Kieran Mcdonald's arrival 23 minutes into Mayo's semi-final against Sligo certainly lifted the cobwebs in Castlebar. The mere sight of the Crossmolina forward, apart altogether from his repertoir of football skills, has always provoked extreme opinion. "Jaysus," muttered someone expectantly when McDonald arose from the dug-out in a bid to rescue Mayo after their faltering opening, "here comes Kournikova." The comments from the visiting fans were a lot saltier and sustained. It has always been so.

The GAA is an organisation in which conformity often pays, and those who are deemed individual are regularly and negatively singled out, particularly on the pitch. McDonald possesses skill and a blond mane of equal extravagance and has character enough to temper neither. The combination is enough to move the more conservative Gael to suspicion, if not to outright hostility, but as the mood for progress sweeps through the GAA, McDonald's quiet refusal to compromise anything about himself has to be welcomed.

"There are two things that infuriate when it comes to Kieran," says his club team-mate Liam Moffatt. "One is the senseless personal abuse he gets from the stand and the other is the perception that he is just a corner forward that you kick the ball into. Because he is an incredible centre forward, tremendous accuracy and great distribution, in the mould of Martin McHugh."

McDonald has never mentioned anything about the taunts he has received as a player, but one can only assume that they register on some level. But the point is, McDonald has rarely publicly commented about anything; take away the image and you have a quiet, fiercely-driven footballer of notable talent who puts in the hours both as a builder and on the training field. In his only interview of recent times, with Kieran Shannon of the Sunday Tribune, the footballer wryly noted this contradiction.

"People have this perception that I enjoy the good life and that I don't give a shit about football, that I just do it for the sake of being in the public eye. That's a load of bollox. I couldn't care less if I see anyone before or after a game. I just want to play a game of ball the way it's meant to be played."

Pat Holmes will testify to this much. "He comes, he plays football and he goes off again." The Mayo manager said that the issue of starting McDonald against Sligo never really featured, given his unavailability in the league due to injury and Crossmolina's All-Ireland club triumph. But springing him 20 minutes in suggests that the management feel that the seismic influence he exacted on the club championship this season might translate to the summer championship.

"We were hoping he would turn it for us when it wasn't going well. And he threatened a lot, kicked four wides and hit a point. In fairness to him, though, he had not been able to train properly before that match and I think it will stand to him."

His lone score against Sligo was illuminated by typical audacity, a snap point from distance with 12 minutes left that gave Mayo their first lead.

There are mixed opinions about McDonald's history as a Mayo player. Some tend to fixate on the 14-yard free he missed against Kerry in the 1997 All-Ireland final, an error which prompted untold hours of practice and a decision to kick from hand only.

"I think there is a misconception that he has not fully delivered on his potential for Mayo," says Moffatt. "I remember him in the Under-21 All-Ireland in 1994 taking three points off Brian Corcoran. He was still a teenager then. And in the '98 Connacht final against Galway, he hit something like 2-2 out of 2-6. I think when the chips are down, he is always there."

It is fair: in Mayo's most recent provincial success, in 1999, John Maughan unleashed McDonald from the bench and was rewarded with a memorable half of attacking flair.

Will he emerge as a spiritual force for Mayo this summer to the same extent as he did for his home club? In the heartland, they fervently hope so. The club story is brimming with his exploits. "Inspirational" is the word used for his closing minutes against West Mayo. And on the day of truth, in Croke Park against the aristocratic Nemo Rangers, he was genuinely a class apart.

"Demanding the ball, literally taking on the game," remembers Moffatt. "I would love to see him with the opportunity to do that for Mayo on All-Ireland final day, because he definitely has the ability."

This is a big summer for the Crossmolina forward in terms of convincing outsiders that there is substance to the image. Not that McDonald cares what strangers think anyway.

You can't but notice McDonald tomorrow, whether on television or in Hyde Park. The tresses, the rangy gait, the flawless kicking technique. There has always been an element of the Irish psyche that delights in watching the bold, the imaginative, exposed for their efforts, their ambition. If McDonald has a demon day in the west, there will be those who will noisily rejoice his misfortune.

If he taps into the well, though, we could be set for one of the most striking - and yes, blondest - sights of this championship.