The showpiece occasion in Mayo football will be tinged with sadness following the recent deaths of Ger Feeney and Donal McEllin. But what better way to honour the memory of the two men than this Sunday’s clash between Castlebar Mitchels and Ballintubber in the county senior final in McHale Park.
The two west Mayo clubs have battled their way through three group games and two knockout clashes to take their place on the field in the final in what is a historic year for each club. Castlebar Mitchels are celebrating their 125th anniversary this year, while the men from Ballintubber are celebrating their club reaching the ripe old age of 100. Castlebar may be old hats at winning senior titles, while Ballintubber are appearing in their first final at this grade, those facts will count for nothing come game time on Sunday.
Each side has one of the shrewdest operators in the game in the county on its sidelines, with James Horan looking to put the ultimate full stop at the end of his stint in charge of Ballintubber before he gets his teeth into the Mayo job. Castlebar Mitchels have Peter Ford wearing the bainisteoir bib, the Ballinrobe native who has had success at an inter-county level with Galway and Sligo and has been a huge part in the renaissance of the county town club who had fallen on hard times in the recent past. Both Horan and Ford will have their sides well drilled and ready for whatever the other throws at his players on Sunday and neither will have left anything to chance.
It has taken Castlebar Mitchels 16 years to get back to this stage of the Mayo championship, the last time they reached the county final was back in 1994, when they lost to Hollymount. That was in a time when the punt was still being used and the Celtic Tiger was still a cub. Earlier in 1994 they went all the way to Croke Park to the All Ireland final on St Patrick’s Dayl.
For Ballintubber this has been a long time coming, the west Mayo outfit have always produced good teams with a sprinkling of hugely talented footballers, such as Horan and Alan Dillon who will be their go to guy on Sunday. This year’s three major county finals have seen a new order in Mayo football emerge, with all six county finalists hailing from west Mayo. The appearance of Ballintubber and Castlebar in the final has seen the stranglehold that north Mayo in particular had on the Moclair Cup broken. Since Castlebar last claimed the title in 1993 and Hollymount’s win the following year, the Moclair Cup has rested in north Mayo every year, bar brief trips to Charlestown (twice ) and Ballaghaderreen.
Castlebar have worked hard to get to this year’s final. They opened their account for the championship with a tough examination at the hands of Shrule Glencorrib who made their way to the county semi final themselves only to be beaten by Ballintubber in the last four. They overcame the challenge of the border men by three points before going on to account for Aghamore and Bohola Moy Davitts in their last two group games. In the quarter final they faced another local derby when they saw off the challenge of Breaffy, thanks to a great start and gutting it out at the end when Breaffy came back at them. In the semi-final Knockmore posed a very serious test to Peter Ford’s men, but they were not found wanting, coming out winners by a point. In their run to the final Neil Douglas and Barry Moran have been very influential in attack, while in midfield Daragh Sloyan and Shane Fitzmaurice have done well in the middle of the park. But it is at the back that Castlebar have impressed greatly, the Feeney brothers Alan and Richie have been immense at the back. They have been ably supported by the likes of Eoin O’Reilly, Ronan Burke, Pat Kelly, and Donal Newcombe. If the Castlebar back six can contain the Ballintubber attack they will be going a long way to claiming the title.
Ballintubber have had their success rooted in good defensive performances, James Horan’s ploy of playing a sweeper has paid off this year very well. In the semi final against Shrule Glencorrib Michael Nestor played the role perfectly. The back line with experienced players like captain John Feeney and the Early brothers Tom and Paul will be a tough nut to crack. In the middle of the field Jason Gibbons and Danny Geraghty may look very young on paper to anchor a senior county title winning side, but the duo have a great partnership that has shone throughout the championship. Up front Alan Dillon will be the go-to guy, the stylish centre half forward has the ability to pick the lock of any defence in the country, and Castlebar will be looking to cut off his supply of ball to the rest of the forwards. In the full forward line Cillian O’Connor has shown with his exploits for the Mayo minor team over the last two years he has the ability and nerve to flourish in an occasion like this, and if he clicks into gear early it will be a big boost to his side.
With 60 minutes on the clock, it is a real toss of a coin when local rivals like this come face to face, but Castlebar could just have enough to shade it at full time, but that is far from a certainty.
