2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final
Gaelic football match
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On 26 July 2026, Gaelic football clubs Kerry and Mayo played in the final of the 2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship at Croke Park in Dublin. It was the 139th final of that sport's primary competition, the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.[1]
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| Event | 2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship | ||||||
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| Date | 26 July 2026 | ||||||
| Venue | Croke Park, Dublin | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Ryan O'Donoghue | ||||||
| Referee | Martin McNally (Monaghan) | ||||||
| Attendance | 82,300 | ||||||
| Weather | 19 °C (66 °F), cloudy | ||||||
Kerry, the reigning title holder from 2025 and 2026 Munster Senior Football Championship winner, faced Mayo in what was a first meeting of the teams at this stage of the competition since 2006. Mayo defeated heavy favourites Kerry by a total of three points, with a score of 1–20 (23) to 1–17 (20) (see scoring notation). This was Mayo's first All-Ireland SFC title in 75 years, and a fourth overall.[2][3]
The match was broadcast live on The Sunday Game Live on RTÉ2 television and on the RTÉ Player, presented by with Joanne Cantwell with analysis from Peter Canavan, Tomás Ó Sé and Lee Keegan. Match commentary was provided by Marty Morrissey and Éamonn Fitzmaurice. It was also broadcast live by BBC Two Northern Ireland and on the BBC iPlayer.[4]
The match drew an average TV audience of 944,000 viewers on RTÉ2, representing an 82% share of the available audience, and peaked at 1,100,000 towards the end of the game.[5]
Background
This was the fifth meeting of Mayo and Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC final, with Kerry being victorious in all four previous meetings, those of 1932, 1997, 2004 and 2006.[6]
Kerry, the most successful county in the competition's history, entered the game with 39 previous titles. They had won 7 of the previous 22 editions of the tournament, including those of 2022 and 2025. Kerry were therefore strong favourites to win the title, with journalists describing it as a David and Goliath contest.[7][8] Betting markets predicted Kerry to win by 4 points.[9][10][11]
Mayo's previous title win was in 1951. Since then they had been runners-up 11 times, losing the finals of 1989, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021.[12] Mayo's long losing streak gave rise to a legend that the team had been cursed in 1951 known as the 'Curse of '51' or the 'Mayo Curse'. Supposedly because the celebrating team had passed a funeral procession without showing due respect. According to a version of that legend, the priest placed a curse on the team, which would prevent Mayo from winning the All-Ireland SFC title again until all the players involved in 1951 had passed away. The last surviving player from that game Paddy Prendergast died on 26 September 2021, shortly after Mayo lost that year's final.[13] This left Mike Loftus as the last surviving panel member from 1951 (he did not play); Loftus died at the age of 93 on 22 April 2023.[14]
The last Sunday in July is Reek Sunday, when pilgrims traditionally climb Croagh Patrick, a mountain in County Mayo, and this was the first time that Mayo played an All-Ireland final on Reek Sunday,[15][16] as the All-Ireland SFC final was traditionally played in September until 2022. The unprecedented clash between these two cultural events was expected to affect attendances.[17]
Paths to the final
Kerry won the 2026 Munster Senior Football Championship final for the sixth year running.[18] After a heavy defeat in Killarney to Donegal, Kerry then went on an unbeaten run to the final.[19]
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue (H/A/N) | Result | Victory margin | Score | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munster SFC semi-final | 25 April 2026 |  Clare | Cusack Park, Ennis (A) | Win | 8 | 2–19 to 1–14 | [20] |
| Munster SFC final | 10 May 2026 |  Cork | Fitzgerald Stadium (H) | Win | 8 | 1–23 to 1–15 | [21] |
| Round 1 | 23 May 2026 |  Donegal | Fitzgerald Stadium (H) | Loss | –10 | 0–16 to 2–20 | [22] |
| Round 2B | 13 June 2026 |  Kildare | St Conleth's Park (A) | Win | 14 | 3–22 to 0–17 | [23] |
| Round 3 | 20 June 2026 |  Armagh | Fitzgerald Stadium (H) | Win | 13 | 4–18 to 0–17 | [24] |
| Quarter-final | 27 June 2026 |  Tyrone | Croke Park (N) | Win | 4 | 2–25 to 0–27 | [25] |
| Semi-final | 12 July 2026 |  Dublin | Croke Park (N) | Win | 4 | 2–18 to 0–20 | [26] |
Mayo's 2026 Connacht Senior Football Championship campaign ended at the semi-final stage, with a loss to Roscommon, which also left Mayo more time than Kerry to prepare for the All-Ireland series. Nevertheless, they still lost one game, to 2021 All-Ireland winners Tyrone.[27]
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue (H/A/N) | Result | Victory margin | Score | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connacht SFC quarter-final | 11 April 2026 |  London | McGovern Park (A) | Win | 13 | 0–31 to 1–15 | [28] |
| Connacht SFC semi-final | 26 April 2026 |  Roscommon | McHale Park (H) | Loss | –10 | 1–18 to 2–25 | [30] |
| Round 1 | 31 May 2026 |  Monaghan | St Tiernach's Park (A) | Win | 1 | 1–24 to 2–20 | [30] |
| Round 2A | 14 June 2026 | Tyrone | Healy Park (A) | Loss | –1 | 1–18 to 0–22 | [31] |
| Round 3 | 20 June 2026 |  Meath | McHale Park (H) | Win | 3 | 0–22 to 2–13 | [32] |
| Quarter-final | 27 June 2026 | Cork | Croke Park (N) | Win | 5 | 0–23 to 0–18 | [33] |
| Semi-final | 11 July 2026 |  Louth | Croke Park (N) | Win | 17 | 3–23 to 0–15 | [34] |
Pre-match
18-year-old Mayo forward Kobe McDonald had signed a pre-contract with St Kilda of the Australian Football League and was thus expected to be playing his last game for Mayo, with he and his family expected to move to Australia after Kobe finished his Leaving Certificate exams. Members of the Saints scouting staff were in attendance for the final, and McDonald wrote the phrase "One Chance" on his wrist tape as motivation.[35]
Television
RTÉ2 broadcast the match live on The Sunday Game Live with coverage beginning at 2.15pm. The programme was presented by Joanne Cantwell who was joined by analysts Lee Keegan, Niall Morgan, Peter Canavan and Tomás Ó Sé. Commentary on the game was by Marty Morrissey and Éamonn Fitzmaurice.[36]
The match was also broadcast live by BBC Two Northern Ireland with coverage beginning at 3pm. Sarah Mulkerrins presented the programme and was joined by Oisín McConville, Philly McMahon, Killian Young and Pádraig O'Hora for analysis. Match commentary was provided by Thomas Niblock along with Conor McManus.[37]
RTÉ2's coverage was also simulcasted around the world via GAA+, the GAA's paid streaming service.
Officials
On 15 July the GAA announced that the referee for the Final would be Martin McNally of Monaghan. It was his first time reffing the All-Ireland final having been Standby Official for the 2025 final. His Line Umpires were Seán Hurson of Tyrone, who was the Standby Official, and Thomas Murphy of Galway. Seán Lonergan of Tipperary was the Sideline Official while Killian Jones (Kildare) was the Hawk-eye Official and Marty Duffy (Sligo) the Timekeeper.[38]
Colours
Both counties' traditional colours required one county to wear a change strip; with both counties also having a predominantly blue clash jersey it was agreed that a coin toss would be used to decide who would wear their home kit and who would change. Kerry won the toss and wore their traditional green and gold kit. Kerry's 2026 kit is a darker shade of green than previous years and it was deemed to conflict with Mayo's navy alternative kit; as a result, Mayo wore a one-off all-white kit similar to what they wore when they last won the All-Ireland SFC title in 1951. The kit was based on a 75th anniversary tribute shirt Mayo had worn during their 2026 League campaign, except with their modern crest replacing a period-appropriate badge and the current sponsors Intersport Elverys printed on the front and Portwest printed on the back.[39]
Team selection
On the Thursday before the final Kerry manager Jack O'Connor named the same starting 15 players that started the semi-final against Dublin, with captain Paul Geaney returning to the matchday squad on the bench.[40]
Mayo named their team the following day with Andy Moran making one change to the starting line-up from their semi-final victory over Louth as Conor Loftus replaced Paul Towey.[41]
Both sides had late injuries on the day of the game, with Mayo losing Stephen Coen (replaced by Diarmuid O'Connor). John McGonagle took O'Connor's place on the bench. Mayo also started Paul Towey instead of Conor Loftus. Kerry replaced the injured Diarmuid O'Connor with Tom O'Sullivan, whose place on the bench went to Cillian Trant.[42]
As Kerry captain Paul Geaney started on the bench, David Clifford was selected to act as captain on the field.[43]
Sponsorship protest
David Hickey, a three-time All-Ireland football winner with Dublin, refused to attend the GPA's "Legends Lunch", a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dublin's 1976 championship-winning team. Hickey, along with others protested at Jones' Road prior to the game against the GAA's continued sponsorship relationship with Allianz, arguing that the GAA had failed to oppose the company's indirect links to Israel.[44]
Jubilee team
Prior to the start of the match the Galway team of 2001 was presented to the crowd to mark the 25th anniversary of their All-Ireland title win over Meath. Their manager that day was John O'Mahony of Mayo. Galway's Paul Clancy who passed away on 22 June 2026 was represented by his son Finn.[45][46]
Match
Had the match finished level after the regulation 70 minutes, extra-time of 20 minutes (two 10-minute halves) were to have been played. Had the scores still been level after this, a replay was to take place on 8 August.[47]
Summary
After 16 minutes, Kerry led by a scoreline of 1–5 to 0–1, David Clifford scored the goal for Kerry in the 15th minute when he received a pass on the right before cutting in and going past the Mayo goalkeeper before finishing to the net. David McBrien had got Mayo's solitary seventh-minute point.[48] Mayo, who had led the All-Ireland series in two-point scores, found going tough early as they kicked towards Hill 16 in the first half with multiple efforts from beyond the arc dropping short. The momentum would eventually shift during the second quarter of the game as Mayo's pressure allowed them to win the ball from kick-outs and chip away at Kerry's advantage; Kerry led at half-time by a scoreline of 1–8 to 0–10, the pick of Mayo's scores the respective two-pointers of Ryan O'Donoghue and Jack Carney.[48]
In the second half Mayo dominated possession and it was Kobe McDonald who put Mayo ahead for the first time, the score 0–12 to 1–8. In the 40th minute, Darragh Beirne scored a goal for Mayo following a well-worked passage of play to extend the advantage to four points. Jack Carney would later hit another two-pointer to give Mayo a five-point cushion, their biggest lead of the day.[48] Mayo's shooting touch would run cold, though, with multiple wides opening the door for Kerry to mount a comeback. With three minutes to go, David and Paudie Clifford had succeeded in bringing Kerry to within two points, with the score at 1–19 to 1–17.[48] Kerry had several chances to draw level late, including a missed two-pointer by Seán O'Shea, and with less than a minute Mayo took advantage of Kerry's aggressive offensive shape to gain possession and head on the break. Kobe McDonald elected not to take the ball to the corner and run out the clock but instead passed it off to Tommy Conroy, who would fist over an insurance score with practically no time left for Kerry to reply.[48] Mayo won by a scoreline of 1–20 to 1–17.[49][50]
Mayo substitute Rory Brickenden had to swap the number 18 jersey he was mistakenly wearing for the correct number 19 jersey in the 55th minute of the game. The number 18 jersey belonged to Paddy Durcan.[51]
Details
Mayo  |
1–20 (23) – (20) 1–17 |  Kerry |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 0–10 – 1–8) | ||
| Gls: D Beirne Pts: R O'Donoghue 5 (2tp, 1f), J Carney 4 (2tp), K McDonald 3 (1'45), D Beirne 3 (2fs), T Conroy 2, D McBrien, J Flynn, S Callinan 1 each |
Gls: D Clifford Pts: D Clifford 6 (1tp), P Clifford 3 (1'45), Seán O'Shea 3, J O'Connor, D Casey, G O'Sullivan, K Evans, T O'Sullivan 1 each | |
Standby: Seán Hurson (Tyrone) Linesman: Thomas Murphy (Galway) Sideline: Seán Lonergan (Tipperary) Umpires: Ben Woods, Niall Reilly, Mark Gilsenan and Anthony Marron (all Corduff Gaels) |
      Mayo
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     Kerry
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Post-match
Mayo captain Jack Coyne accepted the Sam Maguire Cup from GAA president Jarlath Burns in the Hogan Stand. During his post-match speech, Coyne praised the past generations of players and coaches who carried Mayo's hopes without ever experiencing triumph themselves, along with supporters both in Mayo and the diaspora, adding: "The wait is over, Sam is home. Maigh Eo abú."[52][53]
Kerry manager Jack O'Connor admitted that Mayo were the better team on the day. Speaking to RTÉ's The Sunday Game after full-time, he said: "Mayo stayed with us until half-time, their belief grew and I thought in the second half they were better than us."[54]
Awards
During Mayo's banquet at the Hilton hotel, on the night of the game, GAA President Jarlath Burns presented the Man of the Match trophy to Ryan O'Donoghue, after RTÉ announced him as winner on The Sunday Game.[55][56]
The TV programme also gave Ryan O'Donoghue its player of the season award. The Sunday Game named O'Donoghue and six others from Mayo on its Team of the Year, as well as four Kerry players and one each from Dublin, Louth, Westmeath and Tyrone.[55]
Reaction
Marty Morrissey's call of the final seconds and aftermath on RTÉ:
"...Seventy-five years of heartbreak are about to end! 1936, 1950, 1951, and surely now, 2026! Listen to the roar! Seventy-five years of heartbreak is OVER!! Mayo are the All-Ireland Senior Football Champions 2026!"
International media covered the breaking of the curse. ESPN noted Paddy Prendergast, Mayo's last survivor from 1951, had died two weeks after the 2021 final, the last one contested by Mayo before 2026.[57] ABC News (Australia) had it that "this year was the first opportunity to win the biggest game of the season since the elements of the curse had been met."[58]
Among the dignitaries to message the winning team were former United States President Joe Biden and sitting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, both of whom are descended from Mayo emigrants. Reactions also came from the world of music including Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher and Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs from the band Oasis, whose mother's are Mayo natives and from other sports including golf, association football and rugby union.[59][60]
Celebrations
Tens of thousands attended a homecoming event at MacHale Park in Castlebar the day after the final, where the team arrived just after 6.15pm after travelling by train from Dublin having previously completed the now-traditional champions' visit to Crumlin Children's Hospital.[61][62][63][64][65] The celebration in Castlebar kicked off a week-long trophy tour, with the team bus stopping for festivities in Ballyhaunis (hometown of captain Jack Coyne) as well as planned visits to the Ballina Stephenites, Belmullet, Ballaghaderreen and Claremorris clubs, the home clubs of Sam Callinan, Ryan O'Donoghue, Andy Moran, and Darragh Beirne respectively.[66][67]