After being the butt of the joke for so many years, the people of Mayo will rightly bask in the glory of their All-Ireland triumph over the coming days.
It has been a long road that led to this point. It is 75 years since the county’s last Sam Maguire triumph, with no shortage of heartbreak suffered during the intervening years.
As a result, it was no surprise to see an outpouring of emotion after the hooter sounded against Kerry this afternoon. There were some remarkable scenes both on and off the pitch as the scale of Mayo’s achievement began to sink in.
75 YEARS AND THE WAIT IS OVER!!!!!
MAYO ARE FINALLY ALL-IRELAND FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!
📺 Watch on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
📻 Listen on RTÉ Radio 1#SundayGame pic.twitter.com/t5UgfhNAfx
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 26, 2026
As you might have imagined, those final few minutes were a stressful time for those out west.
Mayo radio had brilliant commentary for All-Ireland win
Mayo were the dominant force in this game, but the contest still came right down to the wire.
Kerry showed quite a bit of resilience to claw their way back into the match, having trailed by five points with five minutes to go. They would get to within two points and still had a couple of minutes to find the long range score to send the match to extra-time.
They would ultimately come up just short, leading to some wonderful reactions from the people of Mayo.
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One of the best on them came on radio station Midwest, who were in Croke Park to commentate on the game.
Stephen Grealis was on lead commentary duties, being joined by former Mayo star Martin Carney on co-comms. It’s fair to say that the pair of them were put through the wringer during the final moments of the match.
Midwest Radio, the last two minutes of commentary before & after the final whistle.#Mayo #AllIreland pic.twitter.com/fh6keB4ixR
— Séamus Kearney (@SeamusjKearney) July 26, 2026
Unreal stuff.
The line ‘the curse be damned, hit the nuclear button’ will go down in Mayo sporting history.
Big Mayo celebrations to come over next few days
This will only be the beginning of what are sure to be some brilliant celebrations to come in Mayo. The team will attend the usual post-final banquet in Dublin this evening before returning for a homecoming tomorrow.
It could be a lively couple of nights ahead for the supporters, who have quite a bit of steam to blow off after all the disappointments of the last couple of decades.
Nobody in the country will begrudge them the celebrations that are sure to unfold as the Sam Maguire finally returns to the county.