Search Results for 'All-Ireland Minor Football Championship'

Setanta Ireland announced its provisional list of live and deferred games for the National Football and Hurling Leagues this week.

I was in Aughamore with Crossmolina for a challenge match against the local club last Friday night. It was an opportunity for both sides to have a workout as they try to shake off their winter coats before the commencement of the league in a few weeks time. Aughamore have really impressive facilities and their flood lit pitch, in particular, is a credit to everyone involved up there. We were delighted with the opportunity to stretch the legs, after a number of weeks of circuit training, against a young talented team that have caught the eye in recent times. The underage structure in Aughamore is very obviously paying dividends at senior level and having seen them up close I now appreciate that they will have no problem whatsoever in mixing it with some of the big boys in the senior championship later this summer. Incidentally they were deserving winners on the night.

Last Sunday I witnessed two of the finest games of football that I have ever seen on All Ireland final day, and I have been at most finals since 1977. We occasionally get a memorable match, but rarely do we get two wonderful exhibitions of football. The two games were enthralling, exciting, nerve racking, at times but it was football played at its very best. I left Castlebar early on Sunday morning as I wanted to get to Dublin with time to relax and soak up the atmosphere before the games. Jones’s Road, on big match day, is a hive of activity and last Sunday I mingled with friends and acquaintances for almost two hours before going into the ground. We were blessed with the most glorious day that added greatly to the feel-good factor. There were lots hovering about the place hoping to pick up a spare ticket but I got the impression that there were very few floating about the place last Sunday. (No harm to see the touts taking a hit too in these economically depressed times.) I had my son Johnny and my daughter Sally Rose with me bedecked in their red and green ensembles. They were excitedly looking forward to seeing the Mayo minors play Tyrone. Others from my house were content with the luxury of home viewing. I met and chatted with a few of the 1983 Galway footballers as they made their way into Croke Park for lunch. They, and the Dublin footballers, were guests of Croke Park as they were part of the 25 year jubilee celebrations. I sent my two on their way into the game and made my way upstairs to the media section as I was lucky enough to be asked to work on the game for RTE Radio 1. I had a cup of coffee in the canteen with a few journalists and the unanimous consensus amongst these experts was that Kerry would win their third All Ireland in a row. They couldn’t call the minor match, but I did get the impression that if they were pressed they would side with Tyrone. I spoke with Micheál O Muireachtaigh to establish his views on the two sides. He thought Tyrone had some excellent players but “liked this Mayo team”. He referred to their physicality and suggested that this year’s team reminded him of some of the great minor teams he had seen from Mayo in years past. Micheál is too much of a gentleman and diplomat to suggest either team would win it, so he said that we should have a great game of football. And what a game we had.

To prove my point, after attending the All-Ireland football finals of 2004, 2006, and 2007, it was impossible not to come away from those days feeling a bit forlorn, a smidgen despondent, and a tad empty from the whole experience.

It has been a wonderful change over the past few mornings to look out from around 7.20am on and see some brightness and light to help you scoff down the porridge, toast and tea before dashing out the door for work. And the really noticeable stretch in the evenings definitely adds a pep to your step as you hit the training fields or head for a good jaunty walk or jog. With winter's darkness practically in our rear-view mirror and next Sunday heralding the start of spring, it is time for us to start checking out the new faces on the county panels and see if all the old stagers are back in the fold and if they are carrying any excess baggage around the midriff and buttocks. Are the young guns up to the job in hand and is there another year or two in the auld lads? Those are the questions that will be up for debate over the coming few weeks.

Sometimes in life you can be lucky. And the well worn truism that you are better to be born lucky than rich has many supporters.

It has been a wonderful change over the past few mornings to look out from around 7.20am on and see some brightness and light to help you scoff down the porridge, toast and tea before dashing out the door for work. And the really noticeable stretch in the evenings definitely adds a pep to your step as you hit the training fields or head for a good jaunty walk or jog.

Sometimes in life you can be lucky. And the well worn truism that you are better to be born lucky than rich has many supporters. Well, I am thinking of becoming an advocate of that maxim because last Saturday night I was fortunate enough to have been at Croke Park for a stunning evening's entertainment. It was a privilege and massive pleasure to have been in attendance on a historic and memorable evening for the GAA.

With both club and county championships up and running for the past few weeks, it is an opportune time to cast an eye over the likely winners and losers for the year ahead. Whether you like a small flutter or just a fantasy bet, here are my predictions, for what they’re worth. It’s worth bearing in mind that I’ll probably put the blight on my chosen teams.

I am finding it fairly difficult to establish just how good this current Mayo team really are, so I have conducted my own little independent survey among knowledgeable footballing friends from outside the county. Every single person I have spoken to since Mayo’s Connacht final victory over Galway has suggested that the Mayo team is in with a serious shout of winning this year’s All-Ireland title. They love the fact that this present group of players is big and strong with lots of ball winners particularly in the central positions. They also argue that it is a team that appears capable of scoring goals.