SAM HADN’T EVEN been hoisted into the sky over Croker by an ecstatic Captain Coyne on Sunday, when various versions of the same gag began whipping around Insta, Facebook and X.

“All funerals are postponed in Mayo on Monday to ensure the riotous returning heroes doesn’t cross paths with a cortège,” cackled the Irish internet.

No need for any explanation for the home crowd – even the dogs on the street could bark the story of how the victorious Mayo football team of 1951 failed to pay their respects to a funeral they passed through the village of Foxford when en route home to celebrate, prompting the enraged priest to unleash a fearsome curse: “For as long as ye all live, Mayo won’t win another All-Ireland.”

And so it came to pass. For 75 long years.

The curse was news, however, to most of the international media who were equally gripped by both electrifying clips of a thrilling sporting contest that appeared to be – as one US journalist bemusedly put it – “a hybrid of soccer, rugby and basketball”, and by the story of The Longest Curse.

The holy hex was invoked everywhere – Australian TV, the New York Times, the Taipei Times and the BBC.

All recounted how Mayo had made it to 11 All-Ireland finals since 1951, returning home empty-handed each time, and how this year was their first appearance in a final since Paddy Prendergast, the last member of that ill-fated team had died in September 2021. (Another squad member, Michael Loftus, died in 2023.)

Whether one believes that Jesus actually hailed from Galway and the curse was kosher, or that curses are superstitious tomfoolery and Mayo prevailed against every single bookies’ odds due to skill, tactics, talent and unshakeable self-belief, makes no difference at all.

The curse is forever........

© TheJournal