Biden, Carney and Oasis: How the world is celebrating Mayo’s All-Ireland win
Mayo's Gaelic football team ended a 75-year wait for All-Ireland success on Sunday, beating reigning champions Kerry in the final at Croke Park in Dublin. The result broke a long-running "curse," said to have been placed on the county after their last win in 1951, and triggered celebrations that spread well beyond the county of just 137,000 people, drawing reactions from high-profile figures with Mayo family ties around the world.
The dramatic final, watched by a sold-out crowd of 82,300, saw Mayo recover from a slow start before a late score from Tommy Conroy secured victory. Former US President Joe Biden, who has Mayo ancestry and once chanted "Mayo for Sam" during a 2023 visit to Ballina, congratulated the team on social media, while Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, whose mother is from Mayo, also marked the win online. The supposed curse, linked to a priest's blessing after a funeral was disrupted in 1951, was said to last until every member of that year's winning team had died, a condition met when Dr Mick Loftus, the last surviving panellist, passed away in April 2023.
- Mayo won their first All-Ireland football title in 75 years, beating Kerry.
- Victory is said to have lifted a decades-old sporting "curse."
- Joe Biden and Oasis's Gallagher brothers, both with Mayo roots, celebrated online.
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Gaelic football is one of Ireland's national sports, a fast-paced game combining elements of football and rugby. The All-Ireland Championship is the sport's most prestigious competition, with counties competing annually for the title.
Mayo is a county in north-western Ireland with around 137,000 people. The county's football team had not won the All-Ireland for 75 years, with their last victory in 1951. Local supporters believed the county suffered under a curse, rooted in folklore about a disrupted funeral in 1951, which was thought to persist until all surviving members of that year's winning team had died.
Many people with Mayo ancestry now live around the world, particularly in America. A major sporting achievement for the county therefore often draws attention and reactions from these international communities with strong family ties to the region.