Sean McAndrew, whose father John played for Mayo’s winning 1950 and 1951 teams, said it was “unbelievable” to see the county regain the All-Ireland title.

Sean said that although his father moved to Birmingham, England, in 1960, he always stayed up to date with the team.

“Mayo probably has one of the highest migrant populations in the world and many people see the GAA as their connection to home.”

John passed away in 2013 and Sean said it would have meant a lot to him to see Mayo win again.

“It’s all he ever wanted and you could see the disappointment every time they failed.”

Sean said there was “no talk” of a curse for the first few years after Mayo last won in 1951, “but then I think people got suspicious when good teams didn’t progress.”

He added that his father was a “calm and sensible” man who did not talk much about the curse, but had said he “could not remember” the alleged incident involving a funeral.

Sean said he had always talked about the curse with “good humour.”