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It was third time lucky for Ciaran McBrien’s men last Sunday as they claimed the Moclair Cup thanks to a three point win over Knockmore in the county senior final. The east Mayo men were deserving winners over an injury hit side from north Mayo who lacked the killer punch up front denied to them by the absence of Aidan Kilcoyne and Damien Munnelly, but that is of little worry to Charlestown who went out and did what they had to do. David ‘Ginger’ Tiernan rolled back the years with a tireless display in the middle of the field which saw him rightfully rewarded with a man of the match trophy after the game but good performances from the likes of Richard Haran which saw him score four points, John Casey in goal who pulled off a few good saves one late on when Knockmore were battling for a goal to save the tie and substitute Brian O’Connell who offered them something different in attack when they needed it, during the final scuffles saw them over the line. And after the celebrations died down this week, attention will turn to the Connacht Club championship, a competition the east Mayo men won the last time they were county champions back in 2001.

There is no shortage of action this weekend on the GAA scene in Mayo with the county senior championship, intermediate championship, and Minor A championship finals taking centre stage.

It’s a meeting of an old familiar face with his former comrades on Sunday when Charlestown meet St Kevin’s, Castlerea, in the Connacht semi final. Denis Kearney was in the middle of the field for Charlestown in the 1993 Mayo intermediate final, a side that included current Charlestown goalkeeper John Casey, current Charlestown manager Ciaran McBrien, and the county final’s man of the match David ‘Ginger’ Tiernan who was on the bench 16 years ago. So if any man will have the inside track on the Charlestown and what they are about it is the Carracastle native, who currently resides in Swinford another Mayo side he togged out for in his playing days.

It’s a meeting of an old familiar face with his former comrades on Sunday when Charlestown meet St Kevin’s, Castlerea, in the Connacht semi final. Denis Kearney was in the middle of the field for Charlestown in the 1993 Mayo intermediate final, a side that included current Charlestown goalkeeper John Casey, current Charlestown manager Ciaran McBrien, and the county final’s man of the match David ‘Ginger’ Tiernan who was on the bench 16 years ago. So if any man will have the inside track on the Charlestown and what they are about it is the Carracastle native, who currently resides in Swinford another Mayo side he togged out for in his playing days.

Corofin’s manager this season, Ger Keane, has been involved with Corofin football in different capacities for the past 30 years or more.

It wasn’t easy getting here, and it isn’t going to get any easier for them on Sunday, but Charlestown have pushed themselves to the brink of provincial glory for the first time since 2001. On Sunday at 2pm they will get the chance to claim their second ever Connacht title in front of their home faithful in Fr O’Hara Park. After losing the previous two county finals Charleston’s main objective for the year was to put those two defeats to right, which they did against Knockmore in the county final when they claimed a deserving win.

“You’ve got to dance with the ladies that are in the hall, as they say,” is Ciaran McBrien’s outlook as he thinks about the injuries he has to deal with ahead of this Sunday’s refixed Connacht club final against Corofin. The Charlestown manager already knew that he would be without the influence and experience of David Tiernan for this final due to injury, and star forward Richie Haran was going to be another major doubt for the game last weekend with a broken bone in his hand. The extra week has given Haran some more time to recover, but McBrien does not know if it is going to be enough. “It’s one of the hardest breaks to heal we’ve been told, they reckon it will be a six to eight week injury whichever way you look at it, but we hope he’s able to make it in some form.”