Another championship year comes to an end

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

The curtain came down on the 2015 football season in quite possibly the worst weather conditions I remember for our showpiece game. I felt sorry for the players, the supporters, the umpires; even the referee was offered a sigh of sympathy. Some of the most sought after seats in Croke Park were all of a sudden not as appealing as they would normally be as they were exposed to the elements, with some supporters not returning after half time. Many people are of the opinion that conditions do not affect the top players and they can adapt to whatever is thrown at them, I beg to differ. Some of the finest exponents of the GAA game were left to look like they were quite literally playing on ice, sliding all over the place, and that the ball was covered in oil. Keeping your feet was almost impossible when you went full throttle, and handling the ball when it was fired at you was as difficult as peeling an orange in your pocket while wearing a pair of boxing gloves. Bernard Brogan, one of the most skilled players on view was the prime example; he spilled up to six balls in the first half alone that he normally would have gobbled up. Let no one tell me players do not mind playing in such conditions.

Garrymore looking to return to greatness

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

Between 1974 and 1982, Garrymore were Mayo's team. They picked up six senior county titles in those nine years and made an appearance in the All Ireland club final in 1981 going down to Nemo Rangers. Since their last victory 33 years ago the south Mayo hamlet have failed to make it back to the Mayo showpiece, last year they did reach the last four but were seen off by Castlebar Mitchels and tomorrow afternoon they are gunning to get back to the same stage again.

Big guns come out looking for final four spot

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

Breaffy v Garrymore
Saturday, September 26

The ultimate in conflicting family loyalties

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

We all know men who have taken over other clubs, apart from their own, for different reasons over the years.

Goals seal Hollymount-Carramore’s final four spot

Sun, Sep 20, 2015

Two goals in two minutes at the midway point in the second half booked Hollymount-Carramore’s place in the semi-final of this years Mayo GAA Intermediate Championship in Elverys MacHale Park on Saturday evening.

The Neale show their stuff to see off Burrishoole

Sun, Sep 20, 2015

With six minutes to go in Elverys MacHale Park on Saturday evening, Burrishoole’s number three Paddy Mulchrone got on the end of a move started by Liam O’Malley to palm the ball to the back of the net and put his side just one point down in this game and in a great position heading down the home stretch. But The Neale held their nerve and outscored the West Mayo men by 0-4 to 0-1 over the closing six minutes to book their place in this years intermediate championship’s final four.

At the end of the day it was the right result, as The Neale were the better side over the course of the contest and were deserving winners. At the break they lead by 0-9 to 0-3, with only one Burrishoole player managing to score over the opening 30 minutes and not one of those scores came from play.

Mayo look to complete three-in-a-row of titles

Fri, Sep 18, 2015

The Mayo minor hurlers contest the All Ireland Minor C Hurling final against Tyrone on Saturday in Ballinamore in Leitrim at 2.30pm. This is third year in a row that Mayo have reached this stage of the competition, winning it on both of their last two appearances in the final and beating Monaghan in both of those finals. This year it is Ulster opponents once again for Mayo with the red hand men from Tyrone standing in their way of collecting a three-in-a-row.

Mayo manager Brian Finn from Tooreen is especially keen to win the competition again this year as the winners will receive the newly comissioned Adrian Freeman Cup for the very first time. Adrian Freeman died tragically in Australia in 2010 at the age of 24. He was one of Mayo and Tooreen's finest young hurlers, having represented his club, county and province with distinction. He also represented Ireland in an u21 Hurling/Shinty International and was named a Christy Ring All Star in his short but hugely decorated career.

Gilvarry gets the nod, while Maughan enters u21 race

Fri, Sep 18, 2015

Enda Gilvarry was reappointed for another year as Mayo minor manager at Wednesday night's county board meeting, but only after a vote was taken by the club delegates, following calls from some delegates for the decision to be sent back to clubs for nominations to be sought for the position.

It's easy to lay blame from the outside

Fri, Sep 18, 2015

Now that the dust has settled and Mayo’s 2015 attempt to win back the Sam Maguire cup for the first time since 1951 came to a very disappointing end, I was somewhat amazed at the way the media and general public analysed the situation. You have to be thick skinned to be a manager of a senior inter-county team; I know I will never be. The knives are most certainly out. Everybody bar the team’s kit man has had some level of blame directed towards them.

Belmullet are ready to make their own luck

Fri, Sep 18, 2015

Things could hardly have been tighter when all was said and done in group one of the intermediate football championship back at the tail end of June. Three of the four teams in the group were locked together on four points each with only two places in the last eight up for grabs. When the scoring differences were counted up, Moy Davitts topped the group with plus-16 points, while just a solitary point separated Belmullet and Kilmaine, with the north Mayo mens socring difference of plus-3 just edging out the south Mayo side with their plus-2.

Big weekend of intermediate action

Fri, Sep 18, 2015

Westport v Belmullet
Saturday, September 19

All-Ireland football Sunday heralds the end of another year

Fri, Sep 18, 2015

A few of us used to go regularly to All-Ireland football finals as a matter of course, and the same four men traveled to all the football finals from about 2004 until 2011. Things change though, and a few of us have children old enough now to want to go themselves with Dad if he can snaffle an extra ticket.

Every trip home from those glorious and memorable Sundays, one of our travelling companions, Tommie Kelly who is from Rosmuc originally, would proclaim – “That’s it now. The year is over.”  And his statement would always, it seemed to me, be tinged with a certain sadness.

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