The members of the Mayo senior football team will be putting last Sunday's disappointment to one side this weekend as the second round of games in the Breaffy House Senior Football League throws in across all the divisions. In the top division the local derby meeting between Breaffy and Ballintubber is one of the stand out fixtures. Breaffy, under new manager Declan Reilly, picked up a hard fought win over their other local rivals Castlebar Mitchels in round one, thanks to big performances from Aidan and Seamus O’Shea along with Alan Durcan in their full forward line, and will be hoping to have the same result against the 2010 and 2011 county champions. Ballintubber also picked up the points in their opening league game, seeing off Ballinrobe by six points, and Peter Ford’s men will be relishing this challenge that awaits them in Breaffy on Sunday.
Last year’s intermediate champions Charlestown Sarsfields will be hosting Castlebar Mitchels in another interesting looking encounter. The east Mayo men picked up a win away to Crossmolina Deel Rovers in round one and with Castlebar Mitchels shorn of the services of Barry Moran and Tom Cunniffe they will fancy their chances of making it two wins from two. Michael Moyles’ Crossmolina side will be travelling to the south Mayo border to take on a confident Davitts’ side. Pete Warren’s men have two points in the bag already thanks to a single point win on the road against Knockmore on the opening day on a score of 2-7 to 1-9. Knockmore will also be heading to south Mayo where they will be entertained by Claremorris who are coming into the game on the back of an opening day win away in the Gaeltacht against Tourmakeady. Paul Jordan’s Gaeltacht men will themselves be on the road and will face last year’s county champions Ballaghaderreen who have stared out this year’s league with a defeat away to John Healy’s Ballina Stephenites. The 2005 All Ireland club champions will be in south Mayo looking for their second win of the season when they take on Ballinrobe who shipped a six point defeat in their first game away to Ballintubber.
In Division 1B Hollymount-Carramore, Westport, Bohola Moy Davitts, Aghamore, Garrymore, and Kiltane all picked up wins in round one, and in round two on Sunday at least two of those sides will lose their 100 per cent record with four of the sides who picked up wins in round one facing each other. Hollymount-Carramore and Garrymore will engage in what should be a classic south Mayo derby and be a real early season treat in Hollymount, while in east Mayo Aghamore and Westport will go toe to toe in another intriguing encounter. The other winners from round one, Bohola, Moy Davitts, and Kiltane, will host divisional rivals with Ballyhaunis travelling to Foxford to take on Moy Davitts and Kiltane hosting Bonniconlon
Adrian Freeman cup up for grabs for the first time
The inaugural Adrian Freeman Memorial Cup will be up for grabs as the Mayo GAA u14 Hurling Feile na nGael A competition takes place in the Tooreen hurling grounds tomorrow, Saturday. Three teams — Westport, Caiseal Gaels, and host club Tooreen will contest the competition this year — in what is hoped to be a fitting tribute to the great Tooreen hurler who passed away in 2010. Locals from all around Mayo GAA circles are invited along to support the young up and coming hurlers, while also remembering the great Tooreen, Aghamore, and Mayo Gael in the process. The Freeman family have kindly donated a splendid cup to mark the occasion. Adrian Freeman was a strong supporter of underage hurling in Mayo circles, and it is fitting that his cup will help promote the u14 grade within Mayo - a grade at which Adrian himself first came to prominence as a hurler in the late 1990s.
