GOD is on Mayo's side for their All-Ireland final clash against Dublin on Sunday.
The parish priest of a riverside town where a 'curse' was
supposedly laid on Mayo's All-Ireland winning team of 1951 has given his
blessing to the 2013 squad.
Standing on the bridge that spans the
River Moy in Foxford yesterday, Fr Padraic Costello expressed
scepticism about the curse story.
Popular legend has it that as
the winners in 1951 were making their way to Ballina, they failed to pay
proper respect when they encountered a funeral.
A local priest is said
to have been so incensed that he cursed the team, decreeing that while
any of its members lived, Mayo would never win an All-Ireland final.
The
priest's alleged prophecy appears to be holding. Despite a spate of
All-Ireland appearances – seven in total since 1989 – Mayo have yet to
repeat the success of 62 years ago.
Fr Costello, a Gaelic player
of note in his younger days, has, like all other Mayo people, heard ad
infinitum the curse story recounted over the years.
Fr Padraic was
doubtful there was ever a funeral, curse or a priest involved in Mayo's
ongoing misfortune. "There doesn't seem to be any basis in the curse
story," he said.
"As Andy Moran, the present team captain, said
recently, the reason we haven't won an All-Ireland title since 1951 is
because we weren't good enough."
Fr Costello pointed out the
authenticity of the 'curse' legend was damaged by the fact that, in one
telling, the funeral incident occurred in Foxford, while in another it
occurred in Athlone.
Fr Costello won't be celebrating Mass in St Michael's Church, Foxford, on Sunday as he has secured a ticket for the game.
But
at Masses locally, he has been interceding on behalf of the squad. "I'm
not praying that the team wins," he's anxious to point out, "just that
they perform to the best of their ability."