grin, that that was it. In time, there will be some consolation in having tangled with the young Kerry giant who looks destined to star in the coming years.

As O'Connor said, of Donaghy, "for that man to perform the way he did with all the heat on him was fantastic. People said we should have protected him from the press but, look, he was on every show from Kerry to Dublin. And I would say he is the single biggest reason we turned around our season."

There can be no higher or satisfying praise. Afterwards, all Donaghy wanted to do was to talk about his teammates, celebrating the performances of Cooper, O'Sullivan, Brosnan and Moynihan. Then, taking a second to draw breath, he spied Tommy Griffin, edging his way along the corridor, the Sam Maguire cradled in his arms.

"Hey Tommy, watch that," he shouted, grinning in delight. "That's precious."

Jewel number 34 had the name of Kieran Donaghy written all over it.