WITH DONEGAL HAVING not won an All-Ireland SFC since 1992, and Mayo failing to triumph in the competition since 1951, at least one of the sides are set to end a long wait for glory on Sunday.
With that in mind, here are seven other instances of teams who eventually broke their losing streaks.
Brazil 1994 World Cup win
The pressure was on Brazil, having failed to win the World Cup since their fabled team of 1970 achieved the feat. However, in 1994, they eventually delivered, despite failing to emulate Jack Charlton’s Ireland by beating Italy inside 90 minutes.
A tense 17-15 win over Wales in 2009 was enough to ensure Ireland’s first Grand Slam win in 61 years. They had won their only other Grand Slam in 1948, when a Jack Kyle-inspired side beat Wales at Ravenhill to triumph, back when the competition only included five nations.
Dublin often flattered to deceive ever since winning the All-Ireland Championship in 1995, but their moment of glory finally arrived last year, as Stephen Cluxton’s climactic free sealed a narrow win over Kerry in memorable fashion.
Against all the odds, the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004. They beat the St Louis Cardinals by four games to none in a best-of-seven series, claiming the title for the first time in 86 years – a wait that makes most others on this list seem positively brief by comparison.
Perhaps more so than any other team on this list, there was a huge amount of pressure on New Zealand to break their losing streak in 2011 when they hosted the competition. Ever since winning the first-ever World Cup in 1987 – when they also served as hosts – they had gained a reputation as chokers, failing to emulate their earlier success while seemingly possessing the talent to do so. This time around, they beat France, despite a palpably nervous performance, to end their long wait for glory, much to the relief of the country’s avid rugby fans.
It may seem hard to believe given their series of increasingly impressive accomplishments since, but in 1993, United won the league for the first time since 1967, fighting off the challenge of Aston Villa, and thus beginning a period that would develop into years of dominance for Alex Ferguson’s men.
In a tense, hard-fought game, Cork beat Down 0-16 to 0-15 to win the All-Ireland for the first time since 1990, when they beat this year’s finalists Meath by 0-11 to 0-09. The victory came as somewhat of a surprise, as they had been knocked out at only the semi-final stage by Kerry in the Munster Championship of that year.
Galway in 1998 – 32 years since winning the 3 in-a-row. Also first team from Connaught in 32 years after several heartbreaking final defeats (e.g. Mayo 96,97, 89 Roscommon ’80, Galway ’83)
Also Galway hurlers in 1980. First time in 57 years, spraking the most memorable after match celebratations of a generation.
Not to mention Armagh in 2002 breaking a 118 year duck and Tyrone in 2003 breaking a 119 year duck.
So no, Cork going a full 10 years doesn’t really merit mention….
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I’m from cork and don’t think cork or Dublin belong in that list! What about Clare hurlers in ’95?
I was just about to say Clare in 95, even the Munster title was a 70+ year wait and I think it was 81 years wait for the all Ireland
Galway in 1998 – 32 years since winning the 3 in-a-row. Also first team from Connaught in 32 years after several heartbreaking final defeats (e.g. Mayo 96,97, 89 Roscommon ’80, Galway ’83)
Also Galway hurlers in 1980. First time in 57 years, spraking the most memorable after match celebratations of a generation.
Not to mention Armagh in 2002 breaking a 118 year duck and Tyrone in 2003 breaking a 119 year duck.
So no, Cork going a full 10 years doesn’t really merit mention….
Ah the 92-93 team and the double winning team of a year later bring back so many memories, good good times!