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Castlebar Mitchels came up just short in Croke Park last Monday when a Diarmuid Connolly inspired St Vincent's team had too much for them in the AIB All Ireland Senior Club Football Championship final.

It was All-Ireland final heartbreak for another Mayo team as Castlebar Mitchels fell to the might of St Vincent’s on St Patrick’s Day. We will never know what might have happened if Richie Feeney had not received a black card after only five minutes.

When 42 minutes into the contest Danny Kirby reacted quickest to a Neil Douglas shot coming back off the post and he drove the ball past Michael Savage from close range, Castlebar Mitchels believed it was going to be their day in Croke Park. Kirby's goal put his side into a 1-11 to 2-7 lead and looked to have Vincent's rattled. But less than a minute later, the Dublin side won a free out on the Cusack Stand side of the field. Tomas Quinn was making his way over to have a crack at the posts, but his team-mate Tiernan Diamond decided to launch a quick one into the the Mitchels penalty area the ball bounced and evaded the grasp of Ciarán Dorney, but unfortunately for Castlebar, Diarmuid Connolly was following in behind and was able to palm the ball past the reach of Ciaran Naughton in the Mitchels goal, to put Vincent's back in front and take the wind out of the Mitchels sails. It wasn't the knock-out punch, but it was the one that left Castlebar unsteady on their feet and needing the end of the round to come quickly for them to recover, but it never came and the Marino team and Connolly in particular kept piling on the blows over the next ten minutes. Over that period Connolly kicked another 1-3, which went unanswered by the Mitchels. The Dublin stars second goal saw him run through the heart of the Mitchels defence, get dispossessed yet he was still able to flick the ball back up into his hands with his right boot and in a continuous movement drop the ball to his left boot and fire it past Ciaran Naughton. That was the knock out blow and it was plain sailing for Vincent's from then on to the final whistle even if Danny Kirby did manage to get a second goal for Castlebar just before the end to close the gap a bit.

Last year was my first time growing my own potatoes. I ordered a few heritage varieties from Seed Savers, varieties that would be difficult to find in the shops, some early and some main crop. I planted them late enough in the season so as to avoid any lingering frosts as we are prone to here in the west. They grew readily with the plentiful rain and flowered in white, yellow, and some in a glorious purple. When the leaves faded and died back it was time to harvest. It was lovely to see the children’s delight at sifting through the soil and discovering hidden potatoes, like a messy Easter egg hunt… potatoes with skins so thin that you could brush them off with your thumb. The taste of those freshly dug little earlies, with butter, ground pepper, and fat flakes of sea salt was amazing.

The word depression is a much misused term. When people are feeling a little sad, moody or down for a short period they often say they are depressed. But in reality they are really just having an “off” day or week and their mood will lift shortly.

A psychiatrist with extensive experience helping people cope with depression will give a free public talk on the subject in the city next week.

In the space of 10 days the Greens have been hit by a double whammy of resignations and plunged into a public bickering match with their coalition colleagues Fianna Fáil.

The Pope talking about condoms. It’s always a recipe for disaster. In fairness to the man, he’s the head of the Catholic Church and he’s never going to condone contraception. But he might be better staying clear of the subject altogether. Comments made by the Pope this week have caused outrage. But was what Pope Benedict said taken out of context and was the Church head misquoted?

All-Ireland, Connacht championship, and minor medals decorate his walls, but Gort stalwart Ollie Fahy would gladly hand them all back for a county final win.