Some time after Dublin defeated Kerry to win the 2015 All-Ireland football title, Val Andrews had a chat with Philly McMahon.
Andrews had some advice for his fellow Ballymun Kickhams clubman. During the victory over Kerry, McMahon had grabbed Kieran Donaghy's face as the Kerry forward knelt on the ground over the ball.
Donaghy told referee David Coldrick that he had been eye-gouged by McMahon. The Dublin defender served a one-match ban for the incident.
"[Val Andrews] said, 'You actually don't have to do those things. The perception out there is you're tough regardless. You're a tough marker without doing any of that'," McMahon told the BBC's The GAA Social podcast.
20 September 2015; Dublin players Philly McMahon and Rory O'Carroll, tackle Kieran Donaghy, Kerry. GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final, Dublin v Kerry, Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit: David Maher / SPORTSFILE
McMahon had been asked by host Thomas Niblock what was the "worst" thing he's done on the pitch "in a physical sense".
"I suppose the big one that sticks out is the incident with Donaghy," McMahon replied.
"I originally put my hand in where it shouldn't have been. I put my hand in to get the ball, his face was there and I grabbed his face.
"I also had that thought in my head - maybe it's the wrong approach or intention - that I would do anything to get the better of you. That's where my head was at.
"It wouldn't have been something I would have thought about doing. It's a split second thing. If you preempt that, and it never happens, you'd be wasting too much time thinking of those things.
"I was very impressed by Donaghy. He was like me, loved by his county but hated by the rest of the country.
"The way he took it after, he just came out and said 'Look, it's done. It's dealt with'. I have huge respect for him from that point of view."
Asked if he regretted the incident, McMahon responded: "What do you regret it for? I didn't hurt a fella. We won the All-Ireland, and I did my job that day.
"If I hurt a fella, I would definitely have regrets. I'd have no problem saying hello to that man in the street, shaking his hand, and talking GAA war stories with him."
McMahon was one of three Dublin players - along with Bernard Brogan and Jack McCaffrey - nominated for Footballer of the Year in 2015. The award went to McCaffrey.
6 November 2015; Philly McMahon, Dublin, receives his GAA GPA All-Star Award from Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Aogán Ó Fearghail, in the company of Dermot Earley, 2nd from right, GPA President, and Dave Sheeran, right, Managing Director, Opel Ireland, at the GAA GPA All-Star Awards 2015 Sponsored by Opel. Convention Centre, Dublin. Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
"The worst part was that Jack McCaffrey actually came out and said in an article that I should have won it," said McMahon.
"Me dad cut that piece out and put it in his wallet. It was like, 'Jack McCaffrey says Philly McMahon should have won'. It was in my dad's wallet when he passed.
"It was about a year down the line and me mam said, 'I just found that in his wallet, have a look'.
"When we won the All-Ireland. We were at the banquet after it. I knew I'd played well that year. It was something I recognised, and I wanted more.
"I never had it in my head that I would win Player of the Year. I never thought I'd even get close to being nominated for Player of the Year.
"John Small came up to me at the banquet. He said, 'You're hot favourite for Player of the Year'. Even at that stage I was like, 'No, I'm not'.
"Then The Sunday Game named their Team of the Year. Then they discussed the Donaghy situation. Then I went from top to third [favourite] in about five minutes.
20 September 2015; Dublin's Philly McMahon and Kerry's Colm Cooper in conversation after the game. GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final, Dublin v Kerry, Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach / SPORTSFILE
"You reflect back on some of the stuff I'd done, and you have more of an understanding why I was [nominated] for Player of the Year.
"I never thought for once that I'd get it. Did I deserve it? After reflection, I think that year nobody done what I done in terms of the players I marked.
"I think there's very few players that year who scored more than a point on me. There were a lot of games where I kept players scoreless but also the impact I had going forward.
"I'd spoken to players I'd played against. There were conversations about me attacking. I was in the headspace of a lot of teams, which is a powerful thing that as a corner-back, they're talking about you going up the pitch.
"I remember marking (Colm) Cooper in '15, looking over at the sideline and seeing the manager and the two coaches having a conversation about me going up the pitch and what Cooper would do. You could see a little bit of panic on the big screen.
"Looking back on that year, I could have won it but I don't know if I should have won it."
McMahon added that it took time to take Andrews's advice on board.
"It took me a while to accept that 'He's probably right. I can play football. I'm an alright footballer. I'm probably a very rare type cornerback that I can kick the football instead of carry it'," he said.
"I put that style of aggression right back to home, [my brother] John struggling with addiction and me venting the energy to shape me to who I was.
"On the pitch, I you hated me, I'm doing something - whether it be right or wrong. From the work I've done outside the sporting arena, travelling around the country doing talks around addiction and mental health, they see a different side to me, and understand that I possibly had an alter ego on the pitch."
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