The Mayo Curse – priests, witches and sporting hokum 

After a five-year wait, Mayo are back in the All-Ireland football final, but whispers of the famous curse, which supposedly condemned the county to endless defeat, can still be heard. Legend has it that the celebrating team of 1951 disrespected a local funeral and became the subject of a damning and highly effective hex that has kept the Sam Maguire Cup from their grasp ever since. So, is the old tale fact or fiction? Or is it just a handy excuse to explain away decades of heartbreak? On this...