The great summer GAA championship extravaganza is about to get underway. It starts next Sunday and will continue for 20 weeks as the football and hurling campaigns endeavour to enthrall the sporting public. From provincial to qualifier to the All-Ireland series, it promises to be a feast of exciting action all over the country as teams battle it out for the ultimate prize of winning the Sam Maguire in September. Mayo has the distinction of kicking off this year’s campaign when they play New York in the first round of the championship. Whether they will be involved at the business end of the competition is anyone’s guess at this stage? Having witnessed last Saturday’s result in Croke Park, where the complete outsiders Leinster turned in an incredible performance to beat their much fancied rivals Munster, who’s to say that a Mayo team couldn’t do something similar in this years championship? As you know the five Connacht counties play New York on a rota basis.
It is five years since Mayo travelled to New York and the game was really a no contest on that occasion with Mayo running out easy winners. I expect it will be something similar this Sunday as Mayo possess too much guile and experience to be troubled by a New York team that is in serious decline in recent years. Despite the recession here in Ireland and a noticeable increase in unemployment, emigrating footballers appear to have steered clear of the Big Apple. I was involved five years ago with Mayo and I have to say it is a most enjoyable trip for players and supporters. We availed of the opportunity last time to extend our weekend by four days by travelling up north to the Catskill mountains for a training camp. Players on that particular trip will probably recall, with not so fond memories, a few savage training sessions in the muck and rain at our camp. I am smiling now as I remember in particular the workout we had lined up for the boys on the Monday evening after the game on Sunday. The weather was awful when we arrived at Gavins (our destination ) and the lads were expecting an early evening in bed to recover from the exertions of a late night in some of the hot spots of New York city. Let’s just say that, we, the management team, took advantage and put down a marker that evening for the remainder of the year. This year there is no training camp and the team will return home on the Monday evening after the game. I believe about one thousand supporters will travel over for the game, a figure that is way down on that of five years ago. However, they can probably expect a great weekend of craic. Mayo supporters from several states will converge in and around the city, hooking up with friends from Ireland and you can bet there will be a party atmosphere in many of the bars from Friday through to Sunday. Noel Howley has done a trojan amount of work for, and on behalf of, the Mayo team here at home for the best part of a decade or more. He is often called upon to drive players from Dublin to Mayo and venues around the country throughout the year for challenge matches and training sessions. During my time with the Mayo team Noel was my point of contact in Dublin and was always ready, willing, and available to provide any kind of back up support for a Mayo footballer. He really shines and is quite brilliant when it comes to organising any trip abroad for the Mayo team. It is a great comfort not alone for the management, but also for the county board to have someone that will coordinate flights, accommodation, meals, and any other requirement when abroad. Noel travelled out to New York last Wednesday, a day in advance of the main travelling party, to ensure that everything is in order for the weekend. He will have organised and co-ordinated the accommodation and transport for the team over the weekend, training locations, and more than likely a couple of functions, that might present an opportunity for the county board to raise a few quid for the coffers. The Mayo association in New York will pull out all the stops also to ensure that the weekend is an enjoyable one for all. Pat Gavin, Mickey Morley, and Kathleen Rowland are wonderful Mayo people out there who start their preparations months in advance of such a trip. Eugene Rooney is another who will roll out the red carpet for the Mayo team this weekend and his pubs will more than likely be the headquarters for the majority of the fans over the weekend. Patrons will be served by Henry Gavin’s son, Ronan as he now resides in the Big Apple and works in one of Rooney’s two pubs.
A game everyone should have watched
I watched the All- Ireland u-21 final last Monday between Down and Cork. I thought it was a classy game of football that ebbed and flowed from start to finish. Underage football can produce spectacular matches as players are normally allowed to express themselves. It is only as they get older, and when the pressure of winning becomes more intense, that a certain cynicism creeps in. While I had quietly hoped for a Down victory I have to say that the best team won on the day. There were passages of play from both sides that could justify inclusion in a training DVD on how best to play Gaelic football. In particular the two goals scored by Down were as good as it gets in the game. Leading by two points and with time almost up they did however leave the back door open and got caught at the death by a sucker punch of a goal with no time to recover. It was a costly lesson and one which Down will rue for weeks to come.
Keeping it local
Last Saturday my home team, Crossmolina, played Charlestown in the league. Charlestown are one of the big guns of Mayo club football in recent years and I was aware that they would prove to be formidable opposition. They deservedly won on the evening, much to my annoyance, and sashayed away from Crossmolina with another two points in the bag. It is only when you play a team that you fully appreciated how good or otherwise they are. Charlestown will be a very difficult team to beat in this year’s championship. Elsewhere, I notice Castlebar Mitchells got off the mark with a narrow but deserved victory over Aughamore with former inter-county star Pat Kelly amongst Mitchells’ ranks. Pat’s decision to play with the Mitchells this year is a major coup for the club and, as an All- Ireland club winner with St Vincent’s of Dublin last year, he will bring a winning experience to the local club. Although based as a garda in Galway city he has obviously decided to reside in Castlebar and play for the Castlebar team.
