DUBLIN — Mayo GAA defeated Kerry 1-20 to 1-17 to win the 2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship at Croke Park in Dublin. This victory marked Mayo's fourth All-Ireland Senior Football title and ended a 75-year drought, making it their first championship since 1951.

The match drew an attendance of 82,300 to the sports venue in Dublin, Ireland. Kerry entered the final as the defending champions, having won the 2025 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The opposing team was seeking its 40th title, having won 39 All-Ireland Senior Football Championships prior to the 2026 final, the most of any county.

Kerry led 1-6 to 0-3 in the early stages of the match. David Clifford scored a goal for Kerry during this period. Mayo responded to take a 1-8 to 0-10 lead at half-time.

Darragh Beirne scored a goal for Mayo in the contest. Tommy Conroy scored the final point for Mayo to secure the victory.

Andy Moran is the manager of the Mayo team. He had previously lost six All-Ireland Senior Football Championship finals as a player. Jack Coyne is the captain of the Mayo team.

Jack O'Connor is the manager of the Kerry team. Mayo wore white jerseys in the final due to a color clash with Kerry's green home kit.

Mayo had lost 11 All-Ireland finals between 1951 and 2026. The county had lost 13 consecutive All-Ireland finals, including two replays, since their last title in 1951. Legend has it that a curse was placed on Mayo after their 1951 All-Ireland victory when their homecoming celebrations disrupted a funeral.

Paddy Prendergast, a player on the 1951 Mayo panel, died in 2021. Dr Mick Loftus, the last surviving member of the 1951 Mayo panel, died in April 2023.

Kobe McDonald is a player for Mayo. He is 18 years old. McDonald will join St Kilda in the Australian Football League after the final.

Mayo defeated Louth by 17 points in the All-Ireland semi-final. Kerry defeated Dublin by four points in the All-Ireland semi-final. Catherine Connolly is the Irish President.

Joe Biden posted on social media regarding the result. He wrote that he meant it when he said "Mayo for Sam" and that he said it because he knows what it means not just to the county of Mayo but to his own family’s story.

The former U.S. president stated in a social media post that for the first time in 75 years, the Sam Maguire Cup comes home to Mayo, Ireland. He had previously said during his 2023 visit to Ballina: "Mayo for Sam."

Padraig O'Hora, a former Mayo defender, commented on the victory. "Thousands upon thousands of people have dreamed of this day, I can't believe it's here," O'Hora said. "There are people who have waited their whole lives for this day. Hats off to the lads on the field, it is their day, but if you have green and red blood it belongs to you, young and old. What a moment for Gaelic football, what a moment for sport. It's just something else."

Brian O'Driscoll posted on social media about the match. He wrote that it was a ballsy win for Mayo after that Kerry start, considering their final history. He added that the whole country outside of The Kingdom was shouting for them and that there would be no milking, among other celebratory remarks. O'Driscoll used profanity in his post, which was directed at the celebrations.

The victory resolves a historical narrative for Mayo, a county in Ireland, where the team had not won a title since 1951. The win occurred in front of 82,300 spectators, showing the scale of interest in the event. Kerry's status as defending champions with 39 prior titles established the magnitude of the upset. The result fulfills the expectations of supporters who endured 11 final losses between 1951 and 2026.

The event drew reactions from public figures with ties to the region, including former U.S. President Joe Biden. His comments referenced a 2023 visit and family connections to the area. The departure of player Kobe McDonald to the Australian Football League marks a transition for the team following the championship. The win serves as a counterpoint to the historical legend of a curse associated with the 1951 title.