There was a palpable sense of excitement in the Royal Theatre on Wednesday night as delegates, managers, and interested parties gathered to see the draw for the 2009 Royal Theatre Mayo football championships. And when the dust had settled there was plenty to talk about on the journey home to the four corners of Mayo. As always the senior championship draw was the highlight of the night as the 16 teams who went into the draw waited to find out what obstacles they were going to overcome in the group stages of the competition. The four semi-finalists were drawn out first (one in each group ) and those who fell at the quarter final next, with the final eight the last to come out. The process of the draw meant that one group would include a semi-finalist, a quarter-finalist, and the ominous figure of Ballina among the quartet. That group when drawn drew gasps from those in attendance as Group B pitted Crossmolina, Knockmore, Ballina, and Ballinrobe in one of two groups of death that were pulled out of the hat.
The second group of death was Group C which drew together three sides who were in the same group last year, the group reconnected the trio of county champions Ballaghaderreen, league champions Breaffy, Shrule Glencorrib, with Burrishoole joining the party in a group that is as hard to call as the north Mayo heavy grouping.
The other groups drawn out have no easy games, with Charlestown, Castlebar, 2008 intermediate champions Aghamore, and Garrrymore contesting Group A, while the final group sees Claremorris, who impressed so much last year, go head to head with Ballintubber, Moy Davitts, and Kiltane.
Interesting intermediate
While the senior championship may have been the marquee event on the evening the intermediate football championship draw threw up its own interesting encounters for the group stages. Group A has last year’s beaten finalists Kilmaine shaping up with the 2006 champions Tourmakeady, last year’s junior champions Killala and former senior kingpins Hollymount are in a grouping that will have whetted the appetite in that grade. Things are as hard to predict in Group B where Belmullet, Swinford, and Davitts will be slinging it out with Crossmolina B to make the quarter finals of the competition. The third group sees the familiar faces of Westport, Ballyhaunis, Achill, and Bonniconlon face down for the two qualifying spots. The final four team group in the competition sees Louisburgh who fell through the trapdoor of relegation from the senior championship last year looking to strike for an instant return to the top 16 in Mayo pitted against Chill Chomain, Mayo Gaels, and Kilmeena.
Junior jostling
This year the junior championship draw was a lot more streamlined with 32 sides being divided into eight groups of four, rather than the rather side heavy groups that have been seen in the last number of years. Islandeady will be favourites to come out of group one, while Group B will see Ardmoy get their first taste of action since Ardagh and Moygownagh merged last year in a group that also has last year’s beaten finalists The Neale and Balla are also involved in it. The 2006 intermediate runners up Parke will be acclimatising to life in the bottom tier of Mayo football in a group than includes Crossmolina C, Shrule B, and Aghamore B. Kiltimagh will be feeling the drop this year in the junior championship, in 2007 they were only a kick away from senior football when they lost out by a point to Ballintubber in the intermediate final, this year they will be lining up against Ballintubber’s B side in the group stages of the junior championship. Lahardane and Ardnaree are the two exclusively Junior sides in Group E, Carramore and Kilfian will be looking to get over the B sides in Group F, while Ballycastle and Kilmovee will contest groups G and H respectively with some B sides.
