On Sunday, the curtain falls on the inter-county season as the Sam Maguire Cup takes centre stage at Croke Park. A week after the Liam McCarthy found its destination, Gaelic football’s showpiece brings together two counties whose histories have been forever intertwined, with Kerry and Mayo meeting in an All-Ireland final for the first time since 2006.
Two decades have passed since the Kingdom dismantled Mayo 4-15 to 3-5 to claim a thirty-fourth All-Ireland title. Ireland has changed beyond recognition in that time, as has Gaelic football itself. The game has evolved through tactical revolutions, new rules and a new generation of stars, yet some storylines have remained stubbornly unchanged.
Most notably, Mayo’s seemingly endless wait for Sam Maguire rolls on. Since that defeat in 2006, the Connacht men have endured six more All-Ireland final heartbreaks, extending a drought that stretches all the way back to 1951.
The legends of that era have long since stepped away. Ciarán McDonald, whose brilliance lit up Mayo football in the early 2000s, is now watching from afar as a new generation emerges, spearheaded by his teenage son Kobe, who has been one of the breakout stars of this championship.
Kerry
Kerry, meanwhile, remain the benchmark. Dublin’s charge towards six in a row briefly interrupted their dominance, but the Kingdom have once again re-established themselves as the team every county measures itself against. Jack O’Connor’s side now stand on the brink of retaining Sam Maguire for the first time since 2007, a feat that has surprisingly eluded Gaelic football’s most decorated county for almost two decades.
Mayo manager Andy Moran knows better than anyone the pain of falling short on the biggest stage. A six-time All-Ireland final loser during his illustrious playing career, the 2017 Footballer of the Year has engineered a remarkable turnaround in his first season in charge. Few gave Mayo much chance of reaching Croke Park after their Connacht Championship exit to Roscommon, yet they have steadily gathered momentum to earn another crack at history.
Should Mayo finally end 75 years of hurt, the celebrations at the final whistle would rank among the most memorable in GAA history”
That leaves Mayo arriving in Dublin with little external pressure. Kerry are deserved favourites, boasting greater squad depth and an ability throughout the championship to find another gear whenever it has been required. The Kingdom have repeatedly shown the composure and experience of champions, qualities that make them exceptionally difficult to beat, especially when silverware is on the line.
For the neutral, however, sentiment will almost certainly lie with the green and red. Few counties have endured more heartbreak than Mayo, and few players deserve an All-Ireland medal more than Aidan O’Shea, who has become synonymous with the county’s relentless pursuit of football’s ultimate prize. Should Mayo finally end 75 years of hurt, the celebrations at the final whistle would rank among the most memorable in GAA history.
Kerry’s route to the decider, though, has not been without controversy. Their dramatic semi-final victory over Dublin hinged on several hugely contentious moments, none more so than Seán O’Brien’s decisive palmed goal.
Mayo
Replays appeared to confirm that the ball had crossed the line despite Evan Comerford’s desperate attempt to claw it clear. However, they also suggested O’Brien had entered the square before the delivery arrived, which, under the rules, would ordinarily have resulted in a free out to Dublin. Combined with other contentious decisions throughout the contest, the incident fuelled fierce debate in the aftermath.
While there was room for debate over Kerry’s first-half penalty, awarded for a foul on Joe O’Connor, and whether Dublin’s second-half goal effort had fully crossed the line, the square-ball incident appeared far more straightforward. Replays suggested Seán O’Brien had entered the small square prematurely, a call that was missed and ultimately proved decisive.
Mayo, meanwhile, booked their place in the final with a commanding 3-23 to 0-15 victory over Louth in the first semi-final. While the result was one-sided, the occasion itself was anything but, as supporters from the west and the Wee County transformed Croke Park into a sea of green, red and white in what many dubbed ‘the people’s semi-final,’ as the duo met at this stage for the first time since 1957.
Much has been made over the years of the hype that has surrounded successive Mayo teams”
With the draw pairing Dublin against Kerry and Louth against Mayo, it guaranteed that one county would earn the chance to end a lengthy All-Ireland famine. For Louth, whose remarkable run had already captured the imagination of the country, the dream finally came to an end as Mayo proved too polished and too powerful, with Ryan O’Donoghue leading the way with a magnificent 1-11.
By the closing stages, the outcome was beyond doubt, and as the clock ticked towards full time, the upper tiers of the Hogan Stand broke into a stirring rendition of The Green and Red of Mayo by the Saw Doctors, which erupted across the Croke Park PA system at the final whistle.
Much has been made over the years of the hype that has surrounded successive Mayo teams before ending in heartbreaking disappointment. Rather than temper expectations after the semi-final, Andy Moran embraced them. The Ballaghaderreen native urged Mayo supporters to enjoy the journey, soak up the occasion and believe, a refreshing approach in an era where managers often shy away from emotion and attempt to play down expectation.
Change
There is little doubt that the green and red army will descend on Dublin in huge numbers this weekend. Win, lose or draw, Mayo supporters will savour every minute, but there is also a growing sense that this could represent their best opportunity yet to end 75 years of hurt.
Unlike many of the sides that repeatedly fell at the final hurdle throughout the 2010s, this Mayo squad is built around a fearless young core. Players such as McDonald and Darragh Beirne have arrived on the biggest stage without the emotional baggage that burdened previous generations. Sometimes youth brings a freedom that experience cannot, and Moran’s side have grown impressively throughout the championship with exactly that mindset.
The jersey itself was first unveiled earlier this year to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of Mayo’s 1951 triumph”
Adding another layer of intrigue to Sunday’s decider is Mayo’s decision to wear their commemorative all-white jersey, the same colours worn when they defeated Meath in the 1951 All-Ireland final to claim what remains the county’s most recent Sam Maguire triumph.
The change comes after a colour clash with Kerry’s famous green and gold. Although Kerry won the official coin toss to determine who would change strip, Mayo successfully argued that their navy alternate jersey remained too similar to the Kingdom’s colours. Croke Park subsequently granted permission for the Connacht side to wear the special white strip instead.
The jersey itself was first unveiled earlier this year to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of Mayo’s 1951 triumph, featuring a vintage county crest and no front-of-shirt sponsor as a tribute to one of the county’s greatest teams. It now returns for arguably the most significant occasion in Mayo football since that famous victory.
Whether by coincidence or design, the choice also inevitably brings renewed focus to one of Gaelic football’s most enduring pieces of folklore: the so-called ‘Curse of ‘51’. According to legend, members of the victorious Mayo team failed to pay their respects while passing a funeral cortege on their journey home from Dublin, prompting a priest to declare that the county would not win another All-Ireland until every member of that panel had died.
The story has become woven into GAA folklore, resurfacing before virtually every Mayo final appearance over the past seven decades. The last surviving member of the 1951 panel, substitute Mick Loftus, sadly passed away in April 2023 at the age of 93, while the last surviving player from the starting XV, Paddy Prendergast, died in 2021.
Whether one believes in the curse or dismisses it as sporting mythology, there is no escaping its place in the narrative surrounding Mayo football. For the first time since every member of that legendary 1951 panel has moved on to the next world, the Westerners return to an All-Ireland final wearing the very colours in which they last lifted Sam Maguire. Many in the county will hope it proves to be more than just a symbolic gesture.
Critique
Kerry, meanwhile, remain deserved favourites, and rightly so. Their greater depth and proven championship pedigree make them the team to beat. But much like Galway in the hurling semi-final against Cork, Mayo arrive with little to lose and everything to gain. Moran will undoubtedly have devised a plan to frustrate the reigning champions, although one thing is certain: Paudie Clifford cannot be afforded the freedom he enjoyed against Dublin.
Time and again, the expected script has been torn up, and Sunday’s final may well prove no different”
The Fossa playmaker dictated the semi-final almost at will, repeatedly finding space between the lines and pulling the strings in Kerry’s attack. If Mayo allow him a similar licence on Sunday, he and his brother David possess the quality to destroy them. David was relatively subdued by his extraordinary standards despite finishing with 1-5, with reports suggesting he was carrying a knock into the semi-final bout with Dublin, yet even on an off day, he remains the most dangerous footballer in the country.
Some have criticised Clifford’s celebrations of late as excessive, but it’s hard to see the issue. Players and managers are often accused of becoming robotic and media-trained, so when one of the game’s biggest stars shows genuine emotion, it should be embraced rather than condemned. A fist pump or an acknowledgement of the crowd is no different to the passion shown by the likes of Diarmaid Byrnes or John Kiely in recent weeks. If anything, it adds character to an increasingly sanitised sporting landscape.
This championship has reminded us that certainty counts for very little. Time and again, the expected script has been torn up, and Sunday’s final may well prove no different. Kerry arrive as favourites, armed with the experience, depth and firepower that have made them the benchmark of modern Gaelic football. But Mayo travel to Croke Park carrying something no other team possesses: the weight of history and a young squad unburdened by the heartbreaks of the past.
On paper, the Kingdom should have too much. Yet this Mayo side has repeatedly shown it fears neither occasion nor opposition and possesses enough quality in attack to trouble any defence in the country.
Sunday
Regardless of how they arrived here, Kerry now stand just 70 minutes from another All-Ireland title. Standing in their way is a Mayo team chasing a moment generations have spent lifetimes dreaming about. One county is bidding to reinforce its place among Gaelic football’s greatest. The other is trying to bury the ghosts of 1951 to history.
By Sunday evening, either Kerry will have added another chapter to their remarkable legacy or Croke Park will witness one of the most emotional and long-awaited triumphs that Gaelic football has ever seen.
There are few sporting occasions anywhere on earth that can match the colour, noise and emotion of an All-Ireland final”
Either way, before Croke Park slips back into its unfortunately increasingly sanitised existence as the capital’s biggest outdoor concert venue for the remainder of the summer, enjoy every minute of what is on display.
There are few sporting occasions anywhere on earth that can match the colour, noise and emotion of an All-Ireland final. For one last Sunday this summer, the magnificent home of the GAA will once again become a celebration of the very best that our small but extraordinary country and heritage have to offer.