Sun, sea, and the odd football game

Fri, Jul 25, 2014

The four provincial winners have eventually been decided with Dublin and Donegal winning their respective finals in Leinster, and Ulster joining Kerry and of course Mayo. I was in a very precarious position last Sunday at 1.30pm, sitting in 30 degrees of heat by a gorgeous pool in the Algarve, do I stay or do I go to watch potential opponents for Mayo. There was only one winner, I left the swimming pool as I would have been uneasy sitting, wondering what was going on. I happened to meet former Breaffy player Robert Fahy and two of his kids who were there for the same reason as myself, we wanted to see if the Dubs were beatable as most people felt Meath were the team to do it.

Dublin have been notable slow starters but not this time around, they devoured Meath from the get go and were relentless in their pursuit of scores. Meath did not help themselves with some wayward shooting and certainly they were not helped by referee Padraic Hughes’ decision not to allow an advantage for Stephen Bray’s goal when Dublin looked like they were pulling away. Hughes had allowed the advantage to work perfectly for the Dubs all day long so it was very strange for the Armagh official to blow his whistle early when Bray was clearly in on goal. If that goal was allowed there would only have been three points between the teams and who knows what might have happened if Michael-Darragh McCauley received a red card for a retaliation on his Meath marker.

Big names for MMA showdown spectacle in Castlebar

Fri, Jul 25, 2014

It is fast becoming one of the most popular sports in the world and now MMA is coming west. A major MMA event is taking place in the Welcome Inn Hotel, Castlebar, on Sunday August 3, with some of the top competitors in the county coming to town to do battle for the inaugural West Cage Fighting Championships. This is an opportunity for fans of the sport to witness firsthand the spectacle of an all-out, full-scale MMA event. There will be 10 fights over the course of the night, with each contest being decided over three, three-minute, rounds.

‘It’s not the perfect marriage, but we’re relatively happy’ — Horan

Fri, Jul 25, 2014

Last weekend saw the final group games in both the senior and intermediate club championships in Mayo. Speaking this week to the press, Mayo manager James Horan said that while everyone came though the club championships without major injury it does cause a hindrance for his preparation for next Sunday’s All Ireland quarter final. “You do lose significant time, unlike the Dublin or Donegal, they’re gaining a week, which is a double whammy, which we might lose here and they have a double gain. If it was standard across the board, it suits me down to the ground,” said Horan.

Westport finally drop points

Fri, Jul 25, 2014

Wining the title would have been the most important thing for Westport United when the Elverys Sports Super League kicked off, but as the weeks went by and the wins kept piling up, the potential of their going all the way through the league with a 100 per cent record looked to be a real possibility. And in their 13th of 18 games in the league last weekend, right until deep injury time in the Sports Park they looked to be on course to make it 13 from 13. But Michael Guilfoyle had other ideas, the Straide and Foxford United striker nodded into the back of the net from close range four minutes into injury time to stop Westport United’s chase for perfection.

In all reality it is probably not going to have a bearing on the outcome of the title race, and Westport will be crowned champions sooner rather than later and still can go through the season unbeaten. Their final league game is scheduled to be against arch rivals Castlebar Celtic and the Hoops would love nothing more than taking Westport’s unbeaten record from them, even if United have the title well wrapped up at that stage.

Last eight in senior and intermediate championships decided

Sun, Jul 20, 2014

The final round of group games in the Mayo GAA senior and intermediate championships took centre stage over the weekend, with action across the county on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. The eight sides to make the senior quarter-finals are Castlebar Mitchels, Ballintubber, Garrymore, Knockmore, Ballaghaderreen, Breaffy and Aghamore. The four sides who finished bottom of their groups and go into the relegation play-offs are Crossmolina Deel Rovers, Kiltane, Westport and Ballina Stephenites.

Battle of the ‘Towns’ in Tuohy Cup final

Fri, Jul 18, 2014

It’s a battle of the Towns in Milebush Park on Sunday, when Newport Town face off against Ballyhaunis Town in the Tuohy Cup final at 3pm. The men from Ballyhaunis Town will go into the game as favourites, as they sit 14 points clear of Newport Town in the Welcome Inn Premier B table. Ballyhaunis Town are right in the title hunt only three points off first placed Kiltimagh/Knock United, and two points behind Glenhest Rovers in second place. Newport Town are currently sitting third from the bottom in the league table with only three wins from their 11 league games so far this season, but they are still six points clear of the relegation zone. When these sides met in the league a few weeks ago, Ballyhaunis Town ran out 5-2 winners in Ballyhaunis and also saw off Newport Town 1-0 in the second round of league games.

Shooting stars around the Mayo’s courses

Fri, Jul 18, 2014

Balla
Last weekend’s ladies’ team competition was won by the team of Carmel Heverin and Helen Byrne with a score of 47. Their back nine play held off the challenge of Carmel Henry and Marie Flanagan in second place, with Delia O’Hara and Pat Dillon finishing in third place.

Mayo far superior to Galway — but can they win Sam?

Fri, Jul 18, 2014

On the Mayo Advertiser vodcast last week - all four pundits went very strongly for a Mayo win in the Connacht final. John Casey of this parish even pushed his prediction out to a six point win for James Horan's men. Hence there was no real surprise last Sunday when Mayo proved once again that they are by far the best team in this province.

Make mine a double

Fri, Jul 18, 2014

Mayo achieved the double/double in Elverys MacHale Park last Sunday with our minors and seniors winning the Connacht championship for the second year in a row. I could only imagine it was a bit surreal for Diarmuid O’Connor who only 12 months ago was on that minor team, and now finds himself togging with the seniors and winning his first senior medal while some of his old team mates collected their second in the minor grade.

Boyle and O’Connor are ready for the next step

Fri, Jul 18, 2014

Mayo's teak tough centre-back Colm Boyle laid down an early marker in Sunday's contest with a almighty hit on Galway's Damien Comer in the first half. The Davitts’ man was happy to get the win and told the Mayo Advertiser after the game there was still lots for his side to improve on ahead of the All Ireland quarter-final “It was a strange game, we started fairly well, got into the game, and Lee's goal settled us a small bit. But we maybe dropped the tempo and Galway missed a few opportunities at the start of the second half. We were a bit dead and they came out well in the second half.”

Connacht Rugby head to Ballinrobe for training and the races

Fri, Jul 18, 2014

The Connacht Rugby senior squad heads to Mayo next Tuesday for a pre-season training session at Ballinrobe RFC.

The squad will train on the club’s redeveloped pitch at 2pm, followed by a session at 3pm with youngsters from the club. Both sessions are open to the public to attend, while there will be photo opportunities with the players.

Last chance to make the elite eight

Fri, Jul 18, 2014

A hectic weekend of action is in store in the Mayo GAA Senior Football championship, with four of the quarter-finalists already known, the final four spots are still up for grabs over Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.

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