I was out of the country last weekend on a cycling holiday in Germany (more anon ). I deliberately stayed away from all forms of communication until I arrived back in the country. By the time I landed in Dublin I was bursting for information on all of last weekend’s sporting activities. I called a few friends on the trek home from Dublin Airport and managed to get a good account of most of the action. The first conversation I had informed me of Kilkenny’s demolition job on Cork in the league final. These Kilkenny boys are simply in a different league to most others. I have watched them a couple of times earlier this year when they appeared to be just going through the motions, but once they get a whiff of a trophy they invariably rack it up a few notches. Jimmy Barry Murphy will, for the first time since his appointment as Cork manager, realise that the honeymoon period is over and his task of landing the Liam McCarthy is an enormous one when you consider the conveyor belt of young talent Brian Coady has at his disposal. But it is not just the talent that they produce year on year – it is their entire application and appetite for success that makes them so exceptional.
I believe we had a cracking All-Ireland u21 final where the Dubs eventually prevailed after a strong closing quarter to see off a very game Roscommon side. The Rossies, I’m told, played out of their skins in front of huge local support but could not sustain the intensity for the entire 60 minutes. The Dubs, on the other hand, had greater strength in depth and were able to introduce quality players from their bench for practically all positions. I mentioned in this column last year that the Dubs are producing some outstanding talent at all underage levels, so to see them winning this title was no surprise. In fact I would not be at all surprised if they dominated the u21 scene for the next few years because their minor team from last year was exceptional. I know they were beaten by Tipperary in that particular final but to my eye they had more players than their opponents did on that occasion who have the potential to play at a higher level. The Dubs have always been reluctant to throw young lads onto their senior side too soon, but maybe now they might have to in order to freshen up the last year’s squad who don’t appear to have the same hunger this year.
There is time for a young gun to become a start this summer
After the previous months of intense inter-county activity, there is a lull right now as we wait another six weeks before Mayo get their championship season up and running. This interim should give James Horan ample opportunity to get back on the training ground to fix the problems that manifested themselves throughout the National League campaign. My guess is that the focus will be on the issues that presented in the final. After a week or two to mull over the problem areas he will use a number of challenge matches to try out a few new faces to see if anyone might merit a starting place for the championship. I think any young player presented with this opportunity should take it with both hands because we invariably hear of some youngster making the headlines in the opening rounds of the championship that we had not heard of up to now. There are several players around the country that were not used in the league who will feature in the championship. Obviously I was not at the match in Swinford last weekend but I did hear that, as challenge matches go, this one was quite tempestuous and played with an intensity that you would not normally associate with these games. My source tells me that Peadar Gardiner was Mayo’s best player on the day which proves there is nothing wrong with his application and work ethic once he pulls on a Mayo jersey. Danny Kirby, Aidan Campbell, and Conor O’Shea are three young guns worth watching over the coming weeks. These lads in particular can, in my opinion, make a contribution to a Mayo championship set up.
Don’t count out Ciaran Mac yet
However, in the GAA, the show never quite grinds to a halt. Last weekend was a crucial one on the local club scene here in Mayo as most clubs played their very first round of league matches after a later than usual start. Understandably I have a special interest in my ‘home’ club of Crossmolina and was quite surprised to see them turned over by Charlestown. Now don’t get me wrong here, the Charlestown boys are by no means a soft touch but after the fright of near relegation last year and under new management I thought the Cross boys would be very keen to get an early win under their belts. Apparently Crossmolina were missing five or six first choice starters which might go some way towards explaining this result. If they were to lose a second league match next weekend it would leave them very concerned going into championship in a couple of week’s time. Incidentally those of you who thought Ciaran McDonald’s non-participation last weekend might be an early sign that he was considering his future. Well, not a bit of it as I believe he was absolutely flying at training all winter in Letterkenny where he works. He picked up a slight knock and didn’t want to risk it with championship just around the corner. I expect he will be in action next weekend.
Castlebar had a big win over near rivals Breaffy. I though this one might be a tight close encounter but the score line suggests otherwise. This result could suggest that the sting might be evaporating from Breaffy ever so slightly. I expect Shrule/Glencorrib will struggle this year with the loss of the two Mortimers, Trevor (work related ) and Conor, to pastures new. However the result that really caught my eye was that of Aghamore emphatic victory over Ballyhaunis. Not quite sure why Ballyhaunis could only score three points as last year they looked reasonably slick and potent.
