Mayo won their second All-Ireland in a row.[1][2][3]
The Curse of '51
Mayo have not won an All-Ireland football final since 1951. Legend has it that a priest became furious when the Mayo team bus returning home from the 1951 final passed by a funeral without showing respect as they celebrated their All-Ireland win. The priest supposedly put a curse on Mayo, that they would not win another title until all of the team had died.[4] All remaining members of the team had died by 2023.[5][6] Paddy Prendergast, who was the final surviving member and played at full-back, died at the age of 95 on 26 September 2021.[7][8][9] Mick Loftus, who was a sub and did not play on the day, died at the age of 93 on 22 April 2023.[10]
There is no evidence of local belief in such a curse before the early 21st century.
In fact the Leinster football championship saw a triple of draws and replays they were in the following games as we know,
- Preliminary Round, Longford vs Carlow. - Quarter-Final, Wexford vs Westmeath. - Semi-Final, Meath vs Louth.
The All Ireland semi-final between Meath and Antrim was their first championship meeting.
Mayo are All Ireland Champions for 2 in a row and Connacht Champions for 4 in a row.
References
^"Football Results 1941 - 1970". Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
^"All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Results 1887-2010". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
^"Leinster Senior Football Champions - Roll of Honours" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
^Fennessy, Paul (13 September 2013). "Ever heard the story about the priest who put a lifelong curse on the Mayo football team in 1951?". The 42. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
^Gannon, Colm (14 June 2019). "The Flying Doctor – one of the true greats of Mayo". Mayo Advertiser. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
^Healy, Martin (26 September 2021). "Paddy Prendergast, the final member of the Mayo 1951 team, dies aged 95". Extra.ie. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
^Roche, Frank (26 September 2021). "Paddy Prendergast, the last surviving member of Mayo's 1951 All-Ireland winning XV, passes away aged 95". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
^Fogarty, John (26 September 2021). "Mayo great Paddy Prendergast passes away". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
^O'Toole, Fintan (26 September 2021). "Mayo All-Ireland winning hero from 1951 team passes away". The42.ie. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
^Mannion, Teresa (22 April 2023). "Former GAA President Dr Michael Loftus dies aged 93". RTÉ News. Retrieved 22 April 2023.