Tens of thousands of supporters turned out in Tralee and Killarney to welcome home the All-Ireland winning Kerry team yesterday evening.
Some 20,000 supporters lined the streets of Tralee. Denny Street was a sea of green and gold. Meanwhile, bonfires lined the 22-mile journey to Killarney where another 20,000 supporters were waiting.
To the sound of fog horns, the team train eased into Casement Station, Tralee, where it was greeted by a deafening shout of "Kerry, Kerry, Kerry," from hundreds of supporters.
Cara O'Mahony (10), from Tralee, who is wheelchair bound, was the first to be greeted on the platform by the Kerry goalkeeper, Diarmuid Murphy.
"There is no greater feeling than coming into Kerry, all the way down and seeing the colour and experiencing this. These are unbelievable scenes of joy and jubilance and a huge outpouring of emotions. You can never get enough of nights like this," team Captain Dara Ó Cinnéide said.
Led by the St John's Pipe Band, and to the sound of Tina Turner's Simply the Best, two open top buses paraded the senior and minor teams through the streets of Tralee. The first glimpse of 'Sam Maguire', gleaming in the falling dusk, sent supporters wild.
The Mayor of Kerry Ned O'Sullivan (FF) said the 2004 team was the equal of any of the great Kerry teams of the past.
"They have won their way into the hearts of the people of the Kingdom, like all the great teams of the past. Our pride in the green and gold is restored," he said.
He singled out team captain Dara Ó Cinnéide's victory speech in Irish in Croke Park for special praise yesterday.
"I was very proud of Dara Ó Cinnéide and the way he spoke entirely as Gaeilge which to me is absolutely appropriate on one of our biggest national days."
There was no need to go any further than Co Kerry for heroes, he told younger fans.
The Mayor of Tralee, Cllr Johnny Wall (FF), reminded the crowds of the painful losses in recent years which made victory so sweet on Sunday: "Two years ago you came home in your thousands to welcome home a losing Kerry team. It's four years since Sam made a visit to Tralee. Now that he's here, we're going to keep him here, " he said to thunderous roars.
"The right order is restored and Sam Maguire is back in the Kingdom," said the chairman of the county board, Mr Seán Walsh.
The biggest cheer in Tralee was reserved for Colm Cooper.
"The Gooch" looked as if he did not know which way to look with embarrassment.