Summary In what is regarded as one of the best and most entertaining finals of its era, the Cork and Mayo All-Ireland decider provided "great fun at a time when football badly needed some". Cork entered the game hoping to avoid the unwanted accolade of becoming the first team in almost fifty years to lose three successive All-Ireland finals. Inspired by this they got off to a great start with three quick points before Mayo settled into the match. At half time Cork led by 0–10 to 0–8. Mayo were rejuvenated after the interval. An
Anthony Finnerty goal in the 38th minute gave Mayo a brief lead. Finnerty's goal looked as though it might swing the tide in Mayo's favour. Cork hit back to equalize through
Dave Barry and a brace of scores from
John Cleary handed the Rebels the initiative. Mayo's
Noel Durkan set Finnerty free again minutes later, however, in a key turning point of the game, he planted his shot into the side-netting. Mayo failed to score for the last sixteen minutes as
Mick McCarthy and
Teddy McCarthy kicked over the final points of the game. Cork's All-Ireland SFC victory was their first since
1973. The win gave them their fifth All-Ireland title over all and put them joint fourth on the all-time roll of honour along with
Meath,
Cavan and
Wexford. It was the final match for captain
Dinny Allen, who before the match had a reputation as one of the great "nearly men" of Gaelic games. He was dropped from the panel for the 1973 season allegedly as punishment for spending the winter playing soccer for
Cork Hibs, and as a dual player his final inter-county hurling appearance came in 1975, the year before Cork won three straight All-Ireland titles. The team Mayo selected for the 1989 All-Ireland SFC final was full of players more accustomed to the role of midfielder than anything else, e.g. T. J. Kilgallon at centre-back and Greg Maher at wing-forward. Mayo were appearing in their first All-Ireland SFC final since they triumphed in
1951. Defeat at the hands of Cork was the first of eleven All-Ireland defeats along two draws from thirteen final appearances between 1989 and 2021.
Details Cork • 1
J. Kerins • 2
N. Cahalane • 3
S. O'Brien • 4
J. Kerrigan • 5
M. Slocum • 6
C. Counihan • 7
T. Davis • 8
T. McCarthy • 9
S. Fahy • 10
D. Barry • 11
L. Tompkins • 12
B. Coffey • 13
P. McGrath • 14
D. Allen (
c) • 15
J. Cleary ;Subs used : 21
J. O'Driscoll for B. Coffey : 20
M. McCarthy for S. Fahy : 19
D. Culloty for J. Cleary ;Subs not used : 16
M. Maguire : 17
T. Nation : 18
D. Walsh : 22
M. Burns : 23
C. O'Neill : 24
E. O'Mahony ;Manager :
B. Morgan Mayo • 1
G. Irwin • 2
J. Browne • 3
P. Ford • 4
D. Flanagan • 5
M. Collins • 6
T. J. Kilgallon • 7
J. Finn • 8
S. Maher • 9
L. McHale • 10
G. Maher • 11
W. J. Padden • 12
N. Durkin • 13
M. Fitzmaurice • 14
J. Burke • 15
K. McStay ;Subs used : 18
A. Finnerty for J. Burke : 20
R. Dempsey for S. Maher : 22
B. Kilkelly for G. Maher ;Subs not used : 16
E. Lavin : 17
D. Kearney : 19
M. Feeney : 21
M. Carney : 23
P. Holmes : 24
T. Grady ;Manager :
J. O'Mahony ==References==