Mayo defeated Kerry 1-20 to 1-17 in the 138th All-Ireland senior football championship final at Croke Park on Sunday, ending a 75-year championship drought and a legendary curse that had haunted the county. The victory sparked jubilant celebrations among fans and the diaspora, including US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher.
Historic victory ends decades of defeat
Most pundits had favored Kerry, but Mayo triumphed as underdogs in a thrilling contest. The win marks Mayo's first All-Ireland title since 1951, snapping a streak of 11 final defeats since 1989. Team captain Jack Coyne lifted the Sam Maguire Cup, declaring: "To every young boy and girl across Mayo and our diaspora across the world, never stop dreaming, stick your chest out and be proud to be from Mayo. The wait is over. Sam is home."
The Irish Times exulted: "Mayo 1-20, Kerry 1-17. Chisel it on the gravestones, scribble it in the sky. Croke Park untethered, the whole place afloat for an hour on a lake of the sweetest tears that were ever cried." Even some Kerry fans were moved to tears by the catharsis.
The curse and its origins
According to legend, the 1951 Mayo team passed through the village of Foxford on their way home and failed to pay respects to a funeral. The enraged priest reportedly cursed them: "For as long as you all live, Mayo won't win another All-Ireland." The last surviving member of that team, Paddy Prendergast, died in 2021 at age 95, two weeks after Mayo lost another final. He had dismissed the curse as a myth, saying in 2017: "I saw people standing around the church but we didn't get off the truck because we couldn't get off the bloody truck." Researchers found no verification of the story, which gained traction in the 1990s.
Euphoric homecoming planned
Authorities initially estimated 40,000 fans would greet the team at McHale Park in Castlebar on Monday, but Gerry Bourke, homecoming committee chair, told RTÉ that figure may be conservative. "After what I saw in Croke Park yesterday, I think we'll have to revisit the plan," he said. Mayo, the third-largest of Ireland's 32 counties, has a population of just 130,000 but is known for fervent support in the Gaelic Athletic Association.
Biden, who visited Mayo in 2023 and rallied with "Mayo for Sam!," posted: "Today, the dream becomes reality. You earned this victory. Enjoy every minute." Carney, who made an ancestral pilgrimage to Mayo last month, posted: "The curse is broken." Noel Gallagher wrote: "Finally!! Up Mayo!!"
