Search Results for 'Senan Kilbride'

This time last year Mayo trounced Roscommon by 0-21 to 0-9 in McHale Park in the provincial semi-final.

The whirlwind nature of Mayo’s start to the GAA season continues on Sunday when Mayo take on Roscommon in Ballinlough at 2pm in their third game in ten days in the competition. A win for Mayo would send them into the competitions final which has been slated for Sunday week January 22 against the winners of the other group currently being led by Leitrim with two wins from two games and a draw against Sligo on Sunday would be enough to send last years FBD winners back into the final.

While driving to Hyde Park in Roscommon last Sunday there were two things on my mind. The first, I was wondering what Santa Claus would bring me, the second, whether I would rather be at home watching the All Blacks against Ireland in the rugby where the All Blacks were bidding to make history by being the first team to go unbeaten in a calendar year. By all accounts the rugby was pulsating, but with GAA in the bloodstream I was definitely in the right place. The Connacht club final between reigning All- Ireland champions St Brigid’s and Mayo champions Castlebar Mitchels was one of the most intense and exciting games I was ever present at. It literally had everything. Brilliant goals, superb defending, disallowed scores, unreal goal keeping, dubious refereeing, and for the week that is in it a scene out of Monty Python when Shane Curran had to be man handled off the field, red cards, and last but by no means least, the last kick of the game levelling scores. I am sure everyone present will take a different memory home with them.

Castlebar Mitchels 3-13

Finally getting over the 20-year-old itch and winning the Moclair Cup looks to have freed this Castlebar Mitchels team from the nagging doubts that many had about their ability to press on and mark themselves out as one of the truly great Mayo club sides. They have another opportunity to kick-on again this Sunday, when they go toe-to-toe with the current AIB All Ireland club champions, St Brigid's in Hyde Park. While bookmakers may have the Roscommon men as 4/7 favourites and Castlebar as 15/8 outsiders, those numbers will been have paid little heed around Páirc Josie Munnelly, as Pat Holmes along with his management team of Alan Nolan and Shane Conway put their players through their paces in preparation for Mitchels first provincial final since 1993. Last Sunday, the Mitchels wrapped up the Mayo double with a comprehensive 2-15 to 1-2 league win over the previous holders of the Moclair Cup, Ballaghaderreen. In 10 league and seven championship games they have gone into battle in this year, Mitchels have only been overturned once, on the opening day in the league, when the side they saw off in the county final (Breaffy) edged past them on a boggy and misty spring day.

Welcome to my first column as a writer. For the rest of the summer at least, I intend to discuss, analyse and give my opinion on all matters GAA at club and inter-county level. Feel free to e-mail me any comments or opinions you may have. For the week that’s in it my mind in focused on one thing only and there’s no prizes for guessing what that is. Mayo welcome Roscommon to Castlebar on Sunday for the Connacht semi-final and a right to play either London or Leitrim in the Connacht final. It sounds a bit surreal, but yes, London could be in a Connacht final. With the current upheaval in Leitrim and four players designated to the scrapheap for disciplinary reasons I may just fancy a flutter on London to make the final. Leitrim have a small enough panel to pick from without losing players, most notably Wayne McKeon, arguably one of their best players, but that’s for another day.

St Brigid’s 2-11

The waiting is nearly over and the final pieces of the jigsaw are now in place as St Brigid’s ready themselves for a titanic All-Ireland Club Football Final showdown with Dublin and Leinster club champions Ballymun Kickhams on St Patrick’s Day.

Moycullen's handball ace Martin Mulkerrins picked up three awards at the recent provincial GAA awards ceremony.

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try and try again. The footballers of St Brigid’s have enjoyed quite a bit of success over the past decade. Yet the holy grail of winning a club All-Ireland has thus far eluded them.