It’s probably accurate to say Jack O’Connor and Jim McGuinness had shown as much enthusiasm for Sunday’s Division 1 final as Heimir Hallgrímsson has done for Tuesday’s meeting with North Macedonia, almost to the point where you’d a notion the championship might be their priority.

They decided to come to Dublin anyway to fulfil the fixture, and while Donegal brought a fair old bit of intensity with them on the trip down, Kerry left their edge back in the Kingdom.

Put it this way: David Clifford had only a single point to his name in the first 65 minutes of the game, before he did his thing with a goal. Anyone would think Jack was trying to convince his championship rivals the Kerry attack was nothing to worry about.

Anyway, come full-time, casinos and chicken ranches filled the Croke Park air, Jim almost – almost – raising a smile when co-captains Shane O’Donnell and Michael Langan lifted the Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh Cup.

Did it make up for last July’s All-Ireland final defeat by Kerry, TG4’s Micheál Ó Domhnaill wondered. “No,” said Ryan McHugh. An emphatic enough no, too.

Langan: “It’s just another game … the focus is on Down in the championship.”

McHugh: “We have Down in four weeks’ time in Letterkenny.”

O’Donnell: “Down now, aye.”

Anyone would think they’re thinking about Down in the championship.

The scéal of the cluiche was probably those three Donegal goals in the space of three minutes, but perhaps joint top of that ranking was Michael Murphy remaining on the pitch after his fist made, well, contact with Dylan Casey’s ribs and head.

Brian Tyers: “Cárta dearg.” Mark Harte: “Cárta dearg.” Paddy Kelly: “Cárta dearg.” Declan Quill: “Cárta dearg.”

But it was buí. No one looked more surprised than Murphy himself.

Aoife and Lisa O’Rourke would have been impressed by his double jab. Mind you, having both won World Championship boxing gold, they’ve a decent enough set of punches on them too.

Tommy Tiernan wasn’t, though, entirely sure who the Roscommon sisters were when they came on his show.

Tommy: “You look like athletes?

Lisa: “Good guess.”

Tommy: “Are ye?”

Aoife: “We are, we do a bit any way.”

D’you know, after the misery of last week’s Prague purgatory, the O’Rourkes were a tonic. Although Aoife got it hopelessly wrong when she suggested that “there’s more to life than sport”. There isn’t, of course, but look, she’s entitled to her opinion.

She was a hoot when Tommy asked her what it felt like the first time punches rained down on her. “I would just laugh. I don’t know if that was just how I was dealing with the nerves. I just remember finding it all hilarious. Why am I in a ring, literally a square, trying to bate someone and someone else is coming at me? It just doesn’t make sense – and to this day it actually doesn’t make sense to me. But I just keep going back for more.”

“What have you found strange about the world of international boxing?” “That you go to some kips, oh my God,” said Lisa. “People think we’re off living our best lives,” said Aoife. “Lads – if you’ve only seen what the toilets are like – and the food!”

She recalled Serbia where they had to wind their way around the buckets in their hotel that were capturing the rain from the leaking roof, and then having to walk across a railway track to get to the venue. “Run! Put the head down! You’d have the warm-up done before you got there,” said Lisa.

The toughest country to fight against?

Lisa: “Mine was probably my world final against … what was it called? Oh Jesus lads, I must have concussion.”

Tommy: “Was she Chinese? Mongolian? Russian?”

Lisa: “No, no, no.”

Aoife: “Azerbaijan?”

Lisa: “No. It begins with Z.”

Tommy: “Zaire?”

Lisa: “No.”

Tommy: “Zambia?”

Lisa: “We’ll be here for the night.” (It was MoZambique.)

They both credit the bulk of their power to working on the family farm near Castlerea. It’s the height of lambing season now, Lisa told Tommy, the pair spending many a sleepless night out in the shed waiting for the pitter patter of four tiny feet.

And listening to the radio that they brought in to drown out the sound of ewes looking for more nuts. “RTÉ Radio 1 is better than hearing baa baa black sheep every two seconds,” said Lisa, gifting the station its new catchphrase.

Funny, charming, brilliant, or “mighty”, as Tommy said of the sisters. And cripes, after the week that was in it, we needed the laughs they gave us.