The Gaelic Football season got up and running last weekend on the local scene with the start of the Michael Walsh Leagues across the county.
Clubs had to deal with allowing only 200 people inside the grounds for the games due to current Covid-19 restrictions, but for those involved on the field, getting back to action was the main thing on their agenda.
Defending senior champions Ballintubber got their season off to a winning start beating Claremorris 0-10 to 0-8 in south Mayo, despite not having Cillian O'Connor, Michael Plunkett and Brian Walsh to call on. But that didn't stop Kevin Johnson's side going into an early 0-6 to 0-1 lead, before Claremorris pulled the gap back and went in trailing 0-7 to 0-5 at the break. Last year's beaten county finalists, Ballaghaderreen, had three points to spare over Davitts in East Mayo, running out 1-13 to 1-10 winners, with Andy Moran scoring 1-2 of his side's total.
Breaffy and Garrymore shared the spoils after their clash ended up all square on a scoreline of 1-12 to 0-15, Matthew Ruane got the goal for Breaffy, but a late flurry of scores for the south Mayo men saw them head home with a point.
The Neale stepped up to life in the senior ranks with a 4-18 to 3-17 win over Castlebar Mitchels in Cong. Tommy Conroy hit 2-9 for the south Mayo men, but it was a second string Castlebar side who took the field under the guidance of their intermediate management.
The action in the competition threw in on Friday night last with Knockmore hosting Aghamore and the north Mayo men ran out 0-17 to 1-11 winners. Peter Naughton and Aiden Orme did the main damage on the scoreboard for the hosts, kicking nine points between them, while Fergal Boland landed half-a-dozen for the visitors.
Charlestown hosted Belmullet in what was a free scoring affair with the visitors going home with the points on a scoreline of 3-14 to 4-9. Joni Donoghue hit 2-2 for Belmullet while Ryan O'Donoghue added 1-4 and Jack Reilly registered 1-3 for the hosts over the hour.
Ballina had three points to spare over Moy Davitts in Foxford, with Evan Regan kicking seven points during the game, while Brian Reape top scored for Moy Davitts, kicking 1-2. The final game in the first round saw Westport have seven points to spare over Kiltane in North Mayo running out 2-17 to 0-16 winners.
Michael Walsh Senior League Round Two Fixtures
Group 1: Davitts v Kiltane at 7pm, Saturday, July 25; Westport v Ballaghaderreen at 12pm, Sunday, July 26
Group 2: Ballintubber v Charlestown, Saturday at 7pm July 25; Belmullet v Claremorris at 7pm, Saturday, July 25.
Group 3: Ballina Stephenites v Breaffy at 12pm, Sunday, July 26; Garrymore v Bohola Moy Davitts at 12pm, Sunday, July 26
Group 4: Aghamore v The Neale at 5pm, Saturday, July 25; Castlebar Mitchels v Knockmore, at 12pm, Sunday, July 26.
