Mayo defeated defending champion Kerry 1-20 to 1-17 at Dublin's Croke Park on Sunday, winning the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship for the first time since 1951. The three-point victory delivered the county's fourth senior title and ended one of Irish sport's longest and most painful waits.
Kerry made the stronger start and built a seven-point advantage, with David Clifford scoring a goal in the 15th minute after Seán O'Shea created the opening. Mayo trailed 1-5 to 0-1 near the end of the first quarter, but two-point scores from Jack Carney and Ryan O'Donoghue helped reduce the deficit to 1-8 to 0-10 by half-time.
Mayo moved ahead soon after the restart through scores from Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald. Beirne then finished a move involving O'Donoghue and David McBrien for a goal in the 40th minute, giving Andy Moran's side a four-point lead and changing the direction of the final.
Kerry responded through David and Paudie Clifford and Graham O'Sullivan, cutting the margin to one point. Mayo regained control when Jordan Flynn and McDonald added points and O'Donoghue converted another two-pointer, restoring a five-point cushion before Kerry launched one final challenge.
David Clifford's late two-pointer and a Paudie Clifford point kept the defending champions within reach. Seán O'Shea then missed an attempted two-point score from distance, allowing Mayo to break forward, where substitute Tommy Conroy completed the scoring and secured the 1-20 to 1-17 result.
Captain Jack Coyne lifted the Sam Maguire Cup after a campaign that reversed decades of final defeats and near misses. The result denied Kerry a 40th championship and a second consecutive crown, while Mayo's players and supporters prepared for homecoming celebrations after converting a difficult first quarter into a historic comeback.
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