Left to Right: John Ryan, Kilmeena; Tara Needham, Louisburgh; Maria Mulderrig, Kilmaine; Fr John Regan PP, Corduff; Lauren Fitzgibbon, Charlestown; Laura O’Donnell, Belmullet; Aoife O’Hanlon, Breaffy; Front Row: Jack Carney and Enda Hession.
There may be more than 200 kilometres between Castlebar and Corduff, but the green and red of Mayo has long had a special place in this corner of Dublin 15. That connection was celebrated in memorable fashion on Friday, 18th September, when the Sam Maguire Cup arrived in Corduff for a special Thanksgiving Mass.
St Patrick’s School and the wider Corduff community have deep connections with County Mayo, built over many years through teachers, families, parishioners and friends who have made Dublin 15 their home while retaining strong links with the west.
Those connections took on an added significance this summer when Mayo finally ended their 75-year wait for the Sam Maguire Cup, defeating Kerry at Croke Park to become All-Ireland Senior Football Champions for the first time since 1951.
After decades of near misses and heartbreak, the famous trophy was finally heading west again but not before making a very special return journey east to a Dublin community where Mayo support has remained remarkably strong.
St Patrick’s has an extraordinary connection with the county, with no fewer than eight members of the teaching staff hailing from Mayo. Among them are John Ryan from Kilmeena, Tara Needham from Louisburgh, Maria Mulderrig from Kilmaine, Lauren Fitzgibbon from Charlestown, Laura O’Donnell from Belmullet and Aoife O’Hanlon from Breaffy.
Tara Needham has represented Mayo Ladies, while John Ryan is an All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship winner with Kilmeena. The school’s connection with Mayo football became even more special this year through Jack Carney and Enda Hession, both members of the Mayo team that finally brought Sam Maguire home after 75 years. Both started in the historic All-Ireland final victory over Kerry at Croke Park, with Kilmeena man Carney producing an outstanding performance at midfield and scoring four points, while Garrymore’s Hession played a key role in the Mayo defence.
Their connection with St Patrick’s meant that Mayo’s triumph was particularly personal for the school community. Children and staff had followed their progress throughout the Championship, and the sight of Sam Maguire arriving in Corduff brought the celebrations they had watched unfold in Croke Park and Mayo right to their own doorstep.
For Maria Mulderrig, from Kilmaine, the arrival of Sam carried another very special family significance. Her two grand-uncles, Mick and Seán Mulderrig, were members of Mayo’s celebrated 1951 All-Ireland-winning squad, with Seán lining out in the final victory over Meath at Croke Park. Seventy-five years later, Sam’s arrival in Corduff created a remarkable link between Mayo’s heroes of 1951, the champions of 2026 and a new generation of children celebrating that success at St Patrick’s.
The link extends beyond the school and into the parish. Fr John Regan PP, a native of Kilmeena, has seen first-hand the strength of Mayo support in Corduff, even during the remarkable period of Dublin success that provided plenty of friendly rivalry over recent years. This year, however, belongs to Mayo.
“We are going to celebrate all year”, said Fr John, who described the opportunity to gather as a community for the Thanksgiving Mass as something very special. More than 1,000 people attended the celebration on Friday, 18 September, as the Sam Maguire Cup took pride of place, an extraordinary turnout demonstrating just how much the occasion meant to Mayo people and their families living in Dublin.
The visit even attracted the attention of RTÉ’s news2day, which came to St Patrick’s to answer a question many viewers might have been asking: why was the Sam Maguire Cup at a school in Dublin? The answer was found in the stories of the people gathered there.
Corduff is home to a community whose roots stretch across the country, and for generations of Mayo people who came to Dublin to live, work, teach and raise their families, their connection with their home county never disappeared. That made the visit about much more than football.
For older Mayo supporters, Sam represented the end of a wait that had lasted most of a lifetime. For younger supporters, it was an opportunity to see and touch a trophy they had previously known through stories of heartbreak and hope. Mayo’s victory sparked celebrations far beyond the county boundaries.
More than 40,000 supporters gathered at MacHale Park in Castlebar to welcome the team and the Sam Maguire Cup home following their historic All-Ireland success, while Mayo communities across Ireland and further afield joined in the celebrations.
On Friday, it was Corduff’s turn. For one morning at least, a corner of Dublin 15 became a little piece of Mayo as schoolchildren, teachers, parishioners, football supporters and families gathered together in thanksgiving. After 75 years of waiting, nobody could blame them if the celebrations in Corduff and Mayo continued for quite some time.
Image Credit: Eoin Horkan Mayo News