2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

The 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 117th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.

2004 All-Ireland Football Championship final

Event	2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Kerry Mayo 1–20 (23) 2–9 (15)
Date	26 September 2004
Venue	Croke Park, Dublin
Referee	Pat McEnaney (Monaghan)
Attendance	79,749
← 2003 2005 →

Match

Summary

Mayo were hoping to bridge a gap that stretched back to their All-Ireland football title winning team of 1951.^[1] They failed, though less miserably than in 2006. Mayo lost their fourth final in a row; in the end Kerry only won by eight points. Dara Ó Cinnéide was the winning captain, while manager Jack O'Connor won the title in his first season in charge.^[2] The match was shown live in Ireland on RTÉ2 as part of The Sunday Game with match commentary from Ger Canning and Martin Carney.

Croke Park kitted out in the green and red of long-suffering Mayo fans at the 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final. Mayo's losing streak in All-Ireland finals continued as they were hammered by Kerry.

Largely regarded as one of the most disappointing All-Ireland football finals for many years, Mayo's capitulation drove spectators from the stadium in their thousands, with Kerry leading by 1–12 to 1–4 at half-time.^[2] Kerry racked up a total of 1–20, the highest team score in an All-Ireland SFC final since the time of 'Bomber' Liston and the 5–11 that decimated Dublin in 1978.^[2] Mayo returned to the All-Ireland SFC final two years later, to be torn apart by Kerry all over again in a final when Kerry surpassed the score they achieved in 2004.

In 2022, Martin Breheny listed it among "five of the worst" All-Ireland SFC finals since 1972.^[3]

Details

26 September 2004

Final

Kerry	1–20 – 2–9	Mayo
	Report

Croke Park, Dublin

Referee: Pat McEnaney (Monaghan)

Kerry

Mayo

Kerry: 1 Diarmuid Murphy 2 Tom O'Sullivan 3 Michael McCarthy 4 Aidan O'Mahony 5 Tomás Ó Sé 6 Éamonn Fitzmaurice 7 Marc Ó Sé 8 Eoin Brosnan 9 William Kirby 10 Liam Hassett 11 Declan O'Sullivan 12 Paul Galvin 13 Colm Cooper 14 Dara Ó Cinnéide (c) 15 Johnny Crowley Substitutes: 19 Seamus Moynihan for L. Hassett 17 Mike Frank Russell for J. Crowley 21 Ronan O'Connor for D. Ó Cinnéide 18 Paddy Kelly for P. Galvin 25 Brendan Guiney for T. Ó Sé Manager: Jack O'Connor

Mayo: 1 Peter Burke 2 Dermot Geraghty 3 David Heaney 4 Gary Ruane (c) 5 Peadar Gardiner 6 James Nallen 7 Pat Kelly 8 Ronan McGarrity 9 Fergal Kelly 10 James Gill 11 Ciarán McDonald 12 Alan Dillon 13 Conor Mortimer 14 Trevor Mortimer 15 Brian Maloney Substitutes: 25 David Brady for Kelly 18 Conor Moran for Geraghty 30 Michael Conroy for Gill 27 Andy Moran for C. Mortimer 22 Paddy Nevin for Heaney Manager: John Maughan

References:^[2]

Kerry subs not used

16 K. Cremin

20 M. Quirke

22 J. Sheehan

23 D. Quill

24 T. Griffin

26 S. O'Sullivan

27 N. Kennelly

28 J. Cronin

29 B. Sheehan

30 R. Ó Flatharta

Mayo subs not used

16 F. Ruddy

17 F. Costello (c)

19 D. Munnelly

20 D. Sweeney

21 A. Costello

23 G. Mullins

24 M. McNicholas

26 B. J. Padden

28 A. O'Malley

29 B. Ruane