In 1996, a freak point by Meath at the end of the final forced a replay, which saw Mayo concede another late score that would deny the county victory.

[3] In the 2012 final, Donegal bridged a 20-year gap between titles, helped in no small part by a nightmare opening quarter for Mayo as Michael Murphy launched a rocket of a shot into the goal after three minutes.

Then, in the eleventh minute, Colm McFadden seized the ball from the grasp of Kevin Keane and slid it into the net for a second Donegal goal.

The following year, 1937, the county was the victim of a Louis Blessing last-minute goal in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Cavan, another match that featured a pitch invasion.

Although 1986 brought promotion to Division 1 of the National League, that year's championship campaign ended with a Connacht SFC semi-final defeat to Roscommon at McHale Park.

[citation needed] After a draw in the Connacht SFC semi-final against Galway in Tuam, Mayo won the replay by a scoreline of 2–13 to 1–8 in Castlebar, with goals from Liam McHale and Anthony "Larry" Finnerty.

[citation needed] 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.

Derek Duggan's long-range last-minute free for Roscommon led to a replay at Dr Hyde Park, a game which Mayo lost by one point on a scoreline of 0–13 to 1–9.

Donegal, however, defeated Mayo by a scoreline of 0–13 to 0–9 to qualify for a first All-Ireland SFC final in team history, achieving an unanticipated victory over Dublin in that game.

Despite the result, O'Shea remained in place for the 1994 campaign, which ended in a Connacht SFC final to a Leitrim team then managed by John O'Mahony.

Anthony Egan succeeded O'Shea as manager but 1995 was a low point for Mayo, with relegation to Division 3 of the National League followed by a championship campaign that ended in a seven-point defeat to Galway in the Connacht SFC final in Tuam.

Maughan, a former Mayo player and Defence Forces officer, was renowned for the physical fitness regime he imposed on his teams; improvements were swift.

Mayo reached its second successive All-Ireland SFC final following a 0–13 to 0–7 victory over Leinster Senior Football Championship winner Offaly.

Mayo entered the 1998 Connacht SFC heavily favoured to win the competition, but John O'Mahony's Galway team ambushed the county in the preliminary round in Castlebar.

In what was the only national final played between the two western rivals, Mayo defeated Galway by a scoreline of 0–13 to 0–12, courtesy of substitute Marty McNicholas's late point.

League success did not transfer to the championship and Mayo lost the Connacht SFC final to Roscommon following a last-minute Gerry Lohan goal.

Mayo's failure to win a Connacht SFC title under Holmes and his departure at the end of the 2002 season paved the way for John Maughan's return for a second term as team manager.

Following an unconvincing replay victory over Laois in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final, in the semi-final against Dublin, Mayo produced arguably its greatest performance since the defeat of Kerry ten years previously.

The match itself was of high quality and resulted in Mayo coming from seven points behind with 20 minutes remaining to defeat pre-match favourite Dublin by a scoreline of 1–16 to 2–12.

Horan led Mayo to the Connacht SFC title in his fourth year as team manager, after wins against New York, Roscommon and a victory against Galway in the final by a scoreline of 3–14 to 0–16.

An improved second-half performance had Mayo leading by five points as the last five minutes approached; however, a Kieran Donaghy goal levelled the game, 1–16 apiece.

The GAA fixed the replay for Gaelic Grounds in Limerick as Croke Park was unavailable due to it hosting a game of American football.

However, Dublin recovered and Dean Rock scored a free late into injury time to win the game for his team by a scoreline of 1–17 to 1–16, inflicting a one-point defeat on Mayo at this stage and to the same opponent for a second consecutive year.

Another poor league campaign in 2018 required a late Kevin McLoughlin point to salvage a draw against a Donegal team which that result relegated instead.

The county was relegated from Division 1 on the final day of the 2020 National League, its first time to exit the top flight in 23 years, with Tyrone heavily defeating the team in Castlebar.

[12] In 2021, Mayo gained promotion at the first attempt back to Division 1 of the National Football League with a 2–22 to 2–18 win over Clare in the final round of that competition.

Another All-Ireland SFC final, another five-point loss, with Ryan O'Donoghue hitting a penalty against the goalpost and numerous other goal chances being squandered.

[16] The supposed cause was that the 1951 champions, returning through Foxford in a coach or lorry, passed a funeral cortège without respectfully suspending their boisterous celebrations, and were cursed by either the priest, the bereaved spouse, or a Traveller.

[43] The Chicago Federation of Labor displayed the words "Mayo for Sam" in lights on the 41-storey Prudential Building ahead of the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.

Mortimer became the first Mayo player to win consecutive awards, in 1996 and 1997, a feat matched by Colm Boyle (2013, 2014 and again, 2016, 2017), Lee Keegan (2012, 2013, and again, 2015, 2016) and David Clarke (2016, 2017), and exceeded by Keith Higgins, who completed three-in-a-row in 2014.