All-Ireland Senior Football Final: Kerry 1-17 Mayo 1-20
Here’s that goal from Darragh Beirne that set Mayo on the road to winning the All-Ireland. What a run by O’Donoghue to create it.
Andy Moran was interviewed on RTÉ there at pitchside, and while that was happening, Lee Keegan was dragged into the celebrations to embrace his former team mates. Moran felt that the team had been unfairly written off before today’s game after a blip against Roscommon.
Kobe McDonald joined the panel of The Sunday Game for a short interview and Peter Canavan asked the obvious: “How could Australia beat this?” The 18-year-old just said that he wasn’t thinking about Australia for today, which is more than fair enough after today’s achievement.
This could be the photo of the day; two Mayo players absolutely dying with their boots on to stop Seán O’Shea’s last-minute two-point effort. Kerry refused to go away at the end of that game, and their big men all had good days to give them credit. A few misses in the second half cost them dearly, but the 2025 champions were second-best throughout the half.
Jarlath Burns is about to hand the cup to Jack Coyne and says “you are not dreaming!” Coyne is prowling beside him, dying to lift the Sam Maguire. Everywhere there is green and red in Croke Park, there is a frenzy of chaotic joy and delighted disbelief. Coyne lifts the cup, and Mayo are champions for 2026!
Kobe McDonald has tears streaming down his face and has lived up to the hype so well this year. Darragh Beirne did not quite have the same billing heading into this year, but after 1-3 today, he is a true star of the sport.
‘The Green and Red of Mayo’ rings out around Croke Park and if you don’t have chills you’d have to either be from Kerry or dead. Lee Keegan can hardly speak on The Sunday Game. Marty Morrissey called it one of the most significant moments in the history of the GAA and that is not hype or bluster. Wow.
Full-time: Kerry 1-17 Mayo 1-20
Holy God, Mayo are All-Ireland football champions! That is incredible!
69 Mins: It comes around to David Clifford again and he can’t shoot. Eventually it’s O’Shea who has the shot but it drops short. Mayo clear it and Mayo hold the ball. Could it be the end of their heartbreak? Fisted point by Conroy. They’re going to do it! Kerry 1-17 Mayo 1-20
68 Mins: Livingstone boots it out and it’s over the sideline. Kerry have it back and it’s with Clifford, but he can’t get the shot away. Now it’s over on the left with the brother who nearly loses it but it’s back in Kerry hands. It comes around to Clifford on the loop, and it’s just wide. Kerry 1-17 Mayo 1-19
66 Mins: Kerry are looking for two or three here, but Paudie Clifford eventually scampers into the arc and knocks over a brilliant one-pointer off the left. Kerry 1-17 Mayo 1-19
65 Mins: What a score by David Clifford with the right foot from outside the arc. He’s dragging them back into it, and there’s just a goal between the sides. Kerry 1-16 Mayo 1-19
64 Mins: Off the bar! O’Donoghue had to just hoof that sideline in and Jordan Flynn connected but it bounces back off the crossbar! Kerry get a chance to break but the ball to Clifford is overhit. Kerry have it back for a free. Paddy Durcan is on now for Sam Callinan. Kerry 1-14 Mayo 1-19
63 Mins: Mayo win the kickout again and O’Donoghue is fouled just outside the arc. Mayo’s main man can put them seven clear with this two-point free. And he drops it short. Kerry are forced to hoof it clear and it’s out for a Mayo sideline. Kerry 1-14 Mayo 1-19
62 Mins: Mayo are having trouble breaking out of defence, but eventually work it to O’Donoghue, who has just been immense. He gets it back and goes for it for two, and he nails it! He drives it over from 45 yards with the outside of the right. Kerry 1-14 Mayo 1-19
60 Mins: Kerry are looking to break down the defence, and O’Shea looks to have done just that, nipping inside and hitting a shot from 30 yards right in front of goal, but it tails left. Could it actully be happening? Kerry 1-14 Mayo 1-17
59 Mins: Keith Evans scrambles to win the kickout, but he fouls the ball after being surrounded by Mayo men. Mayo set about scoring another to push it out to four, but Conroy misses poorly from a tight angle. Kerry 1-14 Mayo 1-17
58 Mins: Mayo win the kickout again and O’Donoghue is out around the middle controlling things. He gives it Loftus, who passes onto McDonald, and he skins Gavin White and pops it over on the right. Kerry 1-14 Mayo 1-17
57 Mins: Mayo win it back and all the full-forward line are out getting on the ball, controlling things. Jordan Flynn makes a good cut in and points excellently. Diarmuid O’Connor is off for Conor Loftus now. Kerry 1-14 Mayo 1-16
56 Mins: The backdoor cut totally bamboozles McHugh again, and Clifford fists another point over. Kerry win the breaking ball of the kickout again. Kerry 1-14 Mayo 1-15
55 Mins: Shane Murphy caught that shot in the eye, which looks a bit swollen. He actually hurt his eye in the warm-up against Tyrone too, but he had a great day that day. His first kickout after is won well by Mark O’Shea. Kerry 1-13 Mayo 1-15
54 Mins: That’s a really well-worked score for Graham O’Sullivan there to make it a one-point game again now. Pressure by Ruane on Paul Murphy and O’Donoghue hits the gas. He slips it to McDonald, who shoots for goal, but gets a point after a great save. Kerry 1-13 Mayo 1-15
52 Mins: Diarmuid O’Connor is the latest to miss from outside the arc, skewing it well wide. Matthew Ruane and Rory Brickenden are both on for Eoin McGreal and Bob Tuohy. Kerry 1-12 Mayo 1-14
52 Mins: Paudie Clifford is being moved back up the pitch away from the full-forward line. He wins a kickout and lofts it in to the brother, who smashes it over the bar. Great score. Kerry win another kickout but Mayo fight and win it back. Kerry 1-12 Mayo 1-14
51 Mins: Mayo get the kickout away smartly. Now they are the ones holding the ball up a little in the middle. O’Donoghue takes an ideal looking shot from the right side of the arc, but it drifts wide again. Dylan Geaney comes off for Tomás Kennedy. Kerry 1-11 Mayo 1-14
49 Mins: Another near miss from McDonald after a lovely dummy solo. Mayo need to start converting chances again. Paudie Clifford does just that for Kerry at the other end. Kerry 1-11 Mayo 1-14
48 Mins: Two attacks from Mayo come to nothing after McDonald and O’Donoghue both miss shots. The next kickout goes straight to Mayo hands again though, as Diarmuid O’Connor hoovers up the loose ball. Kerry 1-10 Mayo 1-14
46 Mins: A lovely jink by Paudie Clifford opens up a shot that drops short, but Livingstone has to punch it out thanks to pressure from O’Brien. Paudie drills the 45′ over Kerry 1-10 Mayo 1-14
44 Mins: Jack Carney drills over a two-pointer from the left hand side with the outside of the boot. Classy stuff altogether. Kerry 1-9 Mayo 1-14
43 Mins: Mayo win the kickout again and blast through the defence, but Jordan Flynn’s left-footed effort from close range is ruled wide by HawkEye. Big chance missed. Kerry 1-9 Mayo 1-12
42 Mins: Just wide with an effort for for two-points by Enda Hession, after no pressure had come on the half-back. Kerry 1-9 Mayo 1-12
41 Mins: Kerry look to settle things down, working it up slowly and creating the scoring chance brilliantly, but O’Shea pushes it wide off the left. Kerry win the next kickout though and Evans gets his first score from it. Kerry 1-9 Mayo 1-12
39 Mins: Mayo show their intent, with Flynn catching it clean and booting it ot Conroy, but Foley does well. Kerry look like they’re building well but the ball is robbed back superblyand O’Donoghue makes a super run up the line.
GOAL for Mayo! Darragh Beirne buries it after that incredible move. O’Donghue’s run was wonderful and the finish was brilliant. Kerry 1-8 Mayo 1-12
37 Mins: That’s a classy kick by McDonald and Mayo lead for the first time. Kerry win the kickout though and go quickly. Great play by Seán O’She to switch it out, but Joe O’Connor hits a terrible wide. Kerry 1-8 Mayo 0-12
36 Mins: Keith Evans is on for Tom O’Sullivan for Kerry. Carney win the throw-in again there and Mayo work an early score to level things. Beirne might have bounced it twice, but his half-blocked effort goes over. Then Mayo win the kickout and Kobe is blocked down, then tries to bury it off the ground, but it’s smothered by Murphy. McDonald will take the 45′ himself. Kerry 1-8 Mayo 0-11
Denis Walsh has his say on that entertaining first 35 minutes:
«After an intriguing first half Kerry lead by a point 1-8 to 0-10, though not in a way that anybody would have expected. Having dominated the first quarter, the All-Ireland champions raced into a 1-5 to 0-1 advantage after just 16 minutes. David Clifford struck for the goal after a lovely pass from the rampant Seán O’Shea.
For Mayo it was a massive gut check. Their immediate response was a Jack Carney two pointer, their first successful kick from outside the arc at their fifth attempt. After that their high pressing game started to bear fruit. A Ryan O’Donoghue two pointer initiated a run of three unanswered scores and when Tommy Conroy kicked a towering point two minutes before the break, Mayo were back on level terms.
Kerry recovered the lead with their final attack of the first half, but Mayo will have the breeze in the second half and it will be fascinating to see if they can build on this platform. «
This might be the most David Clifford score of all time, including both a backdoor cut and a dummy to beat the ‘keeper. After trailing by six though, Mayo have done superbly to get right back into this.
Half-time: Kerry 1-8 Mayo 0-10
Joe O’Connor does get that last point of the half for Kerry with a driving run. In the build-up though, David Clifford seemed to be cleared out of it by Ryan O’Donoghue after handing the ball off. There was a stoppage but he appears to be fine.
34 Mins: Superb fielding from Seán O’Brien, as Shane Murphy is forced to go long with the kickout. Kerry will look to work a final shot of the half now. Kerry 1-7 Mayo 0-10
33 Mins: Mayo force an error off a short kickout again, with Mike Breen touching it over the line. Conroy goes for a long-range one-pointer, sending it high. HawkEye gets called in and it’s a clear Tá! It’s a draw game. Kerry 1-7 Mayo 0-10
32 Mins: Ryan O’Donoghue goes for two again, and Shane Murphy drops it and can’t get it cleared properly. Then Mayo push up brilliantly on the Kerry defence, win it back and win a free. Beirne points it and its a one-point game. Kerry 1-7 Mayo 0-9
30 Mins: Nice easy score for Tom O’Sullivan after a good move by Kerry. That’s more like their usual stuff. Kerry 1-7 Mayo 0-8
29 Mins: That effort from O’Shea is well wide. Maybe we’ve all got drawn into this Canal End hoodoo because Mayo are the ones landing the two-pointers on-and-off. Kobe McDonald creates a great score for Sam Callinan, who just about bundles it over excellently while totally off balance. Kerry 1-6 Mayo 0-8
28 Mins: Jack Coyne gets a bit over-enthusiastic with a tackle on Dylan Casey that catches the Kerry man in the head, so Kerry have a two-point free on the right. Kerry 1-6 Mayo 0-7
27 Mins: O’Donoghue slots that free over. Kerry get their kickout away a little bit further up this time. Mayo are doing a good job of pressuring Kerry in midfield too now, not allowing them to have it easily like Dublin did two weeks ago. Kerry 1-6 Mayo 0-7
25 Mins: Conroy wins a free straight away after a shove from Foley. That’s out on the sideline, just inside the arc, but Beirne floats it over brilliantly. Then Mayo put pressure on the short kickout and win a free for overcarrying. Great pressure from O’Donoghue. Kerry 1-6 Mayo 0-6
24 Mins: Livingstone is getting good short kickouts away. Mayo go around the arc again, and this time Ryan O’Donoghue goes for it and nails it from a yard or two outside the arc.
Mayo replace Paul Towey with Tommy Conroy. That’s usually a half-time swap, but they’re deploying the speedster early today. Kerry 1-6 Mayo 0-5
22 Mins: Kobe McDonald gets his first bit of freedom, running up the right wing, but he hits a terrible effort from outside the arc in the end. Joe O’Connor pings it up the line for Clifford, who hits a great switch to O’Shea for a fisted point. Kerry 1-6 Mayo 0-3
21 Mins: Paudie Clifford lofts a poor two-point attempt and Livingstone claims it well. Then they make an absolute bags of it coming out, and end up fouling Tom O’Sullivan just outside the arc on the right; David Clifford Central. In the end though, he pulls it wide. Kerry 1-5 Mayo 0-3
20 Mins: Seán O’Brien wins the kickout handily, but Tom O’Sullivan misses another shot with the outside of the boot, right where he’d usually nail it. Kerry 1-5 Mayo 0-3
19 Mins: Twice now Paul Murphy has been lucky enough to get frees after nearly being turned over in front of his own goal. Kerry work it up and Tom O’Sullivan goes for a two-pointer with the outside of the boot, trailing it wide. Kerry 1-5 Mayo 0-3
17 Mins: Seán O’Shea continues the momentum with a point right after the goal. Then Mayo finally get a breakthrough with a Jack Carney two-pointer. Kerry 1-5 Mayo 0-3
15 Mins: GOAL for Kerry! Kerry won the kickout and David Clifford does his usual backdoor cut, running onto a pass from O’Shea, rounding Livingstone and burying it. Kerry 1-4 Mayo 0-1
13 Mins: Mayo swarm high up the pitch and win it back, but then Ryan O’Donoghue throws away possession with a terrible fist pass. They need to start capitalising on these chances soon. Kerry just take some of the sting out of this with a period of possession, before Seán O’Shea slots one over. Dylan Geaney is back on anyways. Kerry 0-4 Mayo 0-1
11 Mins: The little bit of grease on the ball has an early effect as a Paudie Clifford pass runs away from O’Brien for a Mayo sideline. Kerry are doing a great job of pressurising Mayo around the edges so far. Another two-point miss for Mayo, from Towey. Kerry 0-3 Mayo 0-1
10 Mins: The players are all getting their gloves on now. Dylan Geaney is down injured so the clock is off right now. It doesn’t look good at all, and Keith Evans is being readied to replace him. Kerry 0-3 Mayo 0-1
10 Mins: After keeping the ball so well, Jordan Flynn wastes possession by going for a long range effort. He makes up for it by winning the kickout, but Darragh Beirne is the latest to miss from outside the arc for the Connacht side. Kerry 0-3 Mayo 0-1
8 Mins: David McBrien lands Mayo’s first score of the game with a fisted point. Then Jack Carney wins the kickout brilliantly so Mayo have it back. They work the ball around the arc, and Kerry are well pushed out to the 45′. Kerry 0-3 Mayo 0-1
6 Mins: Kerry win the kickout and Paudie plays a low kick pass into David, who burns McHugh down the outside and fists it over. Mayo win the next kickout and really need to create a score. Paul Towey is nearly robbed, but just about earns a sideline. McNally is letting the players get physical so far. Kerry 0-3 Mayo 0-0
5 Mins: Mayo bring it up the field through Enda Hession, but he lays it off to O’Donoghue, who is stripped of the ball. Two kicks up the field and David Clifford taps over his first score of the day with his left. Bad turnover by Mayo. Kerry 0-2 Mayo 0-0
3 Mins: Mayo win the ball back off David Clifford in his first possession, bringing a big cheer. Ryan O’Donoghue wins his first ball well ahead of Foley, but drops a two-point effort short and the fisted effort added on does not yield a score. Mayo show dogged defence, but Paudie Clifford slips the tackle and Seán O’Shea plays in Seán O’Brien who strikes for goal but misses. Kerry 0-1 Mayo 0-0
1 Min: Okay, here we go! Kerry playing into the ‘scoring end’ and Mayo into the Hill. Jack Carney wins the throw-in for Mayo. Mayo’s first attack brings no success as Darragh Beirne is forced over the sideline. Mayo are pushing up early but Dylan Casey escapes down the left. Then he follows his run inside and is unmarked for the first score of the game off his left boot. Kerry 0-1 Mayo 0-0
There’s a minute’s silence for Stephen Gollogly before the playing of Amhrán na bhFiann.
The parade is turning down towards the Hill now and it sounds like a great atmosphere. Looks like an even enough split in the crowd, although it’s hard to tell and there are a lot of Mayo flags in the Cusack.
The atmosphere is building, as the Mayo fans in Croker sing along to ‘To Win Just Once’ by The Saw Doctors. Catherine Connolly is now out to meet the two teams ahead of the game.
Seán Moran gives us his for the All-Ireland football final, and he expects Kerry to pick up their 40th title.
[Kerry v Mayo: No drama and defending champions will collect a 40th All-Ireland title]
Mayo’s terrible streak in finals poses a question about their mentality, but their ability to continually get there throws that thinking into doubt. Denis Walsh chronicles the continuous journey the county have been on to try and reach the promised land.
[Mayo’s mentality has always been questioned after All-Ireland defeats, but is it at simple as that?]
The full team news is out now, and Malachy was right that Tom O’Sullivan would come in for Diarmuid O’Connor. Meanwhile, Paul Towey comes in for Conor Loftus, as in previous games and Mayo’s Diarmuid O’Connor replaces Stephen Coen.
Kerry: Shane Murphy; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Tom O’Sullivan, Mike Breen, Gavin White; Mark O’Shea, Seán O’Brien; Joe O’Connor, Seán O’Shea, Graham O’Sullivan; Paudie Clifford, David Clifford, Dylan Geaney.
Mayo: Jack Livingstone; Jack Coyne, Donnacha McHugh, Eoin McGreal; Sam Callinan, David McBrien, Enda Hession; Bob Tuohy, Jack Carney; Diarmuid O’Connor, Paul Towey, Jordan Flynn; Darragh Beirne, Ryan O’Donoghue, Kobe McDonald.
Kerry “should win pulling up”, but a Mayo team guided by a deadly front trio and Paddy Tally’s defensive acumen could pose the Kingdom some problems according to Conor McManus.
[Conor McManus: Kerry may be the best football team, but they are not out of sight yet]
And Kerry’s Darragh Ó Sé brings us the guide to his county’s starting XV. It’s a similar team to the one that brought home the Sam Maguire twelve months ago.
[Darragh Ó Sé’s player-by-player guide to Kerry’s starting team for the All-Ireland final]
Okay, only 50 minutes left til throw-in. Here’s the player-by-player guide to this year’s underdogs, Mayo.
[Stephen Rochford’s player-by-player guide to Mayo’s starting team for the All-Ireland final]
Even with all the heartache over the years, Mayo are always one of the best supported counties in the country. Malachy Clerkin looks back at how his own friends have dealt with the losses through the years.
[Here’s what I’ve learned from 22 years of meeting Mayo friends after All-Ireland finals]
Some big live news coming out of Croke Park from Malachy Clerkin:
“Both teams have made changes to their panels after picking up injuries during the week. They’re significant too – Stephen Coen is out for Mayo and Diarmuid O’Connor doesn’t make the 26 for Kerry. John McMonagle comes into the Mayo panel, Cillian Trant is added to Kerry’s.
No word yet on exactly who will come into either team. Seems likely that Tom O’Sullivan will start for Kerry with Graham O’Sullivan moving to wing-forward. And either Paddy Durcan or Diarmuid O’Connor will surely replace Coen. Should know for sure in the next 20 minutes or so.»
Kerry’s Diarmuid O’Connor spoke to Ian O’Riordan about his routine in the build-up to big games. The schoolteacher says the empty summer’s days can be a blessing and a curse, as you have to figure out a new routine to stop yourself overthinking things on weeks like these.
[Kerry’s Diarmuid O’Connor leaning on tested routines to calm the mind ahead of All-Ireland final]
Even though a lot of the coverage leading into today’s game has focused on both sides’ strength up front, it’s the men in between the posts who could have the greatest say on proceedings today. Neither ‘keeper started this year as the number one, but both have excelled given the chance. While Mayo’s Jack Livingstone has put together a brilliant highlight reel of saves this year, Kerry are expected to get the greatest benefit from their goalie, thanks to Shane Murphy’s pinpoint kickouts.
[Mayo and Kerry’s breakout star goalkeepers will be pivotal in Sunday’s All-Ireland final]
Here’s Malachy Clerkin’s All-Ireland final by the numbers. 75 is the big number that Mayo want to cast off today.
[All-Ireland football final by the numbers: For Mayo, 75 needs no explaining]
Andy Moran came on a sub in both the previous Kerry-Mayo finals this century, with the Kingdom winning by eight points in 2004 and 13 points in 2006. In both games, the winners ran away with things early, so Moran will be hoping to avoid an early blitz like that this week. However, Darragh Ó Sé thinks all the signs say that his home county will be crowned champions again this weekend.
[In this All-Ireland final, it’s hard to see anything other than a Kerry win]
One man who is not as pessimistic as most about Mayo’s chances today is former manager Stephen Rochford. Even though he still sees an advantage for the Kingdom, he thinks that his former charges stand a good chance.
[Stephen Rochford: Mayo might not need a miracle to beat Kerry after all]
It’s a bit of a mismatch in terms of current ability, but when two stars have such recognisability it is almost inevitable that David Clifford and Kobe McDonald are being viewed the protagonists today’s All-Ireland final. That much is clear from tickets to today’s showpiece, which feature the two forwards. Although the AFL-bound teenager is not quite on Clifford’s level just yet, there are similarities in the weight of expectation placed on them at an early, writes Malachy Clerkin.
[There is no comparison between Kobe McDonald and David Clifford – except in one vital respect]
Before we start building up for today’s game, it would be a shame not to mention that today’s football final is Seán Moran’s final one as our GAA correspondent. Seán has written a lovely reflection on the changes he’s seen down through the years ahead of yet another big game for him at Croker.
[Recollections from the road: The highs, lows and what I’ll miss after 32 years as a GAA correspondent]
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2026 All-Ireland football final. We’re finally at the end of the championship season, and after a highly eventful and enjoyable final we are left with just Kerry and Mayo for today’s showpiece.
It’s the third time this century that these two have met in the All-Ireland final, with Kerry running out big winners in ’04 and ‘06. 20 years on from that second game, the Kerry stars are no longer Donaghy and Cooper, with the Clifford brothers picking up that mantle. Meanwhile, today’s challengers still have an inspirational McDonald up front, and it’s the trio of him, Ryan O’Donoghue and Darragh Beirne that have the Mayo supporters dreaming.
The favourites, Kerry, are looking to go back-to-back for only the second time this century, while Mayo look to upset the odds and break their 75-year wait for Sam Maguire glory. This one throws in at 3.30pm.
