Mayo's long list of grievances - 10 times they have been written off and dismissed

If he lifts the Sam Maguire on Sunday, Mayo captain Jack Coyne would be entitled to deliver a 'Golden Cleric' speech for the ages.

Mayo moans: L-R Pat Spillane, Joe Brolly and Philly McMahon have had harsh words for Mayo teams.

It’s almost too tantalising a thought. Jack Coyne walks up the Hogan Stand steps, raises the Sam Maguire Cup and then picks up the microphone.

Where does he start? Where does he end?

In 2003, Peter Canavan warned his oration would go on as “it took me a long time to get me up here.” Coyne could take forever and Mayo supporters would cherish his every word. Croke Park’s 17 years without a pitch invasion could be under threat too.

If the Ballyhaunis man wants to settle some old scores, he can. God knows there are plenty of grievances. Almost too many to consider. But in the event he is looking for inspiration, here are 10:

“They fucking blew it. Mayo will never win an All-Ireland! I’m fucking telling you! Write this down! Put it in block capitals! AS LONG AS I’M ALIVE MAYO WILL NEVER WIN AN ALL-IRELAND.” – Ex-Dublin performance coach Fergus Connolly in 2017.

“Mayo win all the All-Stars awards and the player of the year and all this sort of crap but they always do because they’re such a tragic outfit. Andy Moran getting player of the year – he played half a game in every match. The Mayo goalkeeper (David Clarke) getting the All-Star ahead of (Stephen) Cluxton there one year. Dublin beat Mayo by 10 points in the semi-final last year when it was supposed to be a close match. I don’t have much time for this Mayo team myself.” 

– Dr David Hickey in this newspaper on the day of the 2020 All-Ireland SFC final.

“They talk about Einstein's theory of insanity of doing the same thing over and over again and hoping it might be different. The reason Mayo will never win an All-Ireland is that they don't have the forward power.” 

– Pat Spillane in 2022.

"Mayo have had more chances than anyone else to win an All-Ireland. They haven't won one because, in the end, they don't trust each other because it's not a group of equals. There's all this guff that follows them around. Standing ovations... it's the celebration of mediocrity.” 

– Joe Brolly in 2019.

“Between the 2012 All-Ireland semi-final and last year’s semi-final, we played Mayo 17 times and their inability to win any of those games defies any real sporting logic. As does their failure to win any of the seven All-Irelands they’ve played in since 2012. I’m a big believer that games are won and lost before they’re played. You can be as meticulous as you want and break any defeat into its constituent parts. But, really, if your team underperforms repeatedly in finals, it’s probably something that can’t be expressed in possession stats or conversion rates 

– Philly McMahon in 2022.

“They would want to grow up a small bit. They would want to stop putting the heat on themselves when it comes to an All-Ireland final. They need to get out there and play. The players, for some reason, lack the stomach to get the best out of themselves on All-Ireland final day.” 

– Larry Tompkins in this newspaper in 2014.

“What if Aidan O'Shea, Keith Higgins, Colm Boyle, Cillian O'Connor etc were from Dublin or Kerry and trying to make the breakthrough? Anyone really think they'd get such an easy ride from supporters after losing so many All-Ireland finals? I think that seeps into your psyche. You're living in a culture where it's alright to be a loser. You're still a hero. That makes no sense to me. The Mayo supporters cushion the blow for the players, and I don't think that's a good thing.” 

– Vinny Murphy before the 2017 All-Ireland final.

“Mayo are celebrity losers. Since 2012, this team has won every game that didn't matter and none that did. How many chances do they need? Players would give their right arm to have the opportunity once. They are not prepared to give anything.” –

Brolly, again, in 2016.

“You don’t get any more out of sport than you earn, so I don’t ever give a lot of time to anyone saying they deserve to have won an All-Ireland. My way of looking at it is that the scoreboard has all these little numbers at the end and they tell you who deserves an All-Ireland and much as I've admired Mayo over the years and wished that they could get over the line, they didn't and that's all there is about it. Deserve's got nothing to do with it, as Clint Eastwood said.” 

– Darragh Ó Sé in 2019.

“I don't believe they (Mayo) were unlucky to lose any of those All-Irelands — in fact, I think they were lucky to have lost by as little as they did because Dublin were significantly better than them. Dean Rock's point last year was a blessing to Mayo because they would have been decimated in extra-time” 

– Hickey, once more, in 2016.