2021 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

The 2021 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 134th final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the culmination of the 2021 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The match was played at Croke Park in Dublin on 11 September 2021. It was originally scheduled for 28 August but had to be postponed by two weeks when the Tyrone–Kerry semi-final was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak.^[1][2][3][4]

2021 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

The trophy in August 2013
Event	2021 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Tyrone Mayo 2-14 (20) 0-15 (15)
Date	11 September 2021
Venue	Croke Park, Dublin
Man of the Match	Darren McCurry
Referee	Joe McQuillan (Cavan)
Attendance	41,150
Weather	19 °C (66 °F), Sunny
← 2020 2022 →

Ulster champions Tyrone took on Connacht champions Mayo, in what was their first ever meeting in a final, winning their 4th title after a 2–15 to 2-14 win.^[5] Mayo lost their 11th consecutive final since 1989, losing 6 finals in 9 years, with this latest defeat on an identical scoreline to 2020, when Mayo lost to Dublin.

The game was televised nationally on RTÉ2 as part of The Saturday Game live programme, presented by Joanne Cantwell from the outdoor COVID-19 pandemic-proofed studio at Croke Park, with analysis from Kevin McStay, Seán Cavanagh and Pat Spillane.^[6] Match commentary was provided by Ger Canning, assisted by Tomás Ó Sé.^[7] The game was also televised internationally by Sky Sports.^[8]

Background

• Mayo were aiming to win their fourth title and first All-Ireland since 1951. Since then, they had lost ten finals (1989, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020).^[9]
• Tyrone appeared in their seventh final, winning on three occasions in 2003, 2005 and 2008.^[9]
• This final was the fifth to be contested by county teams from Connacht and Ulster, the other finals were 1925 (Galway beat Cavan), 1943 (Roscommon beat Cavan), 1948 (Cavan beat Mayo) and 2012 (Donegal beat Mayo).^[9]

Paths to the final

Mayo

Mayo v Sligo

26 June 2021 Connacht Quarter-final	Mayo	3–23 – 0–12	Sligo	Markievicz Park, Sligo
16:30
	Gls: Aidan O'Shea 2, Darren McHale 1 Pts: Aidan O'Shea 2, Darren McHale 5, Ryan O'Donoghue 5 (4f), Eoghan McLaughlin, Conor Loftus, Tommy Conroy 2 each, Patrick Durcan, Jordan Flynn, Fergal Boland, Stephen Coen, James Carr 1 each	Report	Pts: Niall Murphy 6 (1f), Sean Carrabine 2, Paddy O'Connor, Liam Gaughan, Mikey Gordon, Keelan Cawley 1 each	Referee: Paul Faloon (Down) Attendance: 200

Mayo v Leitrim

11 July 2021 Connacht Semi-final	Mayo	5–20 – 0–11	Leitrim	MacHale Park, Castlebar
	Gls: Ryan O'Donoghue 1, Darren McHale 2, Darren Coen 1, Tommy Conroy 1 Pts: Ryan O'Donoghue 6 (3f), Darren McHale 1, Darren Coen and Tommy Conroy 3 each, Matthew Ruane and Conor Loftus 2 each, Stephen Coen, Aidan O'Shea, James Carr 1 each	Report	Pts: Keith Beirne 5f, Conor Dolan and Riordan O'Rourke 2 each, Paddy Maguire and Evan Sweeney 1 each	Referee: Fergal Kelly (Longford) Attendance: 3,500

Mayo v Galway

25 July 2021 Connacht Final	Mayo	2–14 – 2–8	Galway	Croke Park, Dublin
13:30
	Gls: Ryan O'Donoghue 1 (pen), Matthew Ruane 1 Pts: Ryan O'Donoghue 3 (2f), Matthew Ruane 2, Conor Loftus and Tommy Conroy 2 each, Rob Hennelly (1 '45), Paddy Durcan, Darren McHale, Kevin McLoughlin, James Carr 1 each	Report	Gls: Shane Walsh 1, Damien Comer 1 Pts: Shane Walsh 1, Matthew Tierney 4 (3f), Paul Conroy 2, Cathal Sweeney 1	Referee: Conor Lane (Cork) Attendance: 18,000

Mayo v Dublin

14 August 2021 All-Ireland Semi-final	Mayo	0–17 – 0–14 (a.e.t.)	Dublin	Croke Park, Dublin
18:00 IST (UTC+1)		(HT: 0–4 – 0–10)
	Pts: Ryan O'Donoghue 5 (2fs), Tommy Conroy and Robert Hennelly (2fs, 1'45) 3 each, Darren Coen, Jordan Flynn, Kevin McLoughlin, Lee Keegan, Conor Loftus, Matthew Ruane 1 each	Report	Pts: Dean Rock 7 (5fs), Ciarán Kilkenny 3 (1m), Paddy Small 2, Con O'Callaghan and Seán Bugler 1 each	Referee: Conor Lane (Cork) Attendance: 24,000

Tyrone

Tyrone v Cavan

10 July 2021 Ulster Quarter-final	Tyrone	1–18 – 0–13	Cavan	Healy Park, Omagh
16:30
	Gls: Brian Kennedy 1 Pts: Darren McCurry 10 (3f, 1m), Cathal McShane 3 (1f), Niall Sludden 2, Peter Harte, Richard Donnelly, Paul Donaghy 1 each	Report	Pts: Gearoid McKiernan 6 (4f), Conor Smith 2, Raymond Galligan 1f, Thomas Galligan, Gerard Smith, Oisin Pierso, Conor Madden 1 each	Attendance: 0[note 1]

Tyrone v Donegal

18 July 2021 Ulster Semi-final	Tyrone	0–23 – 1–14	Donegal	Brewster Park, Enniskillen
13:45 IST (UTC+1)
	Pts: Darren McCurry 7 (3f), Kieran McGeary, Niall Sludden, Tiernan McCann 3 each, Mattie Donnelly 2, Peter Harte, Conor Meyler, Conor McKenna, Frank Burns 1 each, Cathal McShane 1f	Report	Gls: Caolan McGonigle 1 Pts: Paddy McBrearty 4 (2f), Jamie Brennan, Niall O’Donnell 2 each, Michael Langan 2 (1f), Michael Murphy 2f, Ciaran Thompson, Peader Mogan 1 each	Attendance: 0[note 1]

Monaghan v Tyrone

31 July 2021 Ulster Final	Monaghan	0–15 – 0–16	Tyrone	Croke Park, Dublin
16:00
	Pts: Conor McManus 4 (3f), Jack McCarron 1m and Rory Beggan (2f) 2 each, Conor Boyle, Kieran Duffy, Killian Lavelle, Michael Bannigan, Conor McCarthy and Colin Walshe (1m) 1 each	Report	Gls: Darren McCurry 5 (2f, 1m), Mattie Donnelly 3 (1f), Mark Bradley 2, Padraig Hampsey, Michael McKiernan, Niall Sludden, Peter Harte, Kieran McGeary and Cathal McShane 1 each	Attendance: 18,000

Kerry v Tyrone

28 August 2021[note 2] All-Ireland Semi-final	Kerry	0–22 (22) – (23) 3–14 (a.e.t.)	Tyrone	Croke Park, Dublin
15:30 IST (UTC+1)		(HT: 0-09 (9) – (10) 1-07)
	Pts: David Clifford (3f, 1m), Seán O’Shea (6f, 1 '45) 8 each, Paudie Clifford 2, Paul Murphy, Diarmuid O’Connor, Paul Geaney, Tom O’Sullivan 1 each	Report	Gls: Cathal McShane 1, Conor McKenna 2 Pts: Cathal McShane 3 (1f), Darren McCurry 4 (0-2f), Niall Morgan 2 (1 ’45, 1f), Michael McKernan, Ronan McNamee, Pádraig Hampsey, Peter Harte, Mattie Donnelly (1m) 1 each	Referee: David Coldrick (Meath) Attendance: 24,000

Pre-match

Cavan's Joe McQuillan was the referee for the final. He was previously in charge of finals in 2011, 2013, and 2017.^[10][11]

Meath played Tyrone in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final which took place on 28 August, two weeks before the senior final. Meath won the game on a 1–12 to 1–11 scoreline.^[12]

Unlike 2020,^[13] President Michael D. Higgins attended the final, with no official greeting of the players due to COVID-19.^[14]

Match

Summary

In front of a crowd of 41,150 fans (reduced to 50% capacity due to COVID-19),^[15] the match began with Mayo's Aidan O'Shea claiming the throw-in and giving a direct ball into Tommy Conroy who kicked the opening score at 16 seconds.^[16] Mayo, being the slight favourites,^[17] led by 0–02 to Tyrone's 0–01 by the sixth minute.^[14]

At half time, the score was at 0–10 – 0–08, with Tyrone leading by two points.^[18] The second half saw Tyrone score two goals from substitute Cathal McShane and Darren McCurry.^[14][16] Mayo were not able to avail of three other goal scoring opportunities, including a penalty missed by Ryan O'Donoghue.^[19]

Mayo went on to have Matthew Ruane red-carded after an altercation with Tyrone midfielder Conn Kilpatrick.^[20] The victory was first and foremost a tribute to the Ulster champions' defending as a team.^[14] For Mayo, this latest defeat came on an identical scoreline to 2020 and meant the team had lost one third of the total number of All-Ireland SFC finals played since 1989.^[21]

Details

11 September 2021 (2021-09-11) 17:00 IST (UTC+1) All-Ireland Final	Tyrone	2–14 (20) – (15) 0–15 HT: 0–10 – 0-08	Mayo	Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 41,150 Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)
	Darren McCurry 1–4 (0-2f), Cathal McShane 1–0, Niall Morgan 0–3 (0-2f, 0–1 '45), Niall Sludden 0–2, Pádraig Hampsey, Peter Harte (0–1 mark), Kieran McGeary, Mattie Donnelly, Darragh Canavan 0–1 each	Report	Ryan O'Donoghue 0–8 (0-7f), Tommy Conroy 0–2, Robbie Hennelly (0-1f), Lee Keegan, Patrick Durcan, Stephen Coen, Kevin McLoughlin 0–1 each

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Tyrone

Mayo

GK 1 Niall Morgan CB 2 Michael McKernan FB 3 Ronan McNamee CB 4 Pádraig Hampsey (c) WB 5 Frank Burns HB 6 Peter Harte WB 7 Kieran McGeary MF 8 Brian Kennedy  56' MF 9 Conn Kilpatrick  73' WF 10 Conor Meyler HF 11 Michael O'Neill  53' WF 12 Niall Sludden CF 13 Darren McCurry FF 14 Mattie Donnelly  44' CF 15 Conor McKenna  66' Substitutes: GK 16 Lorcan Quinn FW 17 Mark Bradley FW 18 Darragh Canavan  53' DF 19 Paul Donaghy  66' FW 20 Niall Kelly MF 21 Tiernan McCann  70+3' FW 22 Ben McDonnell  56' DF 23 Hugh Pat McGeary DF 24 Cathal McShane  44' FW 25 Jonathan Munroe FW 26 Conor Shields Manager: Feargal Logan & Brian Dooher

GK 1 Rob Hennelly CB 2 Pádraig O'Hora  52' FB 3 Lee Keegan CB 4 Michael Plunkett  HT' WB 5 Paddy Durcan HB 6 Stephen Coen WB 19 Oisín Mullin MF 8 Matthew Ruane MF 9 Conor Loftus  65' WF 10 Diarmuid O'Connor HF 11 Aidan O'Shea (c) WF 12 Bryan Walsh  58' CF 13 Kevin McLoughlin  70+4' FF 14 Tommy Conroy CF 15 Ryan O'Donoghue Substitutes: GK 16 Rory Byrne DF 7 Enda Hession  HT' FW 17 Brendan Harrison FW 18 Colm Boyle FW 20 Rory Brickenden MF 21 Jordan Flynn  52' FW 22 Conor O'Shea DF 23 James Durcan DF 24 Darren Coen  58' FW 25 Aidan Orme  65' FW 26 James Carr  70+4' Manager: James Horan

Man of the Match: Darren McCurry

Post-match

Mayo's curse at All-Ireland finals continued with the county losing 11 consecutive finals, now having lost a third of all All-Ireland football finals played since 1989, with this latest defeat on an identical scoreline to 2020, when Mayo lost to Dublin.^[21] Pat Spillane, referring to Mayo's long losing streak in All-Ireland SFC finals, quoted Samuel Beckett on television afterwards.^[22]

Mayo players Aidan O'Shea and Lee Keegan broke an unwanted record of most All-Ireland football final appearances without winning (6), with the duo losing 6 finals in 9 years (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021).

Conor McKenna became the fourth former AFL player to win the Sam Maguire Cup.^[23]

Brian Dooher became the fifth manager to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship after earlier captaining his county to victory in the same competition (and the first since Páidí Ó Sé in 1997).^[24][25]

See also

• 1918 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, also postponed due to an outbreak of infectious disease
• 1956 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, also postponed due to an outbreak of infectious disease

Notes

1. The game was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
2. The game between Kerry and Tyrone was initially due to be played on 15 August 2021, but was rescheduled to 21 August due to COVID-19 issues. Tyrone subsequently stated that they were unable to play on 21 August as several players had contracted COVID-19. It was eventually rescheduled to 28 August.