The group of lads in green and red who had just rescued an All Ireland quarter-final against Laois which appeared to have gone down the drain.

It was not a bad day's work for Moran and Mayo but, to be honest, until the time comes when Mayo actually shake up the whole country by beating Laois, and then beating Dublin, and then beating Kerry in the 2006 All Ireland football final, most people in Ireland, me included, will hold onto the belief that the Mayo football team has the heart of a mouse . . .and not that of a lion, or any other animal which is of the persuasion to take the head off you or me.

This Mayo team is every bit as entertaining, and interesting to watch at times, as any Mayo team which has come before it over the last half a century and everyone (me included) would be delighted to see them get their hands on Sam any day soon.

Meanwhile, we must deal with the facts of life.

We were informed this week, for instance, that an international panel of astronomers have decided that Pluto has no right to be called a planet. It's too small, all of a sudden, we're told.

It gets worse . . . and, you should be warned at this point that the world's greatest astronomers are not big believers in political correction. It has also been decided that our planets are going to be divided into two categories in future . . . 'classical' planets, like Earth (sigh of relief, if you like) and Jupiter, and 'dwarves' such as our glum little buddy, Pluto.

Yep, but what's this got to do with this afternoon's All Ireland quarter-final replay between Mayo and Laois?

Well, seems to me that people in Mayo and people who spend time in Mayo, like Mickey Moran, need to be officially informed that their county is no longer one of the giants of Gaelic football. It's not a 'classical' football team any more, and hasn't been for a long time.

Mayo are one of the game's 'dwarves'. And their opponents Laois, it must be said, are also a little pygmy-like in the great order of teams in Gaelic football. Laois haven't won anything of any great importance or done nearly enough to be genuinely thought of in any other way.

It is important that their place is put in context before either Mickey Moran or Mick O'Dwyer gets up on a soap box in Croker later this afternoon, in the full flush of victory, and start telling us all how foolish we have been to underestimate them or refuse them their due.

The fact is, whoever wins today, Mayo or Laois, it's not going to mean a whole lot to either team's chance of actually lifting the Sam Maguire Cup a month down the road.

Of course, if they win, Mayo might get stronger. The team's heart might get bigger and bigger, but even if Mickey Moran leads Mayo to an All Ireland victory in the weeks ahead they will still not be repositioned, or reinserted, as one of the giants of the game.

Mayo would have to win the 2006 All Ireland title, and then something more, before I would suggest any panel of GAA geniuses sit down and decide the county's status . . .

'classical' or 'vertically challenged'.

Mayo still have a gutsy, lively opponent on their hands today. Laois are clearly enjoying this championship and, in many respects, as they now play their seventh game of the summer they are under far less pressure than they have been at any point in the last two months. They have defied the thundering collapse of their Leinster semifinal defeat by Dublin and, whatever their size as a team, and whatever happens in this replay, they will most probably be able to exit the summer with their heads quite high.

Fifteen-point returns from each team in their drawn game last Sunday was exceptionally good. It certainly surprised me. Hitting the target 15 times is probably the maximum number either team will accomplish at this point of the season, when defences have a very stern appearance.

Laois, although they dropped their concentration levels dramatically at crucial moments seven days ago, do look like they can circle the wagons even tighter in front of Fergal Byron. This alone could be enough to win the game and their longed-for semi-final spot against Dublin.

O'Dwyer knows this. The old man also knows for sure that Donie Brennan, even though he is not named on the starting team, and Noel Garvan have really revolutionised his team's attacking options. Up to now, Laois have been far too heavily dependent on Chris Conway and Ross Munnelly.

Ronan McGarritty's quick return to action this afternoon does look like a lifesaver for Mickey Moran.

Without his fielding ability, and excellent work-rate, Mayo would definitely be in danger of being wiped out of this replay early if Padraig Clancy and Brendan Quigley further up their performance, as they can be expected to do this afternoon.

With this expectation, and with the belief that Laois will be tighter at the back and equally as good up front, Mayo might still have to come up with something quite dramatic to earn a match-up with Dublin. Where's that going to come from within this Mayo team?

Mickey Moran may, genuinely, be in awe at the heart and gut-fighting qualities of this bunch of Mayo footballers, but this afternoon will be a gilt-edged opportunity to show that the character in the team runs deep enough to leave us genuinely speculating whether they can win an All Ireland title.

Somehow, I doubt it.

This All Ireland title still has Dublin's name written all over it. One big victory is not enough to turn Kerry's season on its head and make them the most feared team in the country. A second commanding performance this afternoon will be necessary before they can seriously rival the Dubs as championship favourites.

A win, by another half a dozen points, is likely in the third meeting between Kerry and Cork this summer, and this time the result is surely going to go Kerry's way. But it's the style and confidence of the team and, more importantly, its all-round competitiveness, and even more importantly still, the sharpness of Cooper and Russell, which will matter most to Jack O'Connor this evening as he finally prepares himself for, possibly, the greatest honour which can be bestowed on any Kerryman . . .the honour of defeating Dublin in the All Ireland final.