Mayo end 75-year All-Ireland drought with Kerry final win
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- Mayo beat Kerry 1-20 to 1-17 at a sold-out Croke Park (82,300 attendance), claiming the county's fourth All-Ireland Senior Football title and first since 1951 after losing 13 finals in between.
- Kerry raced into a 1-6 to 0-3 lead early on the back of a David Clifford goal, but Mayo clawed back to trail by one at half-time before Darragh Beirne's third-quarter goal built a five-point advantage.
- Kerry rallied within two points in a frantic closing 10 minutes, with brothers David and Paudie Clifford combining for three scores, but Sean O'Shea's late effort from outside the two-point arc dropped short and Tommy Conroy's insurance score sealed it for Mayo.
- Andy Moran won the All-Ireland in his first season as Mayo manager, a remarkable turnaround for a man who lost six finals as a Mayo player, while 18-year-old Kobe McDonald heads to Australia an All-Ireland champion after scoring 0-3.
- Captain Jack Coyne lifted the Sam Maguire Cup at the Hogan Stand, telling supporters: 'We kept the faith. We're All-Ireland champions. This is what every day of my life I've dreamed of doing.'
- Kerry were denied a second straight title as goalkeeper Shane Murphy's tip over the bar from a Kobe McDonald goal-bound shot preserved Mayo's narrow advantage during a tense passage of play.
Why it matters: Mayo's victory snaps the longest active famine in senior Gaelic football and buries the narrative of a county cursed by final-day heartbreak, with manager Andy Moran personally redeeming six prior final losses as a player. Kerry, chasing back-to-back titles, fall just short in a game they led by seven at one stage. The result sends 18-year-old Kobe McDonald to Australia as a champion and cements a new era for a county that had become synonymous with near-misses.
