The Mayo county football team () represents Mayo in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Mayo GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Connacht Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
Mayo's home ground is MacHale Park, Castlebar. The team's manager is Andy Moran.
Mayo was the second Connacht county to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC), following Galway, but the first to appear in the final. The team last won the Connacht Senior Championship in 2021, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in 2026 and the National League in 2023.
Mayo has acquired a long-term record for reaching All-Ireland SFC finals only to fall at the ultimate hurdle. In 1989, the county reached a first All-Ireland SFC final since its last previous appearance in 1951 only to lose to Cork. In 1996, a freak point by Meath at the end of the final forced a replay, which saw Mayo concede another late score that would deny the county victory. Kerry bridged an 11-year title gap against Mayo in the 1997 final with a three-point win, before torturing them by eight points in the 2004 final and thirteen points in the 2006 final. In the 2012 final, Donegal bridged a 20-year gap between titles, helped in no small part by a nightmare opening quarter for Mayo as Michael Murphy launched a rocket of a shot into the goal after three minutes. Then, in the eleventh minute, Colm McFadden seized the ball from the grasp of Kevin Keane and slid it into the net for a second Donegal goal. Mayo managed thirteen points to Donegal's two goals and eleven, only got on the scoresheet after sixteen minutes when already two goals behind and never led during the match. Mayo qualified for the 2013 final, and once more came up short, this time being seen off by a Dublin team which won by a single point. The 2016 final likewise, a single point against Dublin, though this time after a replay; the drawn game featuring two own goals by Mayo players, a previously unknown occurrence in the sport, which left Mayo behind by five points at half-time despite holding Dublin scoreless for the first 30 minutes of the game. The 2017 final, and another one-point loss to Dublin. The 2020 final and Mayo conceded the fastest goal scored in the history of All-Ireland SFC finals on the way to another loss to Dublin, this one by five points. Another five-point loss followed in the 2021 final, with Ryan O'Donoghue hitting a penalty against the goalpost and numerous other goal chances being squandered. Since 1989, Mayo has played in 13 finals (including replays), losing 11 of them, with the others finishing level. Mayo managed to beat Kerry in the 2026 All-Ireland SFC final, achieving their first title in 75 years.
History Though not affiliated with the GAA through the 1890s, there is strong evidence of local GAA activity in Mayo and the rivalry with Galway which brought success to both counties from the 1930s onwards was already in evidence.
Between them, Galway and Mayo have won more than three quarters of the Connacht Senior Football Championship (SFC) titles that have been contested.
Mayo has an unequalled number of consecutive National Football League titles. The Mayo team were champions in 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1939.
Early years: First All-Ireland SFC title
One of the great turning points in GAA history west of the River Shannon was the 1935 Connacht SFC final when 26,000 spectators witnessed then league title holders Mayo defeat then All-Ireland SFC holders Galway at Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon.
Mayo was leading by a goal in the last minute of the 1936 Connacht SFC final when Brendan Nestor scored an equaliser for Galway; Nestor raised the flag himself and caused a riot. However, Mayo won the replay and went on to capture their first All-Ireland SFC, defeating Laois by 4–11 (23) to 0–5 (5) in the final.
The following year, 1937, the county was the victim of a Louis Blessing last-minute goal in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Cavan, another match that featured a pitch invasion. This ended Mayo's run of 57 matches without defeat.
Mayo dominated the National Football League for six years, but pulled out of the 1939–40 league in a grievance over the 1939 semi-final, a bad-tempered draw and replay with Kerry. Mayo returned to the competition to win its seventh league title in 1941. Due to the Second World War, the league was suspended for four seasons until 1946, and Mayo was unable to add to these successes.
Post-war: Second and third All-Ireland SFC titles Following Mayo's 1939 Connacht SFC final victory, the team took nine years to emerge from the province again.
Mayo narrowly lost the 1948 All-Ireland SFC Final to Cavan and 1949 All-Ireland SFC semi-final to Meath.
However, the county returned to Croke Park to win the 1950 All-Ireland SFC when Louth's Sean Boyle had his kick-out charged down and Mick Flanagan broke through for a freak winning goal, Mayo winning the game by 2–5 (11) to 1–6 (9). Mayo retained the All-Ireland SFC the following year, with Pádraig Carney (known as the flying doctor because he had returned from the United States to play the game) scoring three late points to give Mayo a 2–8 (14) to 0–9 (9) victory against Meath. During this period, Mayo also won the National League in 1949 and 1954, the county's eighth and ninth titles in this competition. Eight wides and a one-point defeat in the replayed 1955 All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Dublin brought this period of success to an end.
Mayo went 12 years without winning another Connacht SFC title. The county then won the 1967 Connacht SFC, ending Galway's four-in-a-row All-Ireland SFC expectations in the process. Another Connacht SFC followed in 1969. Mayo also added a tenth National League title in 1970, defeating Down in the final by a scoreline of 4–7 (19) to 0–10 (10). Despite this success, the 1970s was arguably the least successful decade in the history of Mayo football, as the team failed to win a Connacht SFC title, coming closest when losing the 1975 Connacht SFC final to Sligo after a replay.
1980–1991: Return to regional prominence While Mayo had not won an All-Ireland SFC title since 1951, nor even qualified for the final, the 1980s brought a marked improvement in the team's fortunes. The 1981 championship bridged a twelve-year gap when Mayo defeated Sligo at MacHale Park in Castlebar in the Connacht SFC final by a scoreline of 0–12 to 0–4; however, this was followed by a heavy defeat to the sport's then dominant Kerry team, by a scoreline of 1–6 to 2–19.
The 1982 championship featured a heavy Connacht SFC final defeat to Galway at St Jarlath's Park in Tuam, and a rematch of that final the following year in Castlebar brought another defeat to Galway, by three points on this occasion. Mayo had by then been relegated to Division 2 of the National League and lost a promotion play-off to Roscommon in early 1984. For the third consecutive year, Galway and Mayo met in the Connacht SFC final, this time at Pearse Stadium. The result remained the same, with Galway completing the three-in-a-row, by a scoreline of 2–13 to 2–9.
Mayo and Galway were positioned on opposite sides of the 1985 championship draw, and easy victories over Leitrim (semi-final) and Roscommon in the final, allowed Mayo to win the title. The final notably coincided with the retirement of Roscommon player Dermot Earley Snr, whom the Mayo players chaired from the pitch at the end of the match. Mayo played Dublin in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final, the county's first championship meeting with the Dubs since 1955 ending in a draw, with a scoreline of 1–13 to 1–13. Mayo player John Finn's jaw was broken in mysterious circumstances during the first game; tension was high for the replay. However, despite a goal from Padraig Brogan, Dublin easily defeated Mayo by eight points, with a scoreline of 2–12 to 1–7. Still, this was as close as Mayo had come to an All-Ireland SFC final since 1955. Dermot Flanagan, Willie Joe Padden and Kevin McStay received All Stars in recognition of their performances during the year.
Although 1986 brought promotion to Division 1 of the National League, that year's championship campaign ended with a Connacht SFC semi-final defeat to Roscommon at McHale Park. Mayo reached the Connacht SFC final in the 1987 championship, losing to Galway in a low-scoring match which finished with a scoreline of 0–7 to 0–8. Though the team was relegated to Division 2 of the National League in 1988, the county fared better in that year's championship. Connacht SFC wins over Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon (the last in the final) brought Mayo to another All-Ireland SFC semi-final. However, reigning All-Ireland SFC champions Meath defeated the county, by a scoreline of 0–16 to 2–5, on its way to defend the title.
Former player John O'Mahony took over as manager ahead of the 1989 season. Mixed results in the league were followed by that year's championship. After a draw in the Connacht SFC semi-final against Galway in Tuam, Mayo won the replay by a scoreline of 2–13 to 1–8 in Castlebar, with goals from Liam McHale and Anthony "Larry" Finnerty. The final, against Roscommon, was held in Castlebar. This too resulted in a draw, 0–12 to 1–9. A further 70 minutes at Dr Hyde Park a week later could not separate the teams either, with Mayo winning after extra-time by a scoreline of 3–14 to 2–13. A scrappy game against Tyrone in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final ended with Mayo winning by a scoreline of 0–12 to 1–6. This victory was made famous by an iconic image of a bandaged Willie Joe Padden. Mayo's first All-Ireland SFC final appearance in 38 years was against Cork, the runner-up in the previous two competitions. Though Mayo substitute Finnerty scored a goal in the middle of the second half, Cork won by a scoreline of 0–17 to 1–11. All Stars followed that year for Gabriel Irwin, Jimmy Browne, Dermot Flanagan, Willie Joe Padden and Noel Durkin. The team Mayo selected for the 1989 All-Ireland SFC final was full of players more accustomed to the role of midfielder than anything else, e.g. T. J. Kilgallon at centre-back and Greg Maher at wing-forward.
Mayo's 1990 championship was brief, a 2–11 to 1–12 defeat to Galway in Tuam. The following season proved little better; after big wins against London and Galway, Mayo met Roscommon in the Connacht SFC final. Derek Duggan's long-range last-minute free for Roscommon led to a replay at Dr Hyde Park, a game which Mayo lost by one point on a scoreline of 0–13 to 1–9. John O'Mahony resigned as manager at the end of the season, following a dispute between himself and the county board over team selector appointments.
1991–1995: Further decline; relegation to Division 3 Though Mayo won Connacht SFC titles in 1992 and 1993, the early 1990s was a largely unsuccessful period for the county, as the standard of Connacht football declined significantly between 1990 and 1995.
Former Dublin player Brian McDonald took over as manager for the 1992 season, which proved more successful for Mayo. Following a Connacht SFC first round replay victory over Galway, Mayo defeated Sligo in the Connacht SFC semi-final and then Roscommon in the final. This set up a first championship meeting for the county with Donegal in a 1992 All-Ireland SFC semi-final. Donegal, however, defeated Mayo by a scoreline of 0–13 to 0–9 to qualify for a first All-Ireland SFC final in team history, achieving an unanticipated victory over Dublin in that game. TJ Kilgallon received an All Star at midfield. A player revolt, over allegations concerning his training methods (which were said to include pushing a car around a car park), led to McDonald departing as manager.