Mayo nonagenarian on cloud nine after witnessing win in Croke Park

One of the oldest Mayo supporters cheering on Andy Moran's men in Croke Park last Sunday was Ann Burke who is in her 90s and flew from her home in Leeds to witness history in the making.

A native of Ballinrobe, Ann has lived in Leeds since the late 1950s when she moved there with her husband Michael Burke but despite the passage of time, Mayo will always be her home.

“I don't think home ever leaves you...you are Mayo until the day you die,” she told The Mayo News.

Her grandson, Jamie managed to get his hands on two tickets for the final and once he did he booked flights to Dublin and flew in for the morning of the game. Ann described seeing Jack Coyne lift Sam Maguire after 75 years as a dream come true.

“It was a miracle and a dream come true to see the cup come back to Mayo. Never in my lifetime did I think Mayo would win it and I don't have many years left. I am in my 90s now.

“It was their determination that got them there,” she said, adding that she had St Jude wrapped around a Mayo flag in her handbag and St Jude 'never lets me down'.

The eldest of seven children, Ann recalled that her brother Tony was in Croke Park the last time Mayo won the All-Ireland in 1951 but she was not allowed to go as according to her brothers going to a football match 'wasn't a ladies place'.

She met her husband Michael, who lived on the Galway side of the border in Ballindine, at a dance in Ballinrobe and they moved to Leeds in 1957. Her father James died when she was young and not long after moving to Leeds, her mother, Nora also passed away and four of her young siblings went to live with her.

Her brother Paddy Reddington who died in 2024 lived in Friars Court outside Ballinrobe and was her last sibling living in Ballinrobe.

Ann explained that there is a large Mayo population living in Leeds and she would always watch the All-Ireland finals in the Irish Centre in Leeds. This time she was delighted to be in Croke Park to witness it live.

Her grandson Jamie who was with her said she was gutted they had to go to the airport after the game to return to Leeds and joked she wanted him to call in sick from work so they could join the celebrations in Mayo.

Fortunately, Ann had already booked her annual holidays back to Ireland and she was on the boat from Holyhead last Thursday morning and managed to make the homecoming in Charlestown.

READ: Andy Moran: 'I never thought I'd get emotional for a Charlestown man'

Ann said that despite her advancing years she would 'do it all again tomorrow morning if they were playing'.

She will be in Ireland for three weeks and she is determined to get her hands on Sam Maguire before returning to Leeds. Jamie said it was a pleasure to be with her seeing Mayo lift the Sam Maguire after so long.

“I am lucky to still have my nanny but to have a nanny who is still able to travel over from Leeds to Dublin and go to Croke Park and walk all the way in is special.

“There was great camaraderie at the game and after the match someone from Kerry turned around and shook her hand. You could tell she is not 21 and people were saying it must be great for someone of her age to come and actually see them win it.

“She has been on cloud nine ever since and hasn't needed her walking stick since. It was better than Lourdes,” he laughed.