‘They won’t laugh at us anymore’, Andy Moran tells thousands of Mayo supporters
Mayo supporters Elijah and Cillian enjoying the homecoming for the team and Sam Maguire trophy at Castlebar following Sunday's victory over Kerry in the GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final at Croke Park. Picture: John Sheridan/Sportsfile
Mayo manager Andy Moran has told tens of thousands of fans that “they won’t laugh at us anymore”, as his team brought home the Sam Maguire Cup in a historic win for their long-denied supporters.
Moran thanked the crowd of all ages who filled MacHale Park stadium in Castlebar, carrying flags bearing the players’ faces, setting off flares, singing and chanting, and carrying Mayo for Sam number plates.
They chanted “Andy” as he took to the stage alongside the Mayo players after they ended a 75-year All-Ireland senior football championship drought.
The team’s dramatic triumph against Kerry in the men’s senior football final at Dublin’s Croke Park on Sunday finally put to bed one of sport’s most famous and long-running curses, sparking scenes of mass jubilation in Mayo.
Mr Moran told the crowd: “They sneered at us. They laughed at us, but they won’t laugh at us anymore.”
Asked how he felt this morning, he said: “I was feeling good; there was a lot of media done, but when we crossed the border into Ballyhaunis, as Jack [Coyne, captain] said: ‘Stick your chest out and be proud for being from Mayo.’
“We have 42 guys behind us who have literally given their heart, but they’ve given their heart not just for themselves or for anything else; they’ve given it from Ballaghaderreen to Charlestown to Belmullet to Kilmaine to Castlebar.
“They’ve given it for ye people, and Kobe [McDonald] said something this morning; he said if we give ye energy, ye’ve given to us back and by God, did you give it to us back.”
As the adoring public continued to cheer, he further stated: “People kept going to me — what did you imagine? And I just go, how would we know? We haven’t a clue.
“They were slagging us last night on the Sunday game I heard, in jest, having fun that we didn’t even know how to lift a cup, and it was the truth — we didn’t.
“It’s been 75 bloody years since we done it, so.
“Have I ever thought that I’d see MacHale Park full like this for anything else bar the Saw Doctors? I didn’t.
“We were here. We lost six finals, a couple of lads lost six finals with me, and we always had 4,000-8,000 people here. I knew it was going to be nuts, but guys, this is just incredible.”
Captain Jack Coyne, who called on Mayo people to be proud of their county in the conclusion of his victory speech in Croke Park, said as he looked out at the crowd on Monday:
“Just look around here. Every corner of MacHale Park is filled with Mayo people, just so good to be back home with Sam Maguire." He added:
I knew the crowd were going to turn out; just looking at this, it’s absolutely unbelievable.
“So just thank you from the bottom of our hearts, every single one of us, for turning out for us today.”
Mayo player Rob Hennelly led the crowd in a rendition of the now-famous Mayo anthem Green And Red Of Mayo by the Saw Doctors, followed by a further rendition of the song from TikTok star and Mayo native Garron Noone.
The players stopped to sign hats and jerseys for young fans as they filed out of the stadium.
Denise McMahon from Ballina — one of the eager first cohort of fans — said they have been “waiting on Sam 75 years”.
“The panic is over now,” she said.
“We’ve done it, and we’re here, and we cannot wait for the bus to pull up and see the lads bring the Sam Maguire rightly back to Castlebar and Mayo.”
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