^McStay, Kevin (27 July 2009). "Mayo need to improve quickly". The Mayo News. Retrieved 27 July 2009. First, a look back at what was a Connacht final for the ages. The finale was fantastic but in the broad daylight of sober analysis, the end result failed to convince me either side were good enough, at this stage, to win the All-Ireland. [...] Mayo won the Connacht final because their manager and the players needed the buoyancy of a title win more than Galway did.
^Sweeney, Eamonn (9 August 2009). "Dublin living in the past". Irish Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2009. The Dublin-Kildare match was lauded as a game for the ages. And, as usual, the Connacht final between Galway and Mayo was treated as a vaguely disappointing local scrap with no repercussions beyond the borders of its province. There's still a notion that the Connacht championship is helplessly second-rate.