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Christy O'Connor: Mayo’s Darby Day and the biggest All-Ireland final shock in history

Ten minutes into the All-Ireland football final, it was obvious that Mayo weren’t going to leave Croke Park with any regrets.

The longer the All-Ireland final went on, the stronger Mayo were getting, and the more Kerry were gasping for air. Pic: Chani Anderson

Mon, 27 Jul, 2026 - 02:30

Christy O’Connor

Prior to yesterday, the most famous All-Ireland final of all – the Offaly-Kerry 1982 decider – was the most famous for obvious reasons; Seamus Darby’s iconic late goal and how it denied Kerry their five-in-a-row immortality. That level of history, and how Offaly shaped it, was always going to attach an unmatched status to the game, but the aura around it was inflated by the shock factor of the result.

It was the biggest shock in modern history but how much of an upset was it either? Offaly had lost to Kerry in the previous year’s final, while they racked up 4-10 against Mick O’Dwyer’s side in the 1980 semi-final. Could the heavy hand of history potentially weigh down one of the greatest teams of all time? It did that afternoon in 1982.

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