The Galway–Mayo rivalry is a Gaelic football rivalry between Irish county teams Galway and Mayo, who first played each other in 1901. It is considered to be one of the biggest rivalries in Gaelic games. Mayo's home ground is MacHale Park in Castlebar, while Galway play their home games in Salthill's Pearse Stadium or St Jarlath's Park in Tuam.

The Tribesmen have enjoyed greater success in the All-Ireland, having won nine titles to Mayo's four. However Mayo has experience more recent success having won the Sam Maguire in 2026 while Galway has not won it since 2001. The rivalry has historically been good-natured but has taken on a harder edge since the turn of the millennium, with the mood between supporters souring.

History The rivalry between the teams has been added to by Mayo students attending the St Jarlath's College boarding school in Tuam.

One of the oldest rivalries in Gaelic football, the fixture was first contested in the 1901 Championship with Mayo winning by 2-4 to 0-3 on the day. The game, which took place in Claremorris on 9 November 1902, was the first official final of the Connacht Championship. The Connacht GAA Council was founded on the same day.

Mayo were the first of the two to contest an All-Ireland final, when they faced Wexford in the 1916 final. Galway became the first to win the tournament in the 1925 Championship (though the Championship itself was not completed until 1926). The 1930s was the greatest era of dominance for the two teams; between 1932 and 1942 Galway and Mayo contested eight All-Ireland senior finals, with Galway winning titles in 1934 and 1938, and Mayo winning their maiden title in 1936. The teams were also two of the strongest teams in the country in the 1950s and 1960s, with Mayo winning in 1950 and 1951, and Galway winning in 1956, 1964, 1965 and 1966. In that era, each team regularly gave the other their toughest game of the year. Following Galway's 1966 triumph however, no Connacht team would win an All-Ireland for another 32 years.

The rivalry has historically been characterised as relatively friendly, with many Galway and Mayo players from the 1950s–60s teams having attended the same schools and players from the border areas having family ties in the other county. This is in contrast to the more bitter rivalries in the sport like Cork–Kerry or Armagh–Tyrone. The good-natured rivalry has also been attributed to the similarities between the two counties and the shared socio-economic challenges they have faced through the years. With a total of nearly 40,000 people emigrating from the two counties from 1951 to 1966, their shared success in football was considered one of the few bright spots in that era.

The friendliness of the contest has been tested in recent years however. Following defeats for Mayo in the 1996 and 1997 All-Ireland finals, Galway knocked Mayo out in the opening round of the 1998 Championship and went on to win the title. Galway, who were managed by Mayo-man John O'Mahony, also won the title in 2001. Galway's win, on the back of Mayo's two defeats and under the stewardship of a Mayo native, left a sour taste. When the team knocked Galway out of the 1999 Championship, the win was celebrated "as if it was an All-Ireland."

Mayo dominated the Connacht Championship in the early 2010s, winning five-in-a-row and inflicting a record defeat on Galway in Pearse Stadium in 2013. During this period of dominance, Mayo reached the All-Ireland finals of 2012 and 2013 but were beaten on both occasions. Their winning streak in Connacht was broken by Galway in 2016 and the Tribesmen won again when they faced each other in 2017. However, in both seasons Mayo went on to reach the All-Ireland final, while Galway were eliminated in the quarter-finals. The tension between the two teams was heightened by this level of competition, and this was reflected in the stands. Galway's All-Ireland-winning captain Ray Silke described the mood between the supporters as having "gone a little bit dark over the last while."

Senior results Galway winMayo winMatch was a draw

Championship +Galway vs MayoDateVenueScoreCompetition9 November 1902Claremorris2-4 – 0-3Connacht Final26 March 1905Claremorris0-7 – 0-4Connacht Semi-Final7 April 1907Claremorris2-16 – 0-1Connacht Final12 July 1908Tuam3-6 – 0-1Connacht Semi-Final30 October 1910Ballina1-4 – 0-5Connacht Final24 September 1911ClaremorrisW – LConnacht Final21 July 1912Roscommon4-4 – 0-3Connacht Semi-Final28 September 1913Castlerea1-2 – 0-3Connacht Final3 September 1916Athlone2-6 – 2-2Connacht Semi-Final7 October 1917Castlerea1-4 – 1-1Connacht Final22 September 1918Castlerea0-4 – 0-1Connacht Final5 July 1919Tuam1-3 – 1-2Connacht Semi-Final18 July 1920Castlerea2-4 – 0-3Connacht Semi-Final18 June 1922Tuam0-6 – 0-1Connacht Semi-Final4 May 1924Tuam0-3 – 0-2Connacht Final19 October 1924Balla0-1 – 0-1Connacht Final9 November 1924Tuam2-6 – 0-5Connacht Final Replay18 October 1925Tuam1-5 – 1-3Connacht Final11 July 1926Roscommon3-2 – 1-2Connacht Final17 July 1927Tuam1-5 – 1-4Connacht Semi-Final21 July 1929Roscommon1-6 – 0-4Connacht Final29 June 1930Boyle0-7 – 0-1*Connacht Semi-Final5 June 1931Castlerea3-5 – 1-4Connacht Semi-Final17 July 1932Castlerea3-5 – 1-3Connacht Semi-Final23 July 1933Castlerea1-7 – 1-5Connacht Final22 July 1934Castlerea2-4 – 0-5Connacht Final21 July 1935Roscommon0-12 – 0-5Connacht Final19 July 1936Roscommon2-4 – 1-7Connacht Final2 August 1936Roscommon2-7 – 1-4Connacht Final Replay18 July 1937Roscommon3-5 – 0-8Connacht Final17 July 1938Roscommon0-8 – 0-5Connacht Final16 July 1939Roscommon2-6 – 0-3Connacht Final21 July 1940Roscommon1-7 – 0-5Connacht Final29 June 1941Tuam0-10 – 1-5Connacht Semi-Final20 June 1943Kiltimagh3-6 – 1-5Connacht Semi-Final18 June 19441-11 – 1-3Connacht Semi-Final22 July 1945Roscommon2-6 – 1-7Connacht Final18 July 1948Roscommon2-4 – 1-7Connacht Final25 July 1948Roscommon2-10 – 2-7Connacht Final15 July 1951St Jarlath's Park, Tuam4-13 – 2-3Connacht Final4 July 1954St Jarlath's Park, Tuam2-4 – 1-5Connacht Semi-Final17 June 1956MacHale Park, Castlebar5-13 – 2-5Connacht Quarter-Final29 June 1958St Jarlath’s Park, Tuam2-9 – 0-6Connacht Semi-Final12 June 1960MacHale Park, Castlebar2-5 – 1-6Connacht Quarter-Final11 June 1961St Jarlath’s Park, Tuam0-10 – 0-6Connacht Quarter-Final16 June 1963MacHale Park, Castlebar2-8 – 1-6Connacht Semi-Final19 July 1964St Jarlath’s Park, Tuam2-12 – 1-5Connacht Final17 July 1966MacHale Park, Castlebar0-12 – 1-8Connacht Final25 June 1967Pearse Stadium, Salthill3-13 – 1-8Connacht Semi-Final21 July 1968MacHale Park, Castlebar2-10 – 2-9Connacht Final13 July 1969Pearse Stadium, Salthill0-11 – 1-8Connacht Final3 August 1969MacHale Park, Castlebar1-11 – 1-8Connacht Final Replay27 June 1971St Jarlath's Park, Tuam1-7 – 0-7Connacht Semi-Final8 July 1973MacHale Park, Castlebar1-17 – 2-12Connacht Final16 June 1974St Jarlath's Park, Tuam3-11 – 0-13Connacht Semi-Final21 June 1981MacHale Park, Castlebar2-8 – 1-9Connacht Semi-Final11 July 1982St Jarlath's Park, Tuam3-17 – 0-10Connacht Final17 July 1983MacHale Park, Castlebar1-13 – 1-9Connacht Final8 July 1984Pearse Stadium, Salthill2-13 – 2-9Connacht Final12 July 1987MacHale Park, Castlebar0-8 – 0-7Connacht Final25 June 1989St Jarlath's Park, Tuam1-8 – 1-8Connacht Semi-Final9 July 1989MacHale Park, Castlebar2-13 – 1-81 July 1990St Jarlath's Park, Tuam2-11 – 1-12Connacht Semi-Final23 June 1991MacHale Park, Castlebar3-11 – 0-6Connacht Semi-Final14 June 1992St Jarlath's Park, Tuam1-11 – 1-11Connacht Quarter-Final21 June 1992MacHale Park, Castlebar0-15 – 1-6Connacht Quarter-Final Replay23 July 1995St Jarlath's Park, Tuam0-17 – 1-7Connacht Final21 July 1996MacHale Park, Castlebar1-11 – 3-9Connacht Final25 May 1997St Jarlath's Park, Tuam1-16 – 0-15Connacht Quarter-Final24 May 1998MacHale Park, Castlebar1-13 – 2-6Connacht Quarter-Final18 July 1999St Jarlath's Park, Tuam1-14 – 1-10Connacht Final2 June 2002MacHale Park, Castlebar0-12 – 1-7Connacht Semi-Final6 July 2003Pearse Stadium, Salthill1-14 – 0-13Connacht Final27 June 2004MacHale Park, Castlebar0-18 – 1-9Connacht Semi-Final10 July 2005Pearse Stadium, Salthill0-10 – 0-8Connacht Final16 July 2006MacHale Park, Castlebar0-12 – 1-8Connacht Final20 May 2007Pearse Stadium, Salthill2-10 – 0-9Connacht Quarter-Final13 July 2008MacHale Park, Castlebar2-12 – 1-14Connacht Final19 July 2009Pearse Stadium, Salthill2-12 – 1-14Connacht Final26 June 2011MacHale Park, Castlebar1-12 – 1-6Connacht Semi-Final19 May 2013Pearse Stadium, Salthill4-16 – 0-11Connacht Quarter-Final13 July 2014MacHale Park, Castlebar3-14 – 0-16Connacht Final14 June 2015Pearse Stadium, Salthill1-15 – 2-8Connacht Semi-Final18 June 2016MacHale Park, Castlebar1-12 – 0-12Connacht Semi-Final11 June 2017Pearse Stadium, Salthill0-15 – 1-11Connacht Semi-Final13 May 2018MacHale Park, Castlebar1-12 – 0-12Connacht Quarter-Final6 July 2019Gaelic Grounds, Limerick2-13 – 1-13Round 4 Qualifier15 November 2020Pearse Stadium, Galway0-14 – 0-13Connacht Final25 July 2021Croke Park, Dublin2-14 – 2-8Connacht Final24 April 2022MacHale Park, Castlebar1-14 – 0-16Connacht Quarter-Final25 June 2023Pearse Stadium, Galway0-12 – 1-10All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-finals5 May 2024Pearse Stadium, Galway0-16 – 0-15 Connacht Final4 May 2025MacHale Park, Castlebar1-17 – 1-15 Connacht Final

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