“As long as any member of this team lives,
Mayo will never again win an All Ireland Football Final”.
So roared the priest, as the victorious team of 1951 passed by.
The shocked members of the funeral party stood in silence.
Just minutes earlier the bus carrying the triumphant football team of 1951,
had passed through the village of Foxford,
a small village in County Mayo.
The bus had passed the grieving party,
without, according to the furious priest,
paying due respect to the funeral party.
This was an Ireland,
where priests were very powerful members of the community.
They controlled Irish life from education, to sport,
and all the way to the bedroom,
where birth control was deemed to be a mortal sin.
They were feared by many,
and had the power to berate from the altar,
and even excommunicate.
The hushed funeral party had no doubt,
that the Mayo team were from that day forward “cursed”.
But were they really?
Can one man, even a priest, really hold such power?
Fast forward sixty two years.
Mayo have still to win an All Ireland.
They have come close,
but never won the crown.
This Sunday they will play,
yet another All Ireland Final.
This time against Dublin.
There is so much hype about it.
Some even say Dublin are planning to take precautionary measures.
It is rumored that they will ensure,
that the the three remaining Mayo team members stay alive,
by holding them hostage,
in order to ensure victory.
On the Mayo side.
In order to ensure they are victorious,
a priest has returned to the rumoured spot,
where the original curse was cast.
There he blessed the team,
and released them from the agony of defeat.
What will be the outcome?
Who knows.
Will Dublin win?
Or will Mayo triumph,
for the first time in sixty two years?
If they do,
was it because the curse was lifted?
Sunday approximately 5pm we will know.
All Ireland Football Final Day,
My own belief,
is that there is no curse.
Today at 5pm the result will be known.
Dublin will win,
because the Dubs are the best team.
Almost the whole country will watch,
and shout for Mayo.
The excitement, the cheering, the tears,
the curse and the all Ireland Famine of Mayo,
all add to the day.
The All Ireland Football Final,
so much more than just a game.
Up the Dubs!
photo credit: leinsterman via photopin cc
photo credit: Miroslav Čuljat via photopin cc
My thoughts on a page. 
The church of our youth HAD so much power, and the older generation believed them absolutely, but not any more. I too am supporting the Dubs, only because I have no connections with Mayo, it will be exciting either way. .
The mighty Dubs! 🙂
i’m happy you are feeling some of the joys of life right now, during such a hard time, and like you, i don’t believe in the curse, or the power of the priests, and i say, ‘up the dubs’ on your behalf )
Yahoo, the Dubs won by a point. It’s strange as sometimes life is so normal and then I remember the reality of what’s happening and I’m so sad. None of us can believe what’s happening for my friend.
i know what you are describing and at times you feel guilty for even enjoying life during such a sad time, but life continues, and sometimes it’s these normal/joyful moments that get you through the hard things. hugs )
Spoken by someone who obviously knows! Thank you. I am not naturally a misery and as you say, moments of normality are so necessary. Thanks for the hugs.
Never heard that story 🙂 but typical of the priests of the time that thought they had such power, and of the Irish people of the 50s that fervently believed them.
Plenty still do. And guess what? Dublin won, the curse continues!