Still all to play for in club championships
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
The club scene in Mayo will take a backwards step this weekend with the Michael Walsh league rolling around for a round of fixtures. After a hectic few weeks of both inter county and club championship fixtures the Michael Walsh league will bring respite for a number of players and offer club managers a chance to run the rule over some of their fringe players.
Last weekend’s round of championship action, saw favourites for the title Crossmolina fail to win for the second round of games in a row after they had to come from behind at the break and rely on a Gabriel Walsh equaliser to steal a draw against Claremorris. Ballintubber moved to the top of that particular group thanks to a 1-11 to 0-6 win over Garrymore where Padraic O’Connor was the star man scoring 1-5 for his side.
Read more ...This is a great opportunity to address what needs to be done
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
I am interested to see what kind of a review will take place by the Mayo County Board and I suppose equally fascinated as to who will have the responsibility for carrying out this review. If it was done properly, I believe it would highlight significant shortcomings in our GAA structures locally. If addressed professionally it could present a great opportunity to highlight a number of issues that need to be changed, and if changes were implemented then the review would have served its purpose and be a good thing. We surely now realise that we are breeding players who are not delivering on the big stage. We are producing players that continuously look for excuses and opportunities to apportion blame on others. Of course players are not blameless, but we must look at the system that is producing our inter-county footballers. The review should scrutinise the performance of our county board officers. Someone should take a close look at their roles and benchmark their performance since taking up office. After all players and management are benchmarked by their progress or lack of on the football field. It is as we know a result driven business. For these and other reasons I would suggest that an outside agency, ie, one removed from the local GAA scene should be tasked with conducting the review. However the summer season just does not seem like an appropriate time to conduct interviews and carry out an investigation into what is wrong with our current system. It should be carried out during the winter months, when people have a little more time to discuss issues. I am aware that at least six counties have conducted reviews in the last year, so the template is out there already. Incidentally one of those counties that initiated a review of its current practices of the preparation of its inter-county players was Cork, not a county where you would perceive there to be a problem. But that is an important point too; reviews should be ongoing and not just conducted when there is a problem.
Read more ...One-wall titles for Heraty and Ryder
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
The hugely successful Irish one-wall Nationals championships which concluded at the Breaffy House Resort on Sunday evening, yielded two hard-earned titles and one near miss for Mayo’s handballers. Following his final defeat last year, Aughagower’s Shane Heraty was the top seed in the 40 strong field for the Men’s C singles event. True to form Heraty won his opening match on Friday and added two more Saturday victories to reach Sunday morning semi-finals. Success in the encounter set up an afternoon showdown with Kilkenny’s Ciaran Neary. In a thrilling decider played in a single timed match Heraty kept his head and playing some brilliant handball he landed the title on a narrow 19 aces to 15 scoreline. Mayo were guaranteed the girls’ under 18 singles title after both Amy Corrigan and Leona Ryder reached the final. Corrigan defeated fellow Mayo ace Ciara McMenamon in her semi-final, while Leona Ryder pulled off one of the shocks of the weekend when she defeated the fancied Catriona Casey of Cork and Aoife McCarthy from Westmeath in the tough bottom section of the draw. It was also an excellent and sporting final with the Newport youngster prevailing over her four-wall doubles partner on an 18 aces to 16 scoreline.
Read more ...Iorras stay out in front, but pack not far behind
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
Iorras Aontaithe were able to keep ahead of the back in the Elverys Sports Super League last weekend, but they can’t afford to slip up as the season enters it’s final third. Last time out they came to Celtic Park and went away with the points thanks to a 2-0 win. Brendan Nallen and Garrett O’Malley were the men to hit the back of the net for Iorras. This weekend there on the road again when they head to Swinford to take on a side that are sitting comfortably in mid table at the moment. Last weekend however didn’t go to plan for the east Mayo men with Westport United putting them to the sword in the sports park. The home side knocked four past the Swinford goal keeper Neil McNicholas. Mark McNally opened the scoring in the first half, with second half strikes from David Horkan, Danny Scahill and Vinny O’Malley rapping up the game for Barry Kilgallon’s men. Westport now sit in third place in the table two points behind Iorras but they have a game in hand on the north Mayo men and last year’s champions Ballina Town where are currently in second spot one point ahead of Westport.
Read more ...Byrne and Conway win at Decare Dental race
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
The ninth DecareDental/Claremorris five mile run and walk which took place recently was again a great success attracting competitors from all over the west of Ireland. The event, which was in aid of Mayo Cancer Support, was held in dry but windy conditions ensuring that personal best times for the five mile distance were hard to achieve. Pre-race favourite John Byrne finished strongly to take the men’s title in a time of 26.50, just six seconds ahead of team mate Robert Malseed, while TJ McHugh continued his recent good form coming home in third in 27.26. Roger Barrett finishing fourth in 27.34 was first of a number of Ballina AC runners who performed well on the evening.
Read more ...Mayo Super Cup up for grabs tonight
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
The final of this competition which has been running over the last two months takes place this Friday July 9 in Cosgrave’s Bar (Tony Flynn’s) Spencer Street, Castlebar. The Super Cup saw every team that reached at least the semi-final of their district league enter the competition. The Shebeen from Westport have reached the final throwing excellent darts and had good wins over Rocky’s, Knockmore, and Mixie McGuire’s from Belmullet. They are definitely the form team and will be hard to beat.
On Wednesday night Bosh just about had enough to hold off local Castlebar rivals, Hogs Haven, in a tense semi-final on a score of 5-4. Hogs were in the lead by a score of 2-1 after the doubles event, the Linenhall Street team then turned the game on its head winning the first two singles events before both sides, throwing some great darts, went into the final game level. Andy Connolly was the hero on the evening for Bosh when he hit a double one to claim the victory and send his side into the final. All in all a great final to look forward to, so why not go along to see who lifts the title of Mayo Super Cup Champions 2010.
Read more ...Colts tag league finals this evening
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
After several weeks of tough competition, the overall champions of the inaugural Claremorris Colts RFC Tag League will be decided this evening (Friday, July 9). After the semi-finals on Friday last, there are now just two teams in contention for the cup, so Guten Tag and the Relentless Drillers have it all to play for. There was great excitement at the Mount St Michael Convent pitch last Friday evening, as the 11 teams came together to battle it out for places in the cup, shield, and bowl finals. And, as spectators lined the sidelines to shout for their favourite teams, the pressure was greater than ever.
Read more ...Lady Captain’s Day prizes are a big success around the county
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
Balla
The scramble competition held last week saw the team of Jack O’Connor, Aodhan MacSuibhne, and Margaret Forkan win out. In second place was the trio of Oliver and Breege Moran and Sean Kelly, with Marie Flanagan, Seamus Cleary, and Breege Walsh coming third.
The scramble competition held last week saw the team of Jack O’Connor, Aodhan MacSuibhne, and Margaret Forkan win out. In second place was the trio of Oliver and Breege Moran and Sean Kelly, with Marie Flanagan, Seamus Cleary, and Breege Walsh coming third.
Read more ...Somthing for everyone as Western Lakes launches summer events
Fri, Jul 09, 2010
Western Lakes cycling club has three busy months ahead with three big promotions in July, August, and September, catering for leisure, racing, and recreational cyclists. Club chairman John Murphy said: “Our club aims to bring cycling to all facets of the community, by promoting these events we create events that people want to take part in, and bring cycling to their doorsteps, this could not be done without having a great working club where all our members help out.” The three events are the Polkadot challenge, the Ballinrobe two day event, and Cornmarket to Castle fun cycle.
The countdown has begun for this year’s Western Lakes CC Polkadot Challenge, which will take place on Sunday July 18, starting and finishing in Ballinrobe. With the ever growing popularity of leisure cycle challenges, this year’s Polkadot is expected to attract a large group of cyclists to take on the hills of south Mayo and north Galway. Participants in the Polkadot Challenge can choose from one of three routes, depending on their level of fitness and cycling experience. The Polkadot route, at 120km, offers the leisure cyclist a testing challenge over nine climbs in the Partry and Joyce Country Hills. The Polkadot Fada takes in an additional loop over the Sheefry Hills to Killary Harbour to provide a 180km route with 3,000m total climbing. This route is designed to challenge the fit experienced cyclist. The Polkadot Beag, at 80km, offers all the challenges of the Partry hills via a shorter route around Lough Mask and back to Ballinrobe.
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