Mayo end 75-year All-Ireland famine as Biden, Carney and Oasis hail 'dream' victory over Kerry

The final

Mayo defeated Kerry 1-20 to 1-17 at a packed Croke Park on Sunday, claiming the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time since 1951. The 82,000-seat stadium descended into a theatre of tears as the final hooter sounded, with grown men in green and red jerseys sobbing and falling to their knees. Manager Andy Moran said every time he talks about it he gets "a shiver up my spine", adding that the team were "standing on the shoulders of giants" who had carried the county through decades of near-misses.

“We're just the lucky ones to have the privilege of bringing Sam Maguire back to our people. It can't be any more special than that.”

The curse

Mayo's hex was said to date from 1951, when the victorious team's homecoming parade disrupted a funeral and a priest declared they would never win again while any member of that side lived. The last survivor, Paddy Prendergast, died in September 2021, two weeks after Mayo's 11th final defeat in a row. The mythology grew even after players from the 1951 team denied it, and not even a papal intervention could break the spell: Pope Francis signed a Mayo jersey in 2018, but the county lost the 2020 and 2021 finals.

Global reactions

The win drew congratulations from famous descendants thousands of miles away. Former U.S. President Joe Biden, whose great-great-great-grandfather left Ballina in 1851, recalled his 2023 trip to Ireland and his parting words "Mayo for Sam!"

“Today, the dream becomes reality. Congratulations to my friends in Mayo. You earned this victory. Enjoy every minute. Sam is coming home.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who met distant cousins in his grandparents' Mayo village during a state visit last month, tweeted "The curse is broken." The Gallagher brothers from Oasis, whose mother Peggy hails from Mayo, also shared their congratulations.

Redemption for O'Donoghue

For forward Ryan O'Donoghue, the victory brought personal redemption. In the 2021 final against Tyrone, he missed a penalty that would have given Mayo the lead, and the 0-8 he scored that day could not prevent defeat. On Sunday, the 27-year-old set the tone with a relentless pressing performance and was named man of the match.

“The two main emotions are pride and relief. After 2020 and 2021, if I'm being honest, I was never over 2021 until about a half-hour ago. Now I'm an All-Ireland champion, we're All-Ireland champions and I'm over it.”

Homecoming and hospital visit

On Monday morning, the team visited patients and staff at Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin, where dozens of fans gathered. Andrea, a hospital worker from a Mayo-Roscommon household, said the visit "brings great joy to the hospital." The squad then travelled to Castlebar for a homecoming at Hastings Insurance McHale Park. Organisers planned for 40,000 people, but after the scenes at Croke Park, committee chair Gerry Burke said they would "have to revisit the plan now."

Fan Shane Fitzgerald, whose tearful reaction at the final whistle went viral, told RTÉ Radio 1 he was "pulling myself together slowly but surely." The florist had carried flowers up Croagh Patrick on Friday and now plans a pilgrimage back up the mountain with the Sam Maguire Cup.