Ardagh/Crossmolina host successful tournament

Fri, Nov 11, 2016

Under the guidance of coaches Tony Davis and Lawrence Colhoun the Ardagh/Crossmolina club has become renowned for producing young boxers of high technical calibre. So no surprise when last Friday evening, the north Mayo faithful packed the Lahardane community centre to enjoy the finest boxing fare. Setting the tone and the pattern, young Cathal Davis laid the night’s foundation with his solid performance.

Five out of five for Mayo Volleyballers

Fri, Nov 11, 2016

Mayo claimed a 3-1 victory away to Newbridge Cheetahs last Saturday afternoon thus cementing their position at the summit of division two. The win takes their tally to an impressive five games out of five in this their maiden season.

Celine is the queen of swing

Fri, Nov 11, 2016

Celine King, Castlebar, won gold at the IUKL World Kettlebell Lifting Championships in Kazakhstan over the Halloween weekend. Celine is a member of the Irish International Kettlebell team. The 12 strong Irish team brought home eight golds, two silver and a bronze from Kazakhstan.

Ballina and Ballyhaunis serve up great contests

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

Since beloved coach Brian O’Donnell’s untimely death in 2014, Ballina Boxing Club has honoured his memory with this annual showpiece.This year, boxers from Mayo, Kildare, and Tyrone were invited and each gave terrific performances befitting the occasion. The technical highlight was a light-fly (49kg) contest between Martin McDonagh and Willie Casey (Athy).

Quinn bows out doing his country proud

Fri, Aug 12, 2016

Castlebar swimmer, Nicholas Quinn's Olympic hopes came to an end on Tuesday evening in the pool in Rio in agonising fashion. The University of Edinburgh student missed out on a place in the semifinal of the 200m breaststroke by 0.41 of a second. Quinn finished in a time of 2:11.67, his fastest morning swim ever and second fastest 200m breaststroke swim to date. He needed a time of 2:11.24, equal to his personal best in the heat which would have seen him through to the semifinal. Quinn had gone into the Olympics ranked 27th in the world and finished in 19th place in the games.

Swimming in the fast lane

Fri, Aug 05, 2016

Eight years on from Mayo's last Olympian, cyclist David O'Loughlin who raced in the 4km Pursuit event in Beijing and 20 years on from Ballina's Deirdre Gallagher's 23rd place finish in the 10k race walk in Atlanta 1996, Mayo's newest Olympian will dive into action tomorrow afternoon.

Mighty Moran claims Moonraker top spot

Fri, Apr 22, 2016

Another chapter of the Alan Moran Magical Forest Rally show was screened at a sun kissed Ballyvourney on Saturday last. The young Foxford man was delighted to kick start his forest season at round two of the 2016 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship, the Moonraker Forest Rally, in Cork.

Quinn is going for gold this summer

Fri, Apr 15, 2016

Castlebar's Nicholas Quinn will join Fiona Doyle, Shane Ryan and diver Oliver Dingley in going forward for selection for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games having gone under the FINA (International Swimming Federation) Olympic A time in Eindhoven on Sunday last. Quinn swam an impressive 2:11.24 in the 200m breaststroke, almost half a second under the qualification time of 2:11.66. The Castlebar native who trains and studies at the University of Edinburgh progressed to Sunday’s final in 2:13.27, just off his personal best of 2:13.04, but a commanding performance in the final saw him smash that time to claim gold and a ticket to Rio.

Castlebar's Nicholas Quinn makes Olympic time in Eindhoven

Mon, Apr 11, 2016

Castlebar's Nicholas Quinn will join Fiona Doyle, Shane Ryan and Oliver Dingley in going forward for selection for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games having gone under the FINA (International Swimming Federation) Olympic A time in Eindhoven tonight.

Tuohy takes home win at Castlebar Duathlon

Fri, Mar 25, 2016

Local knowledge pays dividends when local Castlebar man Peter Tuohy of the J2P Team took a comprehensive win at the fifth and last round of the hugely successful Ireland West Duathlon series. Tuohy laid the foundation for his success with a storming bike leg that gave him 60seconds advantage and some breathing space over the hard chasing Brendan Conway Westport Tri, who is a renowned runner. The final 5k run on the out and back new Turlough Greenway turned into a sprint between the two leaders with Tuohy holding Conway off for a brilliant win. Third on the day was the ever consistent Jonathon Rowland from Liquid motion Tri club Ballina.

In the ladies section Lorraine Carey Ballina pulled no punches with a knockout performance to place in the top 5 overall showing her versatility with fastest times on all three stages to take the win. Paula Prendergast Claremorris and of Mayo AC was second and the evergreen Colette Sweeney of Multisport Westport rounding of the podium.

Handball Murphy wins national u17 title

Fri, Mar 25, 2016

Claremorris Handball had a win in the 40x20 Juvenille All Irelands in Kingscourt last weekend. Patrick Murphy won his u17 final against Padraig Delaney of Laois on a 21-10, 21-16 scoreline. The first game was an even match up to the 10-point mark. At that stage, Patrick's more consistent kill shots and effective roof play began to show on the scoreboard. Patrick eventually pulled clear to finish it out 21-10. The second game was a mirror image of the first, up until Patrick led 20-11. At that stage, Delaney put the pressure on in an attempt to save what looked like a lost cause. Delaney managed to pull back a few aces and at 16-20, was asking a few questions of Patrick. However, Patrick took a timeout, composed himself and continued to finish out the game (21-16), winning his first singles All Ireland and the first by a Mayo player in the boys U17 grade.

Irish to have a great week at Cheltenham, but expect no records from Willie

Fri, Mar 11, 2016

Now that the election is over (almost), we can concentrate fully on what will unfold in the Cotswolds for four hectic days next week. There are certain acres of ground which are held sacred by followers of sport in this country. Horse Racing, and particularly National Hunt Racing, also has its sacred piece of ground where man and beast combine in pursuit of their holy grail. The irony for Irish National Hunt fans is that these few acres are in a town in the Cotswolds that couldn't be more English. All that changes next week, when an estimated 15,000 Irish people descend on the town.

Willie Mullins will have a good week, with a strong chance it will finally include victory in The Gold Cup itself, but I cannot see him matching last year's record number of winners. Looking at Tuesday's opening race, the Supreme Novices Hurdle, the market suggests the continuation of the dominance of Willie Mullins and Rich Ricci with the lightly raced Min. At odds of around 7/4, he does not represent a lot of value on what he has achieved so far, and I'd prefer to have a few euro each-way on Buveur D'Air or Altior. I expect both of these to make the frame. I also expect Min to be a drifter on the day, so if you are thinking of getting involved, hold off until Tuesday morning. Then take advantage of some of the specials on offer: don't be surprised if one of these offers Min as large as 3/1. In the Arkle Challenge Trophy, if Douvan stands up, he wins; it is as simple as that. If he doesn't, expect to see Vaniteux or Sizing John take advantage.

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