Focus on the captain: The wee man surfs in on the big crowd, lifts the great old jug, makes his speech and comes down to the dressing-room area with his little son Dara on his arm, writes The wee man surfs in on the big crowd, lifts the great old jug, makes his speech and comes down to the dressing-room area with his little son Dara on his arm, writes Tom Humphries.

He is descended upon from all sides. Some people need five minutes with him live on the radio. Others have TV slots. From the print media there is a hardcore of abduction specialists. There are others who want him to go talk to the opposing team.

Finally, he goes to the Armagh room and offers them words of divine condolence. Now he's spoken his piece and already before he can make good his escape we are on to him.

Finally he speaks. "I can't take it in. We've done it, eventually . . . just a great feeling. We'll enjoy it." The run-in to the All-Ireland final saw Peter Canavan serve not for the first time as spiritual fulcrum to his team. He spoke afterwards about the decisions regarding how he would be deployed in the final

"At the start of the week I was very doubtful, I hurt it last Thursday night at training. Didn't look good. Got a lot of work done. Last Friday had a chat with Mickey, said I'd definitely start. Half-time came and I knew I had to get it seen to.

"Didn't want to spend half-time sitting on the treatment table. So I said I'd have to give it 15 or 20 minutes and I'd be there for the last 10. I spent the time in the treatment room getting it strapped up and went out ready for the last 10 minutes."

When it comes to high-wire acts there can hardly have been better than Canavan in Croke Park in the last few decades. To play for the first half, to come off, to spend half-time with your team, and come back when they have to put the game away. Any fall would have had the boy roaring.

For Canavan, acting as the daredevil, there has been lots of ups. "Looking at the match when I came back for the second half I was glad to be there for the last 10 minutes. I was disappointed we didn't put them away. We had three clear chances and missed them. Steven McDonnell had a clear chance . . ."

There is a commotion from inside the main part of the Tyrone dressing-room.

"An Errigal photograph's getting taken. I had better go and get in for it."

Canavan disappears into the happy throng of Ballygawley men sharing this moment with each other. This is his life for the foreseeable future, one imagines. Grinning with a hand on Sam. At last.

They say there was chaos across the field at the end. It was no bother.

"To say the Tyrone supporters are hungry is just an understatement. They've been starved. They made the most of it today knowing there are another 40, 50,000 at home. For them it's been hard and for me it's been a very frustrating five weeks dealing with this injury. I've got to compliment my own family for what they had to put up with. My wife hasn't seen much of me the last five weeks. I've been getting treatment around the clock. It was only after I had a long chat with Mickey on Friday we made the decision to start me."

And during those five weeks, what chance for focus and concentration with the leg still paining?

"I'd be a liar to say if I didn't hear those voices. People mean well, they want to know if you're going to be fit. I knew when I ran out on to the pitch, well I was disappointed. From the word go. Something we had talked about with Mickey, he'd bring me on. Plan was to start for 15 or 20, come off, get it seen to and come on again. He kept me on for the whole first half. First 10 minutes of the second half I was in here. Spent half-time in here with the team, getting them ready . . . the rest is history.

"During that period late in the second half Canavan found himself bailing water in the defence rather than trying to add to Tyrone's score.

"It wasn't a problem. It wasn't in the plan, not really, but I found myself chasing back. Trying to drop back and if I saw a spare man just pick him up."

Finally as he gets ready to shower, he speaks softly about his dad, who passed away earlier this summer. A football fanatic, Seán Canavan would have foresaken all else to be here.

"It's hard to take," Canavan says. "To be honest, we've been fortunate not to suffer much grief at close hand until this year. It's been very traumatic. It is something I never want to go through again. This is wonderful but we can never replace him.

"He'd be extremely proud today. He lived for football. There wouldn't be a prouder man in Ireland." Apart from his son, perhaps.