Aidan O'Mahony played through the pain barrier on Sunday to collect his fifth All-Ireland medal - "the most special one of them all".

In typical fashion, the Kerry veteran - who has been dogged by ankle trouble - played the full 70 minutes against Donegal as the Kingdom claimed their 37th All-Ireland SFC crown.

"I love the hard training, even at 34, but the last couple of weeks, I've been in and out of Santry, getting injections on the ankle," he reveals in The Irish Examiner. "It was getting to the stage where it was so sore on the bones, I couldn't even touch them.

"But you don't sleep the night before the final anyway, the adrenaline is coursing through you, and nothing will stop you at that stage. Once you get over that white line, nothing else matters. Only winning.

"This is the most special one of them all for me. There was a massive well of self-belief there, without doubt this is the closest panel I've been involved in. Since our last league game against Cork in Tralee, people were writing us off, but with the gates closed in Fitzgerald Stadium, no-one knew what was going on.

"The only belief was the belief in the group. I'd have fantastic praise for the younger lads in the group, they've been pushing the older lads."

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