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Two weeks on from the pain of Croke Park, it's back to playing for the pride of the parish this weekend as the quarter-finals and relegation semi-finals of the Treanlaur Catering Senior Football Championships take place. MacHale Park in Castlebar will host two double headers of last eight action on Saturday and Sunday, with the entertainment getting under way with the meetings of Castlebar Mitchels and Ballina Stepehenites at 3.30pm and Charlestown and Garrymore at 5pm tomorrow. The first game is, on paper, probably the game of the weekend, with the two most successful sides in the history of the competition going toe-to-toe. Pat Holmes' Castlebar men go into the game as favourites after blitzing their way through the group stages, which included a comprehensive win over fellow last eight side Breaffy. Holmes' team have been knocking at the door of winning the Moclair Cup for the first time since the early 90s and this year could be their time. With Barry Moran, Tom Cunniffee (if he is fit after having gone off at half-time in the All Ireland final) and Richie Feeney back in situ, alongside the likes of Danny Kirby, Aidan Walsh, Neil Douglas, Alan Feeney, and Ciaran Naughton, Mitchels have the player power to over-run any team in the grade. Not that Ballina will be any pushovers. John Healy's side will have to do without inspirational goalkeeper David Clarke, who had not recovered enough to take any part in Mayo's All Ireland series campaign. Healy will be able to call on experienced players of the calibre of Ronan McGarrity, Pat Harte, Ger Cafferkey, and Eanna Casey; while Evan Regan could have a major impact up front if he gets going. This time last year Ballina were staring down the barrel of the relegation gun after a horrible season, but they have pulled themselves together this year and will not give up without a fight. But when all is said and done, Castlebar should just have too much for them.

t’s been 36 years since it was last achieved when Garrymore saw off Knockmore by the smallest of margins on a scoreline of 1-9 to 2-5 to claim a historic three-in-a-row. On Sunday, Ballintubber are looking to become the latest side to enter their name in that ledger in the history books of Mayo football.

Come this time of the season, the win is all that matters and that's exactly what Ballintubber and Ballaghaderreen both delivered in Elvery's McHale Park on Sunday afternoon. Both of this years senior championship semi-finals weren't games for the ages. What they were, was games that had to be won. Ballintubber who are looking to be the first team since the historic Garrymore side of the mid-seventies to put together a three-in-a-row title rein, booked their place in this years final, by coming out on the right side of a result that looked for a good portion of the game, was going to go against them.

Could Castlebar Mitchels stop Ballintubber's drive for three senior titles in a row? That was the big question that was being asked in the lead up to last weekends quarter finals in the Treanlaur Catering Senior Football Championship. After 60 minutes of battle on Sunday evening, for the third year in row, Ballintubber emerged victorious from the heat of championship battle with their near neighbors.

The Mayo Senior Football team to face Leitrim in the Connacht Senior Football Championship semi-final this Sunday June 24 at 3.30pm in Elverys MacHale Park is as follows:

The defending champions Ballintubber laid down a marker for the rest of the sides in the county that they will not be giving up their championship easy this year when they blitzed their way through what looked like a potentially tricky opening round encounter against local rivals Breaffy with a 1-14 to 0-3 win. Breaffy were always going to be up against it facing the defending champions on their own patch in the opening round, but having to go into the game without both Seamus and Aidan O'Shea it was going to need a huge effort from them if they were going to take anything from the game.

Corofin 1-11

Last year Ballintubber failed at the first hurdle in the provincial championship. But coming on the back of an emotional first ever win of the Moclair cup, losing out at the first stage of the Connacht championships wasn’t as bitter a pill to swallow as it could be this time around.

It was never going to be easy for Ballintubber this year, following up last year’s emotional first Mayo senior championship title, losing their manager to the county senior team, a new man coming in trying to steady the ship and push on. But they did it again last Sunday and put together back to back senior titles, thanks to a massive effort to overcome a Castlebar Mitchels side who were licking their wounds from last year’s final loss to the Tubber.

When Anthony McGarry took over as manager of the Ballintubber team late last year, he did so from a position of considerable strength. They [Ballintubber] had just won their first county title, and not alone did McGarry get to manage a talented bunch of young men, he also inherited a team that knew how to maximise their playing strengths. He was then given the scope to evolve the team’s style of play by shifting away from the rear-loaded defensive strategy, employed to reasonable effect last year, to a more expansive attacking style this year.