Westport claim Connacht Senior Cup after extra time
Sun, May 17, 2009
Westport United 2
Athenry 1
Athenry 1
Read more ...Last chance saloon for Brennan’s boys
Fri, May 15, 2009
Evan Sweeney’s point five minutes into injury time last Saturday evening in Austin Stacks Park, Tralee, broke Mayo hearts in the first round of the Christy Ring Cup. The point saw Kerry slip by Mayo on a scoreline of 3-11 to 1-16 and send Mayo into a losers play-off with Westmeath this weekend. “It was heartbreaking,” according to Mayo manager Martin Brennan when he spoke to the Mayo Advertiser earlier this week. The Westport man has been guiding Mayo for the past two years alongside Galway legend Pete Finnerty, and before the game last weekend was full of confidence of taking Mayo that one step further this year after losing in the Christy Ring Cup semi-final last season. But no, it’s do or die for Brennan’s boys if they lose on Saturday against a Westmeath side which has won two of the last three Christy Ring Cup titles. It’s a relegation play-off and trying to avoid getting bumped down to the Nicky Rackard Cup for next season that they face.
Read more ...More winners from around the clubs
Fri, May 15, 2009
Balla
The JT Sports competition was won by Pat Walsh with a score of 36 on the back nine, with Oliver Moran coming home in second place also with a 36, while Tommy Walsh came third with a 35. The ladies’ competition was won by Mary Brett who scored a 35 on the back nine, with Geraldine Kilgallon coming home in second place also with a 35. Delia O’Hara took the bronze medal place with a 34 on the back nine, with Michael Miller’s 39 enough to take the youth prize. Due to the inclement weather, last Wednesday’s scramble was cancelled. Sympathy is extended to Jim Quinn and his extended family on the death of Jim's sister, Bridie Fahey, Athlone, recently. May she rest in peace.
Westport look to start and end their season in style
Fri, May 15, 2009
There may be concerns voiced form players and managers about the length of their season in Mayo soccer circles, but the progress of Mayo sides in national and provincial competitions to the latter stages continues, even though they should be in off season. This weekend Westport United are looking to round off their season, or if you look at it another way, kick start it with victory in the Connacht Senior Cup on Saturday. With the Super League only a couple of weeks away United will take on Athenry in Milebush Park on Saturday evening in the final of the eight strong competition for the best of the best in the province.
It’s a flick of a coin whether you look at it as a beginning or an end according to Westport manager Padraig Burns. “You can either look at this game as either the a great way to start our season or to finish it, but the flip side is if we lose it’s not going to be good either way.” United will be going into the game with a clean bill of health, something that Burns is happy to see. “For the first time in a long time everybody is fit and ready for action, with no doubts about anybody. It has been a while since we had that and we are happy to finally have that situation.”
Read more ...First leg of Mayo road race league this weekend
Fri, May 15, 2009
The Carramore 10k is the first race in Mayo AC's 2009 Road Race League, which is sponsored by Vodafone C & C Cellular and supported by Mayo Sports Partnership. The race is on tomorrow at 6pm. This will the first chance for participants to pick up league points in what promises to be a very competitive league this year. The Carramore 10k is a firm favourite on the western athletics calendar and is now in its sixth year of the race. The course is a fast, one lap, rural circuit which will test all athletes. There is a good community spirit and there has been lots of local help in support of the main organiser Christy Heneghan, who has been involved in athletics since the 1970s. Once again the race is supported by local business people PJ and Helena O'Connor. This race has a strong fund-raising tradition. The main charity this year is the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation. To date the event has raised €46,000 for its palliative care service.
Read more ...Mayo’s David O’Loughlin returns home for FBD Rás
Fri, May 15, 2009
Mayo’s David O’Loughlin returns home as part of a five-man An Post Sean Kelly team that have high hopes of continuing their recent good form in Europe, back on home soil. O’Loughlin competed in the 4km track pursuit at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and won his and Ireland's first ever UCI Track World Cup medal when taking the 4km Individual Pursuit bronze at the Beijing World Cup meet in January, and followed this with a silver medal at the Copenhagen World Cup meet in Denmark.
Read more ...Still answering the captain’s call
Fri, May 15, 2009
I had the privilege of introducing the last man who captained a successful Mayo All Ireland winning minor team to my own young man and a few of the Castlebar under- 12s at their training session last Saturday morning at McHale Park. Michael Fitzmaurice, captain of the Mayo minors in 1985, approached my car with a bag of footballs on his back. I hadn’t a clue who he was until he removed his cap. Even then it took me a second or two to recognise the former star as, like a few more of us he is, by now, follically challenged. He sat into the car and we chatted football for a while. I was delighted to discover that he was a part time GAA coaching officer, travelling around to a number of national schools down around his home place, Lacken. Michael was a great footballer and I recall making a number of telephone calls to his home in the mid nineties trying to persuade him to get involved with the Mayo senior set up of my tenure. He couldn’t make the commitment at the time for a number of reasons and I have to say it was our loss. Still it was good to have the chat and to reminisce about times past. Michael had spent the morning working with a Mayo under-14 development squad and I am sure they will be better players because of his tutoring. So also will the national school kids in and around Lacken.
Read more ...One of the best picks his best
Fri, May 15, 2009
Tom Humphries from The Irish Times stable is one of my favourite sport journalists. He is a terrific wordsmith, however, like most of us, he can be hit and miss on occasions. Nevertheless, when he hits the spot as he often does, there is a ping in your head like the noise that you hear when you occasionally catch a drive off the tee box as it should be done. For those few fleeting seconds as you watch the ball arrow down the fairway — you feel really good about yourself — and as those who love clichés turn to you and say - “that’s the one that will bring you back the next day” — you let yourself have that inner smile of satisfaction.
Read more ...
Reidy looks to the future after league final
Sat, May 09, 2009
After watching his side ship a heavy defeat in the league final, the last thing Mayo manager Kevin Reidy would have had to want to do was to pick over the bones of the game to the waiting press pack. But with the Cork celebrations going on in the background, the Tuam native was open and honest with his assessment of the sixty minutes of football that had transpired. “I'm very disappointed with our performance today more than anything else. We never really got out of the blocks at all. We're along way off Cork at the minute, but I still think that even with the score-line today we didn't do ourselves justice. We had a couple of goal chances and we didn't preform. Cork are a fine team not taking anything away from them at all, but we didn't preform. There still up there to be knocked, but were going to have to go away and lick our wounds and come back.”
With the league now out of the way and the championship throwing in in six weeks, it's all about hard work from here on in for his side, once the return after a few weeks rest. “ We just have to get on with it you know and get back at it. You can run girls into the ground and fitness wasn't an issue there, were going to take a break for a while, recharge the batteries and we'll come back better for it. We have a lot of work to do, it's two parts the season, the league is over and the championship is next, there cab be no slacking off now on the training ground once we get at it again there can be no slacking at all. We're just disappointed in the way we played ourselves today, and there is a lot more left in us.”
Read more ...