Search Results for 'Jim McGuinness'

Mayo and Donegal football managers have kick-started a campaign to encourage motorists to watch their speed and be aware of driver fatigue. The football managers took time out from preparation for Sunday's big game to show their support for Mayo and Donegal county councils’ You Snooze You Lose campaign, which aims to bring down traffic speeds on our roads and make motorists aware of driver fatigue, as the big game takes place over one of the busiest bank holiday weekends on the roads.

Once Monaghan had ended Donegal’s three-in-a-row Ulster championship dreams in St Tiernach’s Park in Clones, a couple of hours after Mayo had wrapped up their own hat-trick of provincial titles, this Sunday’s quarter-final pairing was the one that the neutral and plenty of non-neutrals wanted to see come out of the hat. And so it came to pass, not long after 8.30pm last Saturday, the gods conspired to set up a rematch of last year’s All Ireland final, with Cavan man Joe McQuillan the man brokering the peace in the middle of the two packs.

The luck of the draw pitted Mayo and Donegal against each other in next Sunday’s All Ireland quarter-final and with that James Horan will square off against Jim McGuinness once again on the sideline. The Mayo manger looked confident and relaxed at the Mayo press event in Breaffy House on Sunday night and was looking forward to taking on last year’s All Ireland champions once again.

What a wonderful occasion last Sunday’s Connacht finals day was in McHale Park. I arrived in Castlebar at 11am and already could feel the buzz and anticipation as many supporters were parking miles out the Charlestown road at that early hour. The day was not as sunny as expected but it was very humid and extremely energy sapping for the players, and even the well prepared Mayo players who did not have to get out of second gear were down on all fours at the end gasping for air.

Guinness & Co has just launched a major new cultural initiative, Arthur Guinness Projects, designed to champion and celebrate people whose ideas, passion, and spirit are enhancing and shaping our culture and identity.

Now that the dust has finally settled, I spent some time discussing the quality of the senior football championship this year with a few GAA heads. Overall it was generally felt that it was a reasonably good championship as there were several good games that were of high quality. Obviously Mayo’s victory over Dublin is a stand out match for me, and I’m sure several of you too. But you would also have to admit that Donegal’s victories over both Kerry and Cork, when they produced their two best performances, were really eye-catching. Donegal were the best team in the country all year and deserved their All-Ireland success.

They came, they conquered, and they had a mighty fine party to celebrate their only second ever All-Ireland title.

"Commit. Focus. Believe. Achieve " - the recipe for Donegal’s All Ireland success, according to manager Jim McGuinness. In three days time, the Galway hurlers will have to do the same.

During the second half of Mayo’s recent victory over Dublin, I wondered if some of the Mayo boys were tightening up ever so slightly with the winning post in sight. Did they go into their shell when absolutely cruising with a 10 point lead? Was it fatigue? Were they fit enough? I can’t recall any Dublin player requiring treatment for cramp? Or was this simply an example of a smart Mayo side working the system to get to the final? After watching the game later that night it seemed that Dublin simply threw caution to the wind when they realised that they were being absolutely hammered by their opponents. The Monday morning papers were not going to spare them and so they more or less played with a reckless abandon and were lucky with a few breaks around the middle of the field which they were able to capitalise on with scores. But are we sure? And that’s the fundamental question which means that there is still a little question mark over Mayo heading into next weekend’s final.

I think Mayo have a great chance of beating the Dubs on Sunday. Luke Dempsey called earlier in the week to discuss Mayo’s chances. He too believes Mayo will win. He suggested that the Dubs need twice as much possession as most teams to manage a victory. He believes many of their players are lacking in some of the fundamental skills of the game. I too have suggested that many of the Dublin footballers appear to be manufactured footballers, ie, many are not naturally talented. Of course they are much better than the three teams we have played in this year’s campaign so far, but are the Dubs that good? I do not think so.