Investigation Of The Infamous Mayo’S Curse Of 51

Over the past three decades, Mayo’s senior team have consistently been one of the most successful teams in the All Ireland Football Championship - although that success isn’t measured in trophies. Mayo have experienced an excruciating number of marginal All Ireland Final losses over the past 60+ years, and many believe these losses aren’t as a result of bad luck, lack of skill or superior opponents. The real reason is none other than a curse. One loss in a final, maybe two and you would dismiss the notion of a curse, but Mayo have lost eleven All Ireland Finals since they last got their hands on the Sam Maguire Cup. Throughout these eleven finals, their losing margin has been an average of just over three points - surely there’s more behind these agonizing losses than bad luck?

Mayo Football at a Glance

Gaelic football is on an upward curve - year on year it is gaining international traction and is becoming increasingly competitive. Even though it is classed as an amateur sport, critics state it’s now borderlining a professional sport, with the average intercounty player dedicating an average of 31 hours a week. The quality, intensity and athleticism of the game in 2018 isn’t comparable to that of 1951, but nonetheless Mayo are still strong contenders for the title every year. After racking up a total of 28 All-Star awards since the break of the millenium, being the third highest spender on intercounty teams and having some of the most state of the art sporting facilities, it’s hard to pinpoint where it is Mayo have gone wrong over the years.

Losses

Any true GAA fan can empathise with Mayo on the number of painstaking losses they have experienced in All Ireland Finals over the years. 1996 was arguably one of the most memorable journeys for Mayo GAA of recent times, where they played and drew with Meath on 15th September, only to be defeated by an excruciating margin of just one point two weeks later in a replay. Fast forward 2016 - Mayo are yet again in the All Ireland final, facing Dublin. A bizarre but exhilarating game unfolded that included two own goals by Mayo along with a last minute equalizer to draw the game and bring it to a replay. In the replay, Mayo are yet again pipped to the post by their opponent - losing by an identical margin to 1996. These losses, paired with seven other unsuccessful attempts raises multiple questions - and some believe there is no other solution to the mystery other than “The Curse”.

The Curse

The year is 1951. Mayo are All Ireland Football champions for the second consecutive year after a convincing five point win over meath. In what is only Mayo’s third ever All Ireland Senior Men’s Football title, many celebrations ensue following the full whistle. An ecstatic team celebrate through the night in Dublin, and promptly begin their journey cross country the next morning, to attend a homecoming in Ballina, County Mayo. The entire squad travelled West in the back of a number of trucks, with the Sam Maguire onboard. Upon reaching the town of Foxford, one of the last remaining checkpoints on the 240km+ journey, the team vehicles are said to have passed a congregating funeral in the town without halting to acknowledge the ceremony and pay their respects. Upon doing this, the team are said to have been placed under a curse that they would not win another All Ireland title until every remaining member of the victorious squad had passed away. There is some speculation around who cast the curse - some believe it was the priest conducting the ceremony, others believe it was the wife of the deceased, whilst the remaining believers consider it to have been an elderly female traveller who was present. So far, whether the curse is true or not, it has held true - two members of the team remain: Dr. Padraig Carney (90) and Paddy Prendergast (91), and evidently, Mayo have not been victorious in a final since. Opinions of the curse vary vastly across groups of fans, past players, current players and general onlookers. Dr. Padraig Carney has rubbished the claims, insisting that "On the way home we all went our different ways. Some of us went by train and some went by car, but there was no talk of a curse at the time. I don’t know how it got started. I don’t believe in curses”. The other remaining member of the team of ‘51, Paddy Prendergast, has never been as concrete in his opinion of the curse, leaving some ambiguity around his opinion by stating: “I often think to myself … when you’re not winning an All-Ireland year after year you begin to say, ah there must be something in the curse”. Current players have adopted the same outlook as Carney on the issue - in an interview conducted by AIB, Aidan O’ Shea, a current star performer for Mayo also dismissed the curse, stating: “Us as players don’t believe in the curse of ‘51”. This perception of the curse has also been emphasised by other key players including: Lee Keegan, Donal Vaughan and Cillian O’ Connor.

Many believe the curse has been recirculated and further fabricated by the media in recent years as Mayo have experienced greater success, but many other insist on its legitimacy. Many more have scrapped claims of a curse stating: “The curse is the mindset. It’s how rumour becomes truth and then suddenly it becomes exaggerated truth. When Mayo do go on to win it I hope journalists analyse what was done to win it, what buttons were pressed, instead of some myth being lifted”. It is apparent that in majority, GAA followers do not believe in the curse. Although the credibility of it has been questioned multiple times, many rationalise this notion by assuming their losses are attributed to bad luck and lack of supremacy over their counterparts.

Looking Forward

The current Mayo squad exited the Championship in a surprisingly early stage after a defeat to underdogs Kildare this year, but pundits are still backing the cursed outfit for the coming season. Under new management and with a prolonged period of recovery and training ahead of the panel, according to bookmakers, Mayo are third favourites to win the coveted Sam Maguire Cup in 2019. With two remaining members of the ‘51 team alive and well, it cannot be denied that the curse isn’t a possibility. Nonetheless, it can never be ultimately proven - only time will tell if Mayo can defeat the age-old curse before the final two members of the team of ‘51 their final resting place.