The 2013 Connacht Senior Football Championship was that year's installment of the annual

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

held under the auspices of the

Connacht GAA Connacht GAA (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Chonnacht) or formally the Connacht Provincial Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association is the governing body for Gaelic games that are played in the province of Connacht, Ireland. It performs a ...

. It was won by

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

who defeated

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in a final, which, historically, was the Exiles' first time to reach a provincial decider. London's appearance in the Connacht final followed a remarkable turn of events. Having not won a Connacht championship match since 1977, they first overcame

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

in their quarter-final meeting. They then secured a draw against Leitrim in the semi-final in

Carrick-on-Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county of Leitrim. A smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 4,062 in 2016. It is situated on a stra ...

before winning the replay in

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

. Following that victory and with a first ever Connacht final ahead of them, the city's mayor

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

sent “Huge congratulations to the London team as they continue on with their historic march towards this year's Connacht Senior Football Championship Final. Regardless of the result against Mayo, London can be proud of their mightily impressive achievements this year. They travel to

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal poi ...

on their momentous quest for victory with best wishes from me and all London fans. Go London!”. Mayo, on the other hand, had contested the previous year's

All-Ireland Final The All-Ireland Final may refer to: * All-Ireland Hurling Final, the last match to be played in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship (Senior, Minor and Under-21 levels) * The last match to be played in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ...

and were extremely convincing on their march to the final. They humiliated their traditional rivals

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

in the quarter-finals, beating them comfortably in their own grounds. Galway had two players sent off and the game ended 4-16 to 0-11. Their next match saw Mayo face

in the semi-finals, a team who had run them close in the 2011 Connacht final two years earlier. This year, however, Mayo were winners by a much greater margin, beating them 0-21 to 0-09 in

McHale Park MacHale Park () is a GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, as of 2022 the ground has a capacity of approximately 28,000 and is named after ...

. In the end Mayo proved too much for London, winning the J. J. Nestor Cup, and automatically advanced to the quarter-final stage of the

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

. This was Mayo's 45th Connacht title, and saw them overtake Galway on 44. They progressed to the 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. London entered the final round of the All-Ireland Qualifiers and headed to

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

for the first time, where they lost to

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

References

External links