Kerry v Mayo: Seán Moran talks to Séamus Moynihan, who has had his fair share of ups and downs since 2000.

It's hard to imagine but Séamus Moynihan hasn't known a truly fulfilling All-Ireland engagement for six years. That was the season he finished as captain of the All-Ireland winners and Footballer of the Year after a stunning series of performances as an improvised full back.

Kerry have been regularly back since. Moynihan's despair beneath the podium as Kieran McGeeney lifted the Sam Maguire after a bristling final in 2002 is well remembered.

Two years ago the landslide win over Mayo came at the end of a summer most of which he had spent injured. A cameo 15-minute appearance at the end when the match was never in doubt was as good as it got for the doyen of Kerry football, whose form, when restored to his optimum position of wing back during a successful league campaign, had been so good as to position him for another Footballer of the Year accolade.

Back in the side 12 months ago he had the unhappy experience of seeing his relatively unheralded opponent Ryan Mellon score two points from play.

In case anyone thinks that a player at the end of a successful career should be able to ride the waves of fortune in more Kiplingesque style, former team-mate Dara Ó Cinnéide, now retired and an RTÉ analyst, can put them right. Speaking after the 2002 defeat he said: "Nothing hurts him more than losing. It magnifies his emotions 10 times. After the All-Ireland final, we were all hurting but you could see how much more it was hurting him."

Next Sunday will be Moynihan's first chance since the beginning of the decade to play a substantial role in a Kerry All-Ireland victory. It comes at the end of an oscillating season that has seen Kerry win the NFL and play wretchedly in the championship before bouncing back with an epochal win over Armagh, one of their Ulster tormentors, before reversing two poor displays against neighbours with a solid All-Ireland semi-final display.

Moynihan was man of the match that day, rolling back time with a headline performance, utilising his ability to read the game and the physical strength that made him in his prime unshiftable on breaking ball or in the tackle.

It was a big change from the July displays against the same opponents. Outplayed by Cork in a drawn Munster final, Kerry suffered a similar experience in the replay and this time Billy Morgan's team weren't as accommodating.

Although the NFL got the year off to a good start despite some uninspiring performances in the regulation fixtures, Moynihan is aware that the spring form wasn't the true guide it has otherwise been in recent years. "It wasn't our most convincing league campaign and probably that fed into the Munster championship."

For the player himself it was an accidental league campaign. Having delayed his return, it was only an injury to Michael McCarthy that opened the door to some game time in the concluding fixtures.

"I took time off after Christmas but there were a lot of personal things going on. I was training away by myself and Jack and I were aware of that. I had planned to come back at a later stage but I had a few things on my plate with a house and a baby due as well."

There have been changes to the team since the turnaround following the Munster championship failures. Most striking has been the switch of rookie centrefielder Kieran Donaghy to full forward.

Moynihan, like a few of the Kerry players, is circumspect about the relentless hype. "Kieran had been playing very well for us as a midfielder all year - himself and Darragh had been very good throughout the league. He was unfortunate to get sent off in the first game against Cork but he has done very well inside. I don't think he's been the catalyst. He's made a massive change - there's no denying that but one player won't make a difference; it's a combination.

"He must realise as well that his ultimate test is in an All-Ireland final. That's when players are really judged. He's going to be marking a fantastic player in Heaney, an experienced guy who put (Conal) Keaney in his pocket the last day."

Behind all of the preparations for what will be his fifth trip to the season's finale is relief at being there when the big prize is up for decision. "If someone had told us coming off the field in Páirc Uí Chaoimh that day, playing the way we were, that we would reach an All-Ireland final, we'd have been delighted."