Mayo brought to an end the joyous Fermanagh riverdance through the 2004 football championship in a tight but sporting battle at Croke Park on Saturday before 39,485 fans.
Just minutes away from securing a first ever appearance in an All-Ireland final, the youngsters from Fermanagh dropped a step, and the more experienced Connacht men scored a vital two points to earn them their return ticket to Croke Park.
For us Fermanagh folk it was the end of a beautiful dream which kept us in a near trance all summer as our team kicked in the backdoor and proceeded to take the scalps of the big names in Gaelic football of Meath, Cork, Donegal and Armagh.
It was a joyful, almost juvenile, romp which earned them their place in Croke Park on Saturday to try and finish off the job they failed to do the previous Sunday when the sides drew in appalling conditions.
So it was with respect and pride we came to the field of our dreams on Saturday, and for the first time in my life outside Ulster people on the streets were able to identify the Fermanagh colours, the green and white we were wearing.
The amount of support from neutrals was extraordinary as strangers came up and wished us well, delighted to be part of a remarkable run which happened almost by accident with the break up of last year's team and the defection of some of its best players.
And that goodwill even extended to the Mayo supporters who were very gracious in victory. They would not go as far as apologising for wakening us up and ending our dream sequence, but they were genuine in their commiserations.
There was humour too. Mayo supporters, none too happy with the Longford referee, were offering John Bannon a free trip to Knock at one stage to seek a miracle cure for his alleged blindness.
And the story about the difference between the Fermanagh manager, Charlie Mulgrew, and the late Lord Brookeborough, the former Unionist PM of Stormont, was also repeated. Mulgrew did succeed in clearing all the Fenians out of Fermanagh over the summer, a wish that poor Basil Brooke never saw fulfilled.
Had we won the story would have been one of the most remarkable in the history of the GAA, which will be 100 years old in Fermanagh this year as the game arrived a little bit later in the county than in other parts.
Perhaps we are good at waiting, and that's why it has taken us 100 years to get to within two minutes of place in an All-Ireland final.
However, we have had a wonderful summer, a summer that no one begrudged to us, and the waiting made it even more special.
Roll on next year.