Can Mayo end All-Ireland hoodoo?

IN 2007, I skipped the afterparty celebrations of a wedding in Gweedore, Donegal and hitched a lift to Derry to watch the Senior County Football Final at Celtic Park, where the success starved club of my birth, Glenullin, was facing Bellaghy, the record title holders.

Walking into the stadium, someone said to an opposing fan: “Ah sure, Bellaghy, youse have won enough to let us have this one.” “If we had to lose it, sure we’d be ok losing it to you guys,” came the reply.

Whatever about the respective strengths of those two teams—Glenullin eventually won the replay—such is the natural inclination to side with the underdog or the less storied side.

And, so it is with the All-Ireland Men’s Senior Football and Hurling Finals as the curtain comes tumbling quickly down on the condensed inter-county championship season. The final act will see everyone bar Kerry folk, hope that Mayo can finally escape their status as the footballing Jonahs of the GAA.

Favourites prevail

But first up, their neighbours Galway carried the good wishes of the majority of neutrals with the Tribesmen attempting to bridge a ten-year gap to their last All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship victory. Facing them was Limerick, seeking to win a sixth title in nine years and become talked about as one of the greatest teams in the history of the sport.

The Shannonsiders arrived in the final on the back of some patchy form, having only taken the lead against Clare in the semi-final with an Aidan O’Connor goal in the 71st minute, whereas Galway, featuring a blend of youth and experience, had dispatched a fancied Cork side with surprising ease.

While the bookies nevertheless installed Limerick as odds-on favourites, a number of pundits predicted a much closer game. There was talk of the completion of a full circle back to 2018, this time with Galway stepping out of the shadows of their—currently —more illustrious opponents.

Now, as the dust settles after the final whistle, it’s the bookies who can rest easy with Limerick first dismantling, then demolishing the threat posed by Galway.

From the TV watcher’s perspective, the abiding sense of the game is one of solitary marooned Galway players being ceaselessly harassed by multiple green-clad high-energy tormentors. Whenever Galway did win secondary possession, the players in question immediately realised they had nowhere to go and no-one to pass to.

Newcomer and star forward for the Westerners, Jason Rabbitte, after some initial joy against Mike Casey, soon found himself shackled by the Limerick backline and by his own manager’s refusal to deviate from Plan A. He showed glimpses of class though and will surely have better days at HQ.

But the day belonged to John Kiely’s men. Aaron Gillane chose the final to produce his best performance of an average year by his standards, and while Kiely detests the talk of having a talisman in his squad, Gearóid Hegarty remains consistently prominent season after season. Kyle Hayes, Cian Lynch and Nickie Quaid are other notable standouts in a squad littered with brilliance.

Indeed, practically the whole team seemed to move on a different plane to Galway. Every dummy was anticipated and a huge number of Galway’s short passes were intercepted.

Limerick are also superbly staffed off the field, with both Kiely and his players effusive in their praise of coach Paul Kinnerk and sports psychologist, Clare Currid, whose return to the backroom team coincides with Limerick’s step back onto the top rung of the hurling ladder.

And, in the wake of Clare and Tipperary victories in 2024 and 2025, the rise of relative youngsters, like free-taker, O’Connor, could see this iteration of Limerick prevail for a few years more.

Underdog story?

And so lovers of the underdog must now look to Mayo to succeed in their upcoming All-Ireland senior football final against Kerry, but is that task any easier than the one that faced the hurlers of Galway?

Mayo have played 11 finals since 1989 and (in)famously lost all of them. It could be argued that if the Connaught men enter the final 15 minutes with the game still in the mix, their greatest challenge will be managing the hopes in their own heads and amongst their fans in the stands.

That said, the fact they are surprise finalists may be enough to unchain them from the failed campaigns of more highly rated predecessors.

As the farthest removed from the history of defeats, teenagers Kobe McDonald, Darragh Beirne, and Eoin McGreal will have the fewest psychological challenges to cope with, and Mayo will hope their callow brilliance gives the team an edge come the day of the final.

It would, of course, be outrageous to describe Kerry as surprise finalists, but there were moments earlier in the season when it seemed that back-to-back titles would surely elude Jack O’Connor. But a heavy Division One League Final defeat to Donegal merely underlines the futility of using that competition as a barometer of championship success.

And even the heavy loss to the same county early in the post-provincial stage of the championship should be seen in the light of Micheál Burns’ sending off for striking Ryan McHugh.

Also, when it comes to Kerry—as with the Brazil soccer team of old—there is also something about the mythology of the jersey. We can almost forget that it’s the actual player inside the shirt that counts. The Kingdom, in fact, has had to make do without the services of Shane Ryan, Paul Murphy, Tom O’Sullivan, Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Graham O’Sullivan, Paudie Clifford, Sean O’Brien and Mike Breen at various times this season.

Now it’s only Paul Geaney who remains to be confirmed for the big day and if Mayo are to win, they will have to play better than they have at any time previously this season.

As with the hurling, Mayo might derive some hope from Kerry’s semi-final against Dublin, where only some dubious officiating stopped the losers from opening a 6 point gap early into the second half of the match.

And maybe, just maybe, unlike with Galway, Mayo might be the underdog that seizes the opportunity.