2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

2004 All-Ireland Football Championship final
Event2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Date26 September 2004
VenueCroke Park, Dublin
RefereePat McEnaney (Monaghan)
Attendance79,749

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.

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.

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

Final
Kerry1–20 – 2–9Mayo
Report
Croke Park, Dublin
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

References

  1. ^ McGee, Eugene (6 February 2006). "First signs that Mayo might be set to turn back the clock". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 6 February 2006.
  2. ^ a b c d Breheny, Martin (27 September 2004). "Croker rout as Kerry go heavy on Mayo". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 27 September 2004.
  3. ^ Breheny, Martin (9 August 2022). "Five of the worst All-Ireland football finals since 1972". Irish Independent.