An Lon Dubh excels in yawl race but the Ole Fox has his revenge

Fri, Aug 08, 2008

The cat is among the pigeons in Achill these days thanks to a truly exciting series of yawl races in Derreens, Achill over the weekend. Indeed everyone agrees that there’s no better location for yawl racing than Derreens where many scores of people watched the weekend races from the Achill and Curraun shores. The panoramic view for spectators was only equalled by the thrills experienced by those who watched the yawls battle it out to be first to the finishing line in the annual Cruinniu Badoiri Acla.

Mayo should stick with O’Mahony

Fri, Aug 08, 2008

Despite another sickening one-point defeat last weekend to Tyrone in round three of the qualifiers there is not much point in Mayo changing their current management team. What purpose would it serve? John O’Mahony took on the job for three years and it is impossible to see much benefit to the Mayo county board or the team’s loyal supporters in changing horses mid-race. If O’Mahony was the best man for the job two years ago - it is difficult to see how he is not the best man for the job now.

Swinford 8k a huge success

Fri, Aug 08, 2008

There was a good atmosphere on the streets of Swinford on Sunday for the annual road race. Swinford AC organised the fourth race in the 2008 Mayo Road Race League and provided a warm welcome for the participants in the 8k and the children's race which preceded it. Joe McNulty and his team of enthusiastic supporters in this young and successful club made sure the event was a huge success. The streets in the start and finish areas were cordoned off and traffic free, which enhanced the safety and enjoyment of all. This race has gained in popularity and stature and is now a key event in the Western athletics calendar. The main race had over 130 runners from 20-plus athletics clubs.

Soccer Fixtures

Fri, Aug 08, 2008

Friday August 8
Boys’ U12 Premier Division (At 7pm)

Boys’ U12 Premier Division (At 7pm)

gaa Fixtures

Fri, Aug 08, 2008

Friday August 8
Under 18 11-a-side Championship, Prelim. Rd (At 7pm)

Puke football and poor crowds

Fri, Aug 08, 2008

A well known former inter-county footballer, whose name escapes me at the time of writing, coined the phrase “puke football”! He was referring to the ugly defensive style of play that became de rigueur in Ulster counties in the early noughties. Regrettably that phrase was very much in my mind as I watched some appalling fare in Croke Park last weekend. Teams are just so reluctant to kick the ball these days for fear of giving it back to the opposition. We are consequently presented with a game of handball with practically no creativity and most teams packing their defences for fear of getting caught out by a long kick into a porous defence. Perhaps it is time to look at the “off side” rule in Gaelic football?!

All Ireland Minor Championship Quarter-final

Fri, Aug 08, 2008

With the senior side bowing out of the championship in Croke Park last weekend, Ray Dempsey’s minor side will be looking to build on their Connacht championship win over Roscommon when they take on Monaghan on Saturday in Longford in the All Ireland quarter-final. Dempsey was able to mastermind Mayo’s first Connacht minor title in seven years thanks to a narrow win over a battling Roscommon side in Castlebar back in July and this Sunday’s game against the runners up in the Ulster Championship could send Mayo back to Croke Park. While they rode their luck at times in the Connacht final especially in the first half when Roscommon kicked themselves out of the game with some poor shooting, Mayo never let their opponents superiority on the field during the opening half get to them and kept plugging away before they took off on in the second half. Dempsey knows it’s going to be a big ask on Saturday and there is a lot of pressure on his side. “It’s nice to be here but as each game goes by the pressure builds up on you and your team. But this is where we want to be and that’s what comes with it.”

Yawl Fever Breaks out in Achill

Fri, Aug 01, 2008

The legendary Yellow Rose is the new frontrunner in the Cumann Badoiri Acla Yawl racing season which started two weeks ago in Clare Island. This weekend saw Michael the Shore-Patten from Bunnacurry, Achill skipper his late father Sean's famous 26 footer yawl to two great victories in Mulranny, winning both the Mulranny Old Great Southern Hotel Regatta Cup and the Park Inn Hotel Cup in great style. Weather conditions for yawl racing in both Clare Island and Mulranny were good, though the first race in Mulranny was confined to one lap due to the light breeze, which soon picked up for the second race. Michael The Shore in the Yellow Rose has been the one to watch this year. He started the yawl season in fine form with a number two placing in the Clare Island Yawl Race just two weeks ago. He was beaten to the post by a fine perfromance by the well experienced and celebrated Sean Patten Belfarsad and crew in San Telmo who had a stunning victory in Clare Island just the week before. But Michael TheShore was not to be outdone in Mulranny where he robbed Beagnach Neamh of silver in the first race, and then went on to storm ahead of San Telmo in the second Mulranny race. John Dara O'Malley in Beagnach Neamh had to settle for third place on this outing.

Mayo athletes hit the road in Balla and Swinford

Fri, Aug 01, 2008

A warm welcome awaits in Swinford for all who make the trip for the fourth race in the 2008 Mayo AC Road Race series. Swinford AC host the Swinford 8km Road Race on Sunday, August 3 at 5pm and it promises to be a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Swinford AC are one of the most progressive, ambitious and successful juvenile athletics clubs in the west and undoubtedly this race will be run with the same level of enthusiasm and efficiency as all their club activities to date.

Ballinrobe road race coming up

Fri, Aug 01, 2008

People living in the south Mayo and north Galway can look forward to a festival of cycling on local roads on Saturday, and Sunday, August 9 and 10. The two days of racing make up the annual Ballinrobe two-day road race which attracts cyclists from all over Ireland. “This will be a huge event with up to 120 riders, and in the past locals have been able to enjoy some great racing in the region,” said a spokesperson for organisers Western Lakes CC.

The routes for the two days are as follows: Saturday, August 9: Stage 1: 3pm, starting at Finlay’s Filling Station, Ballinrobe – Partry – Srah – Tourmakeady – Maire Luke’s – Killateeaun – Maamtrasna – Finney – Clonbur – Ballykyne – Dringeen – Cahernagower Bridge, and onto The Neale crossroads. The race will then cover two laps of a circuit taking them from The Neale crossroads to Ballymartin, into Ballinrobe, and around again.

Curtain falls on successful week off football

Fri, Aug 01, 2008

The week-long dizzying festival of football that embraced every corner of Mayo last week came to an end on Saturday afternoon, with the FAI AGM in Breaffy House Resort. The festival of football which was promised by the FAI when they first announced that Mayo would host the AGM was duly delivered upon and from Sunday to Saturday Mayo got football fever. From Killala to Partry and Ballina to Westport, the people of Mayo came out in their thousands to meet and greet the top brass of the FAI, including Ireland senior manager Giovanni Trapattoni whose “walkabout” in Westport was one of the highlights of the week.

Over the course of the week, hundreds of volunteers were busy putting the final touches to clubhouses and pitches as new facilities were officially opened the length and breadth of the county, and the FAI showed their support for the game in the county by setting aside a special allocation of €100,000 funding which was given to the clubs around Mayo. FAI Chief Executive John Delaney was impressed with the reception that he and his entrouage were given around the county and the ambition of the clubs in Mayo. “All you have to look at is the ambitions of the clubs here to make sure that they have top-class facilities not just for their main teams but for the kids starting out because that’s what is really important. From the smallest areas and the smallest clubs, who are filled with great people who do great work.”

A few classics in championships past

Fri, Aug 01, 2008

And then there were 12, we’re just under three weeks out from the Connacht Final and a dozen sides are left in with a shout. While Armagh, Dublin, Cork and Galway are given another week to ready themselves for the elite eight phase of the competition, tomorrow (August 2) sees Mayo back in action. All eyes were on the draw drum on Sunday evening to see who would Mayo get of the quadruplet of sides who managed to make it through the previous two rounds of action. Each of the potential adversaries had there own pitfalls, Down a side who seemed to be on the up this year with Ross Carr moulding a side, Kildare who bombed so famously against Micko’s Wicklow in the long grass of early summer, but Kieran McGeeney is a man used to getting things done and has picked them up. Monaghan the new darlings of the football world with boundless enthusiasm and with Banty McEnneany patrolling the sideline and celebrating wildly at final whistles. But it wasn’t to be any of that trio, Tyrone were pulled from the hat and they pose their own series of questions that will have to be answered.

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