Two great men who will never be forgotten

Fri, Oct 15, 2010

I was walking to Mass last Sunday morning when a friend stopped me in my tracks to give me the dreadful news of the untimely and tragic deaths of Ger Feeney and Donal McEllin. It was news that left me devastated and for a moment I wasn’t sure whether I would carry on to Mass or not. But I did and it offered me an opportunity to reflect and think about both men. This undoubtedly was one of Castlebar’s saddest weeks in a long time, and God knows we have had a few sad occasions in recent times. Both men possessed big personalities and were hugely popular locally and throughout the county. They were also influential figures in the daily happenings of the Castlebar Mitchell’s GAA club, Ger as a coach/ manager of several teams down through the years and Donal as a do-gooder whenever required. Time spent in the company of either man was always memorable, usually enlightening and occasionally full of incident! Throughout this past week we have gathered at different times and locations to reminisce about both men. Judging by the enormous crowds witnessed at both men’s funerals it is remarkable how their sudden passing resonated with so many. Ger was also revered in the history of Ballintubber football and I have heard many these past few days talk about his incredible strength, energy, fearlessness and manliness when donning the colours of Ballintubber. Of course he lined out with Mayo and is one of a few who has the distinction of winning All -Ireland medals at both minor and under- 21 level. It was well known that Ger idolised his family and was enormously proud of their many achievements. He was particularly proud of the fact that both Castlebar Mitchell’s and Ballintubber had made it through to this year’s senior final. In his house he couldn’t lose as both Alan and Richard are playing with the Mitchels and nephew John is lining out with Ballintubber. Also, Alan and cousin John are both captains on their respective teams. In fact Ger even had a specially commissioned jersey made of both teams’ colours for the final.

Donal McEllin was a wonderful Mayo man too. I had the pleasure of travelling to a number of Mayo’s matches in his company. Donal was immensely proud of his nephew Tom Cunniffe and a photograph of the Mayo All- Ireland under- 21 winning team from 2006, in which Tom was such an influential player, takes pride of place in Donal’s sitting room. I know that Donal provided great assistance in an unobtrusive manner to the management of the under 21 set up during the three years that Tom was involved at this level. He had taken a more active role at club level as Tom made his way onto the senior side. In recent times he could be seen working diligently ensuring the pitches were in tip top shape. In fact I sought him out only a few weeks ago to compliment him on the wonderful work he was doing up at the Mitchell’s grounds. I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to both families.

Big battle out west on Sunday

Fri, Oct 15, 2010

When the final whistle is blown in McHale Park on Sunday, one team in white will be celebrating claiming the intermediate championship and promotion to the senior championship for next year. But will it be the white and green men from Burrishoole or the white and black clad side from the Gaeltacht in Tourmakeady.

Horan takes on Treaty job

Fri, Oct 15, 2010

A second Mayo man with the surname Horan was appointed as a senior intercounty football manager on Tuesday night. Ballinrobe native Maurice Horan was ratified by the Limerick county board as their new senior manager for a one year term. The Ballinrobe native who managed the Treaty County’s u21 side this year will be guiding the Munster men in division three of the National Football League next year and they have been drawn to play either Kerry or Tipperary in the semi final of the Munster Championship next summer.

Lights, camera and action

Fri, Oct 15, 2010

Those in charge of setting the fixture list for division one of next years National Football League must see an end in sight for the log running planning dispute surrounding the redevelopment of McHale Park. The official fixture list for the league has Mayo pencilled in to open their account in the league at home to All Ireland finalists Down on Saturday February 5.

Lannon wins Mayo autocross, McGreal takes championship title

Fri, Oct 08, 2010

James Lannon from Boyle in Co. Roscommon achieved a long-held ambition on Sunday by claiming his maiden victory on Mayo and District Motorsport Club’s final autocross of the year. In doing so he became the fifth winner of the popular loose surface series in as many events, in what has been an enthralling season of motorsport at the challenging 2.7 km circuit at Harrington’s Quarry near Swinford. It was also a successful day for local hero James McGreal whose third place finish was enough to ensure he retained the Frank Harrington trophy for overall autocross champion for the second successive year.

Macken and Bell triumph in All-Ireland Final

Fri, Oct 08, 2010

Frank Macken, fresh from his All-Ireland singles success of last week, added the doubles title with partner Aidan Bell in the All-Ireland golden masters’ doubles final at a packed Williamstown on Saturday afternoon last, once again facing Clare contenders Pat Donnellan and Stephen McInerney as the opening match of a two match card at the Galway venue, got off to a great start.

Terry Fox four mile run in Ballina this Sunday

Fri, Oct 08, 2010

It’s that time of year again, the evenings are drawing in and the autumn leaves are beginning to fall. It is also time for the annual Terry Fox run and walk which takes place in Ballina on this coming Sunday, October 10 starting at 3pm.

Ballina get season off to a good start

Fri, Oct 08, 2010

Team Loftus Recycling got its national league division one season off to a good start last Saturday night when they sent the Blue Demons from Cork back home with a defeat. The Ballina men ran out six point winners and were led by the inspirational Liam McHale who played the full game and bagged 12, despite being 46 years of age. The veteran McHale rolled back the clock to spearhead his side’s charge to the points. Ballina trailed at half time by 14 points, but kept plugging away and by the end of the third 10 minute period they had the gap back to seven, trailing 43-36 going into the final straight. Team Loftus Recycling which had to do without the services of Ronan and Dara McGarrity and Paul Barrett, put their shoulder to the wheel and overturned the Cork side’s lead to drive on to a six point win which will give them great confidence going into the games coming up in the future.

Relegated pair square off in cup final

Fri, Oct 08, 2010

Cup finals are well known for surprises across the globe, but before even a ball has been kicked in this year’s Mayo FA Cup final there is a big surprise already and that is the two teams who will be taking to the field on Sunday. When the season began, there would not have been many punters out there willing to take a punt on both Fahy Rovers and Straide and Foxford United winning the competition, let alone both of them making it all the way to Milebush on finals day. Sunday will offer some kind of redemption to whichever side comes out on top as both teams get used to the fact they will not be playing in the Super League next season, as both sides failed to escape from the bottom four which dropped through the trap door. Next season they will be competing in the newly formed Premier A league.

Newly structured format announced

Fri, Oct 08, 2010

The newly trimmed and slimed down league set up for the 2011 soccer season in Mayo was announced during the week. With the size of most of the league divisions being reduced to eight teams, there will now be six divisions of Mayo soccer as opposed to five last season. The new divisions run from top down now as follows; Super League, Premier A, Premier B, League One, League Two, and League Three. The top four divisions all have eight sides in each division, with the bottom two having seven sides. The Mayo league says this could change if a a new club applies for membership of the league, additional teams being entered (B or C, teams), or clubs withdrawing or failing to meet the criteria required for their division.

Supporters need to show some patience

Fri, Oct 08, 2010

One week after James Horan’s appointment as Mayo senior manager, I think it is fair to say that his appointment, and that of his back room team, has been warmly received by Mayo supporters. The immediate objection from some quarters might be that he is without senior inter county experience. In the current situation in which we find ourselves, I doubt that the GAA public in Mayo regard inexperience as an insurmountable issue after the summer we have just had. Horan will bring a fresh approach to proceedings, something that is needed right now. The players will trust and respect him. The younger players will remember his terrific talents on the field and will be looking forward to new training methods and a new mantra. I hear that no member of the new management team has travelled with the footballers to New York for this Sunday’s FBD final. I think that is a smart move. This weekend’s match in the Big Apple can best be described as a fun game with nothing of any significance at stake. A number of players playing out there this weekend will not be part of the new squad, and with a type of party atmosphere circulating about the place, it is best that a new manager meets his panel of players in a different environment.

Horan is a busy man these days as he prepares his Ballintubber team for a county final and also meets with his new management team to decide on a course of action to be taken over the next few months. There is no doubt that it is an exciting time for him right now, but that will change over the next months as I know from my experience at this level. There will no doubt be tough days ahead. I expect he will disperse his new management team to take in as many matches as they possibly can over the next few weeks to identify potential. They will obviously be taking in the junior county final this Sunday and after Horan’s remarks last week to the County Board delegates I expect a few members of both Islandeady and Parke will fancy their chances of getting a run at senior inter-county level. There are colleges matches that will be played this side of Christmas with lots of young Mayo footballers involved that will have to be covered too. Managing a county side is different than it was 10 or 15 years ago. It is certainly no bed of roses. There is enormous pressure to succeed. Everyone wants to be associated with a winning team. I recall my first time taking over the Mayo team in the autumn of 1995. At that time I was serving with the UN in Cyprus and I had to travel home on four occasions for training and matches before my tour of duty came to an end. My head was in a spin, but I would have travelled from Timbuktu such was my enthusiasm at the time. We had the opportunity to train and play matches during the months of October, November, and December to see the talent at our disposal back then. The team was languishing in Division three and there was little pressure on me to do anything other than to improve things. That is not the situation now as our supporters have notions of grandeur these days. There is no doubt that Horan has a big task ahead of him, but I do believe he will not be found wanting for effort. What is now needed more than anything is a little patience from our supporters to allow a new management team to find its feet.

Junior final promises to be a fascinating affair

Fri, Oct 08, 2010

Anybody who has heard of last year’s quarter final clash between Parke and Islandeady or was unlucky enough to have been at it, may well think of staying clear of this Sunday’s county junior final between the same sides. That clash in Breaffy was as far from a classic as you could find, in fact the game looked to be heading towards a very unusual stalemate at half time with neither side looking like it was going to score until Peter Collins managed to put the ball over the bar two minutes into injury time to give Islandeady a 0-1 to 0-0 lead at the break. The second half of that clash was a little bit better, but once again one side failed to score in 30 minutes of football, this time it was Islandeady who could not hit the target, and Parke ran out 1-5 to 0-1 winners in the end. But that game, while an interesting footnote ahead of Sunday’s clash, should be put well to the back of the mind, as the game coming up between both sides has the potential to be a real top drawer clash. When the junior championship draw was made at the start of the year both clubs were identified as potential title and winners, and while they have been made work to get this far they are thoroughly deserving of their status as finalists.

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