Mayo teams just refused to give up

The stars were aligned for us Mayos in 2026 but many didn’t see them.

Knock Basilica celebrated its Golden jubilee, Knock Airport its Ruby anniversary, and a Ballyhaunis man, Jack Coyne captained the Mayo team. He hailed not far away from where Sean Flanagan, captain in 1950/51, was born. And in 1951 the Mayo team wore white shirts, as our heroes did - on the toss of a coin - last Sunday.

And to crown it all, Sunday, July 26th, was Reek Sunday and, no doubt, pilgrims released a cascade of prayers for our team to end an agonising 75-year wait! We were not keen to mark that Diamond jubilee, fearful of another slap in the face to add to 13 lost finals and two draws. Mind you, the diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance in earth, just like our players showed themselves to be!

Sean Flanagan waited many years to see an All-Ireland winning county man replicate that last win of 1951. He never wanted to be known as our last All-Ireland winning captain! We waited and waited and waited for 75 years, many of us senior citizens fearing we wouldn’t see that day!

And then, when least expected, we turned over All-Ireland kingpins, Kerry, who were striving for their 40th championship title as hot favourites. A stack of credibility glowering over our attempt to gain only our fourth.

Croker was packed to the rafters, Green and Red in abundance, the Saw Doctors’ The Green and Red of Mayo, our GAA anthem since 1992, welling up in hopeful anticipation. Down in the pitch my old work colleague David Farrell checked his camera for the umpteenth time. Would this be the day? His pictures will tell the tale, as will Western People reportage of Mayo’s finest sporting 70 minutes.

The opening minutes did not look promising, Kerry building up a seven points lead, including yet again a trademark goal by David Clifford.

Oh! the stomach churned just like Ryan O’Donoghue’s earlier that morning … not that you’d know it when the fireworks started. Jack Carney’s two-pointer steadied nerves and the fight back commenced, led by the tigerish Belmullet Bomber, O’Donoghue. Our hearts lifted as Mayo players descended on Kerry stars like marauders, dispossessing them of the ball and releasing another blistering attack after blistering attack. That hunting in packs and attacking the ball tactic was simple but ever so effective. Kerry was not prepared for it.

By half time we were well and truly in the game. Had Kerry an answer to the high press, the insatiable tackling by their opponents? No, they hadn’t. Again the Belmullet Bomber led the onslaught and his colleagues responded. As many know, Ryan was something of a pugilist in his younger days, taking to the roads of Erris with his Dad, jaw set, ambitions set as he ran the miles before reporting for school.

Kerry believed they had the advantage in experience, manager Jack O’Connor saying so weeks in advance of the showdown. Mayo did indeed have its share of young players, Kobe McDonald, Darragh Beirne, Jack Livingstone and Eoin McGreal, but what they may have lacked in experience they made up for in raw courage and commitment. Thinking back yonks, I remember Mayo GAA Board making a decision to keep young players under the age of 20 or so off the senior panel in case they got injured. Changed times.

Jack Coyne, Mayo’s proud captain, gave a brilliant, uplifting speech when receiving the Sam Maguire Cup. His well chosen words demonstrated why he is captain: strong and fearless and mindful of the giants on whose shoulders this team stands. He embraced all, and it was heartening to hear him mention the Mayo diaspora. 

Over many years I had the honour of meeting our emigrants in the UK and the USA: their first question was invariably “how are Mayo doing? Will we win the All-Ireland this year?” Many of them made their way to Croke Park for the finals, including two staunch supporters, the late Joe Mullarkey of Hartford, Connecticut, and Monsignor Joseph Harte, also deceased, of Orlando, Florida, builder of the magnificent basilica there. Both saw the 1950/51 wins and yearned for more. Another was John Fitzgerald of New York, still hale and hearty and no doubt over the moon today. John and a friend were instrumental in having All-Ireland finals televised to the US many years ago.

Well done to Andy Moran and his backroom team, and to all the managers and players down through the years whose heroic efforts fell short, stymied by a bounce of the ball, a slip in concentration, a few own goals. Many counties would have folded their tent had they endured Mayo’s experiences. Mayo didn’t. They swept aside the ‘Mayo, God Help Us’ put-down, battling on and on and finally reclaiming the crown.

Mayo teams just refused to give up! More of the same to follow, hopefully.

It’s thrilling to see that seven Mayo players, Sam Callinan, Enda Hession, David McBrien, Jack Carney, Jordan Flynn, Ryan O'Donoghue and Kobe McDonald, made RTÉ’s Sunday Night team of the year, with Ryan O’Donoghue also chosen as Player of the Year. All-Star awards await!

Lots of great stories will emerge from Team 2026 success and we all look forward to them. It was something to hear Marty Morrissey of RTÉ say he rated Mayo’s win as Number I in his recollection, higher even than his native Clare’s hurling success in 1995 to end an 80 years’ drought! Elsewhere Midwest Radio’s Martin Carney and Stephan Grealis gave a highly emotional commentary that will go down in the annals as atmospheric.

Perhaps now the biggest question will be about Kobe. Have we seen the last of him in a Mayo jersey? We hope circumstances will somehow allow for that!

Play on The Green and Red of Mayo!