Search Results for 'Mayo GAA'

This evening’s meeting of Mayo and NUIG in McHale Park in the home final of the FBD League will bring together two of the men who put their name in the hat for the Mayo manager’s job last year. James Horan was the choice at the end of the search to fill the spot left vacant by John O’Mahony, but John Maughan who is now over the students was right in the running until he decided to withdraw from the race not long before the finish.

It may not be that long in the grand scheme of things and with everything else that is going on around the country, it may seem like a very trivial matter. But to those, who follow the fortunes of the Mayo senior team tomorrow night couldn’t have come quick enough. A new year, a new start and a new manager, a new season and a chance to start putting the memory of Pearse Park in Longford last June, well into the past.

The Alliance National Football League kicks off this Saturday and first out of the blocks in division one are Mayo, under new manger James Horan. They take on the defeated All-Ireland finalists Down at 7.30pm in McHale Park under lights.

Mayo               1-11

Murt Connolly and Mayo got off to a winning start to 2011 with a comfortable win over Galway and Connacht Intermediate club champions Pearses in Ballyheane on Saturday. An early point scoring blitz by Mayo gave the home team a 0-12 to 0-4 half time lead, as the higher athleticism shone through for the county side. Five first-half points apiece from Kenny Feeney (Tooreen) and Keith Higgins (Ballyhaunis) afforded both a half-time shower, as Murt Connolly took the opportunity to get to know his panel of players.

The visit of Connacht champions Roscommon to Ballyhaunis on Sunday gives James Horan another chance to have a look at the cast of hopefuls who are vying to nail down a place in his plans for the coming year. Horan opened up his inter-county management account last Saturday night in McHale Park, with a win over GMIT in the first floodlit game in the county ground. A healthy crowd of some 2,000 turned up for the game which, while it failed to light up the night on the field, was a good dry run for those involved in getting the ground ready for the visit of Down in the National Football League on February 5. However Horan was happy enough with how things went on the night in the most part. “It was a poor enough game, we came through it OK apart from Kevin Dolan who was very unfortunate. He was operated on Tuesday and hopefully he won’t be out for too long. It was good to get out there and see the guys in action on the field, it’s where you’ll learn what you are about and see mistakes that are being made and where you need to work on your game.”

Those souls who made the trip to Ballyhaunis last Sunday were left sorely disappointed when the man in black, TJ Keaveney from Sligo, decided that there would be no action on display because of a frozen pitch. The game which was originally down for Ballinamore in Leitrim was changed only the day before because of a similar problem. But the game being called off only 20 minutes before throw-in time caused a major inconvenience not only for the teams — Mayo had been going through their warm up on the second pitch in Ballyhaunis when it was called off — but to the supporters who had paid in to the ground. Mayo will now get their season underway on Saturday night in McHale Park when they host GMIT under lights in what will be a test run for the county ground ahead of their National League division one opener with Down on February 5 in the same venue. No Mayo starting team has been announced for the game at the time of going to print, but it would be expected to be along the same lines as the one picked for the Leitrim game. However there was one planned change before the game was called off last Sunday, with Castlebar Mitchels’ defender Richie Feeney out of the side after he picked up a foot injury the day before the game. GMIT will have Mayo representation with former Mayo midfielder Pat Fallon in charge of the team and a number of players from Mayo clubs battling for inclusion in his side. Mayo’s game against Leitrim has been refixed by the Connacht Council for January 30 in the original venue in Ballinanmore. The re-fixed game will give Mayo manager James Horan one last chance to run the rule over his side before the opening of their National League opener with Down the next Saturday.

Just over six months since Mayo last played a senior inter-county game the road is opening up in front of them for another year. On Sunday in Ballinamore in Leitrim the newest version of the Mayo senior team will take to the field under the guidance of James Horan for the first time. Since his appointment at the end of September, Horan has only been able to run his eye over his new charges a handful of times, the last time last weekend in a series of inter-squad challenge games and previous to that in a number of trial games in November.

The pride and passion of the Ballintubber GAA club in winning their first Mayo senior football title in 2010 is to feature in a special insightful documentary on TG4 this Christmas. Baile an Tobair – Bliain an Bhua relives the amazing journey of the Ballintubber senior football team from the desolate ranks of junior football a few years back to the exalted highs of Mayo senior football champions in 2010. This intriguing story unfolds as the club in the shadow of Ballintubber Abbey celebrates its centenary also this year, having being founded in 1910.  Baile an Tobair – Bliain an Bhua echoes and mirrors the life of every GAA club in the country with success and failure, heartbreak and jubilation, pain and passion all interwoven into one.

Next Monday night the different committees of the Mayo GAA Strategic Action plan will meet up and give their recommendations from their various committees, the chairperson of the strategic action plan steering group Liam Horan has been very pleased with the amount of engagement from the public and GAA members at large to the plan. Speaking to the Mayo Advertiser this week he said “It has proved that there are plenty of people who are willing to work and roll up their sleeves to help Mayo GAA, it also shows that people who say that the age of volunteerism is dead are wrong. We’ve had a huge amount of interest from people who wanted to get involved and still do want to get involved.”