Herald Opinion: Every generation creates its own heroes

“The famine is over.” Four words that have echoed far and wide over the past week as Mayo people everywhere come to terms with a long-awaited reality: All-Ireland champions at last.

Every county begins each season with the same ambition, but Mayo's journey has always felt different. Time and again they came agonisingly close, only for the final step to prove beyond them.

For decades, that story was overshadowed by the famous curse of 1951. As the victorious team returned from Dublin, they were said to have passed through Foxford without paying their respects to a funeral. Legend has it that it was declared Mayo would not win the Sam Maguire Cup again until every member of that team had passed away.

Whether fact or folklore, the story lingered. Paddy Prendergast, the last surviving member of the 1951 team, died in September 2021. Later in 2023, Dr Mickey Loftus, a sub that day, also passed away.

So, in 2026, the question was no longer about curses. It came down to football. This time, Mayo were simply good enough.

As a Rossie, I sat in the Hogan Stand on All-Ireland final day with mixed emotions. I am the son of a Mayo man. I have connections on the Mayo panel, in the backroom team and throughout Mayo GAA. Yet, as the teams emerged, I genuinely wasn't sure who I wanted to win.

I certainly wasn't cheering for Kerry, but neither was I shouting for Mayo. I simply watched.

After 15 minutes it looked ominous. Mayo were struggling and another heartbreaking afternoon seemed possible. Then everything changed.

Jack Carney landed a magnificent two-pointer and suddenly Mayo came alive. They attacked with purpose, tackled with ferocity and played with a confidence that had been missing in so many previous finals. With every Mayo score, Croke Park seemed to find another gear. The atmosphere became electric.

Something changed inside me too. I found myself willing them on.

Across the aisle sat an old secondary school friend, Con Moynihan from Ballaghaderreen. We had spent five years together in the same class in St Nathy's College. Today, I serve as secretary of Éire Óg, while Con is secretary of Ballaghaderreen GAA and Mayo's Central Council delegate. Our clubs have grown even closer this year with Éire Óg temporarily sharing Ballaghaderreen’s grounds during our redevelopment.

With every Mayo score, Connie became more animated. His excitement was infectious. Before long I realised I wasn't simply watching history unfold. I actually wanted Mayo to win.

As half-time approached, I passed Roscommon GAA secretary Brian Mullin.

"I think they could do it," I said. "There's something different about them today."

Even as I spoke, I wasn't entirely sure where those words had come from. Was I afraid of Mayo's success? Was there a touch of jealousy? Or was I simply witnessing decades of Mayo disappointment giving way to belief?

When the final hooter sounded, Mayo erupted. Players, supporters, families and friends embraced in scenes of pure joy. Normally, after an All-Ireland final, the winners stay, the losers leave and the neutrals quietly head for the exits. Not this time. Almost everyone stayed. We stood, watched, talked and looked again, almost needing to convince ourselves that it had really happened. The Mayo supporters around us seemed to be pinching themselves.

I shook Connie's hand and congratulated him. We reminisced about another All-Ireland journey, back in 1989, when John O'Mahony guided Mayo to their first final since 1951. Cork denied them that day, but I still remember the homecoming at Knock Airport and later that wet Monday night in Ballaghaderreen. It was there that John O had urged supporters to 'Keep the Faith.' He taught both Connie and me in St Nathy’s College, but little did any of us imagine then the influence he would have on Connacht football.

Fittingly, on Sunday, John O's All-Ireland-winning Galway team of 2001 returned to Croke Park as the Jubilee Team, with Geraldine proudly representing her late husband. It was a reminder that football is about far more than the result on the scoreboard. It is about people, memories and the threads that connect generations.

In 2051, this Mayo team will return to Croke Park as the Jubilee Team, one hundred years after the famous 1951 champions. By then, the talk of curses and near misses will have faded into history.

The celebrations over the past week have been extraordinary. Castlebar came to a standstill. Ballyhaunis celebrated one of its own captaining Mayo to glory. Ballaghaderreen welcomed their own; manager Andy Moran, players David McBrien, Kuba Callaghan and many of the backroom team. Éire Óg helped with stewarding at both local homecomings. Publicans joked it was better than a month of Christmases. Yet life quickly returned to normal. Our neighbours Kilmovee were back playing championship football just four days later. Mayo GAA moved on, but the supporters will treasure these memories forever.

Perhaps the nicest story of all links the beginning and the end of the famine. In Elphin, where I teach, a young infant enrolled in the early 1930s. He won Celtic Cross glory in 1951, 75 later, that same family celebrated another medal when Dr. Mickey’s grandnephew, Conor Loftus, became an All-Ireland champion.

The names on the medals are different. The family name is the same. Loftus. Sometimes history has a wonderful way of coming full circle.

As if that were not enough, the celebrations continue when past pupil Lauren Shanagher, claimed an All-Ireland medal. Every generation creates its own heroes.