Westport make three out of three
Fri, May 04, 2012
Westport Untied kept up their 100 per cent start to the Super League last weekend with a 2-0 win over a winless Straide and Foxford United. The tangerine clad side were condemned to their third defeat on the trot and will have to turn things around soon or they could be sinking back down to the Premier A before they know it. JP O’Gorman put Westport on their way with a goal inside a quarter of a hour and Pat Fitzgerald made sure with a strike from the penalty spot midway through the second half. The champions Castlebar Celtic were made to work hard by Michael Hutton’s Claremorris side in Celtic Park to pick up their second win of the season. Stevie Gavin was the man who broke the deadlock in what was very tough battle between a Claremorris side who are looking to make improvements on last year’s very competitive run in the league. Both sides are locked together on six points from their opening three games, alongside Ballina Town. Ballina who went down to Westport United in the previous week bounced back with style with a 4-1 win over Manulla at home last weekend. The final game in last weekend’s Super League saw Fahy Rovers come home from Erris with a point after a 0-0 draw with Iorras Aontaithe.
Read more ...Roache leads the way after four rounds
Fri, May 04, 2012
After four rounds of the Mayo cycling league Swinford man Kevin Roache has now scored more points in the four races to date than the other 87 starters, he wears the Marrey Bikes sponsored yellow jersey of league leader.
Read more ...Connacht back in the big time again next season
Fri, May 04, 2012
With both Ulster and Leinster through to this year's Heineken Cup final on May 19 an Irish winner is guaranteed leaving the door open for Connacht to qualify as the fourth team from Ireland. This comes as a huge boost to the club which finished off their first ever Heineken Cup this year with a memorable victory over Harlequins in the Sportsground.
Read more ...Mayo to play Donegal in honour of Garda Robert McCallion
Fri, May 04, 2012
The late Garda Robert McCallion will be fondly remembered by family, friends and colleagues on Sunday May 6 when Swinford GAA club host a challenge match between Mayo and Donegal to mark the rededication of their all-weather pitch. Robbie lost his fight for life on April 7, 2009 from injuries received while on duty as a garda in Letterkenny. “He was a proud and very active member of Swinford GAA club and the community feel that this dedication is a fitting tribute to him,” said Mayo GAA PRO and Swinford club member, Aiden McLoughlin.
“We have spent the last year or so making sure the pitch and facilities are of the highest standard,” he added. “We are now happy to say that they are worthy of the Ulster and Connacht champs - and all their fans. To have the Connacht and Ulster champions playing in our own back yard is quite a treat for the GAA folk of Swinford. That they are playing in honour of one of our own makes it even more special. The decision to rededicate the pitch in Robbie's honour was not taken lightly. But Robbie struck a chord. It’s a combination of the way he played the game, the manner in which he approached his life and way in which he left it. He was a man who set himself high standards.
Read more ...There is a lot of good to be taken from league final defeat
Fri, May 04, 2012
Our Mayo side was once again placed under the whitest of lights in Croke Park and we all once again waited for coronations. Then the seemingly inevitable uncorked the vitriol. It started in the stands with several around me shaking their heads and leaving long before the final whistle. It is not a nice thing, from a player’s point of view, to see ‘your’ supporters walking out before the game has finished. It is their (the supporters) signal to the players that, for them at least, the show is over.
Read more ...Rolling back the years, with the Deel Rovers
Fri, May 04, 2012
Throughout the late nineties and through to the middle of the last decade, Michael Moyles was one of the most recognisable players in the club game in the county and with Mayo on more than a few occasions. But injury put paid to his footballing career long before time. Six years have passed since then and Moyles has been all over the province managing a number of sides, but this year the lure of his home club was to much to resist when they came calling. “I was in Leitrim managing Annaduff for the past two years, the first year we got to a league final and were beaten and had a good run in the championship and were unlucky to be knocked out,” he said. “The next year we won a league final and lost a championship semi-final that we probably should have won. We were making progress and it is hard to leave somewhere when you see progress being made. But I got calls from the likes of Stephen Rochford and Ciaran McDonald and other senior lads and I spoke to some of the younger lads, when this came up. It was always something that I wanted to do and it might have come around quicker than I would have expected, but I’m delighted to be managing my own club.”
Read more ...Feile na Gael opposition for Mayo sides unveiled
Fri, May 04, 2012
The All-Ireland u14 Club Hurling and Camogie festival, Feile na nGael will be hosted by Dublin this year - taking place from Thursday, July 5 until Saturday, July 7. The draw was made in Parnell Park in Dublin recently, with two hurling teams and one camogie team invited to take part from Mayo.
The number one Mayo hurling representatives, Tooreen, will be hosted by the Naomh Mearnog GAA Club in Portmarnock in division four. Also drawn in this group are Tomas Davis (Tallaght) and the Tyrone champions. There are 16 teams in total in Division 4, divided into four groups of four.
Read more ...Murt’s Mayo open up against the Mourne county men
Fri, May 04, 2012
It was a very strange league campaign for Mayo in division 2B of the national hurling league. They were unbeaten against the top two teams in the division yet only managed to finish in fourth place in the table out of six teams. The league campaign was bookended by impressive wins over bottom of the table Roscommon and eventual table toppers Kildare at the very end of the league stages. Both those wins of course did feature the talents of Keith Higgins who, as has become the norm in recent years, is balancing life as an inter-county footballer for one of the top sides in the country, and as the captain and leader of an inter-county hurling team a nice bit down the food chain when it comes to the small ball game. In between those two wins, Mayo held a fancied Meath side to a draw in Castlebar, before being beaten on the road by Armagh and overseas by London.
Read more ...Cash benefit from league semi and final not what hoped for
Fri, May 04, 2012
The increased cash boost to the coffers of Mayo GAA will not be as big as hoped for following the poor attendance figures at both the league semi-final and final. “We are still waiting on the money to be shared out, but it won’t be a big as we would have hoped for,” county board secretary Kevin O’Toole told the Mayo Advertiser this week. “The dividend will be split between the four teams each day involved and with the numbers that came along it won’t be what we would have hoped for. It’s like the club championship here, the less people that come along the less that comes in.”
Read more ...First major test for Claremorris awaits
Fri, Apr 27, 2012
Much like last season, Claremorris have hit the ground running early in the Elverys Sports Super League. Maximum points from their opening brace of games, have the south Mayo side sitting on top of the league table, albeit ahead only ahead of Westport United on goal difference. On Sunday, Claremorris will have to make their first away trip of the season when they travel to the home of the champions Castlebar Celtic.
Read more ...Cooney secures nationals title
Fri, Apr 27, 2012
Ballaghaderreen’s Stephen Cooney claimed the men’s 23 and under title at the Irish Nationals Championships in Kingscourt, Co Cavan, last weekend. The Mayo ace comfortably defeated Sam Temple from Kildare in the quarter-finals and followed that win with a 21-12, 21-11 defeat of Newport’s Ciaran Burke in the semi-final. Cooney faced Limerick’s C J Fitzpatrick in the decider on Sunday last.
The Mayo man won the opening game comfortably 21 aces to 6 but lost the second 21 aces to 17. In a tense tie-break third, Cooney prevailed to take the title 11 aces to 6. He thus secured an automatic spot on the official Irish team for the World championships in Dublin this October. Bofield handballer Jason Judge just missed out on a title as he was beaten by Galway’s Morgan Duggan in the masters B singles final on a 21-12, 21-19 scoreline. Judge battled his was through some very tough matches in the eight strong field and should be well seeded come the World Championships in Dublin in October.
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