Champions tumble out over quarter-finals weekend

Sun, Oct 06, 2013

It was a weekend for surprises in Elverys MacHale Park in the Treanlaur Catering Senior Football Championship, with the defending champions Ballaghaderreen and the winners of the previous two titles Ballintubber both bowing out of championship at the quarter-final stage. The final of the last eight ties got off to a dramatic start, with most eyes during the warm up trying to see was Cillian O’Connor going to play any part in the game, then suddenly Knockmore’s Aiden Kilcoyne had to be stretchered off the field before a ball had even been kicked in anger. The All Ireland u21 winner, when running away from the team photograph did something to his knee in his run towards the warm up and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher, in some discomfort. It wasn’t the start that Nigel Reape would have been hoping for, but his charges, knuckled down without their marquee forward and tore into Peter Ford’s Ballintubber side. The main man in the clash was Declan Sweeney who rolled back the years with a performance for the ages in the full-forward position. He ran Cathal Hallinan ragged all day, and Hallinan didn’t have a particularly bad game and was the key difference between the sides. Knockmore were leading by 0-3 to 0-2 after ten minutes, when Ballintubber hit the first goal of the game to push themselves into the lead. Padraic O’Connor dropped the ball into the danger area and Knockmore goalkeeper Andrew Higgins didn’t cover himself in glory as the ball spilled loose and a combination of Alan Plunkett and Damien McGing combined to force the ball over the line from close range. But Knockmore weren’t going to bend the knee easily and 14 minutes later they pushed themselves back into a 0-8 to 1-3 lead thanks to points from Kieran Langan, Andrew Keane, Tom Clarke and a brace from Declan Sweeney. The north Mayo men tagged on two more points before the break through Kevin McLoughlin and they had the bit between their teeth at the turn around and headed for the dressing room leading 0-10 to 1-3. Diarmuid O’Connor opened the scoring in the second half with a fine point a minute in, but two minutes later the definitive moment of the game arrived when Knockmore bagged their only goal of the contest. Shane McHale who put in a top-class shift in around the middle third hit an effort for a point that came back off the post and Darren McHale was the quickest to react to the rebound a drove the ball high to the roof of Brendan Walsh’s net to put Reape’s side into a six point lead. But Ballintubber were not throwing in the towel just yet and they reeled off four points without reply in the next ten minutes to close the gap to just two points. Padraic O’Connor kicked three frees and Jason Gibbons added the other from distance. The game looked to be ebbing back towards the west Mayo men, but this was going to be Knockmore’s day and two pointed frees from Kieran Langan sandwiched other efforts from Stephen Sweeney and Kevin McLoughlin stretched their lead out to six points with ten minutes to go. Ballintubber went looking for goals at the end and they couldn’t dig themselves out of this one and Knockmore toughed it out at the end to win by 1-15 to 1-10.

Final four pairings decided in senior championship

Sun, Oct 06, 2013

Knockmore manager Nigel Reape may have a future in fortune telling after the way the names came out of the hat in the semi-final draw for the Mayo GAA Treanlaur Catering Senior Football Championship on Sunday evening. Asked only a few minutes after the full time whistle of his sides win over Ballintubber who would he like to get, he signaled out Castlebar Mitchels as the side he wanted in the semi-finals and a couple of minutes later when the draw was completed he got his wish. Knockmore and the Mitchels will go toe to toe next Sunday in Elverys MacHale Park at a time to be confirmed at the time of writing in one of the senior semi-finals. The other last four pairing is the meeting of Breaffy and Charlestown who will square off on Sunday in the same venue, with the time and referee appointment to be determined shortly. The meeting of Cill Chomain and Ardnaree in the final of the Mayo GAA junior football championship had been penciled in for next Sunday at 2pm in MacHale Park according to the Mayo GAA website on Sunday evening, with the official county board twitter account also confirming that the senior semi-finals will be in the same venue on the same day, so a triple header of football looks in store next Sunday in Castlebar.

FAI Kick Start courses

Fri, Oct 04, 2013

The Football Association of Ireland will hold Kick Start courses in Castlebar and Knock in the coming weeks.

Blacksod Point Challenge triathlon attracts three hundred competitors to Erris

Fri, Oct 04, 2013

The fog cleared just in time for 300 competitors from all over Ireland to descend on Blacksod for the highly successful Blacksod Point Challenge triathlon, which was won by Kevin Thornton of Base2Race who left the field behind him and broke the course record.

Reality bites

Fri, Oct 04, 2013

A week seems a long time in sport, when I sat down to watch the All-Ireland hurling final replay on Saturday evening last I could not believe it was only six short days after Mayo’s agonising one point defeat to Dublin in the football final, it now seems like the game was on about three months ago. The evenings are getting shorter and for the players unfortunately reality bites. It is a horrible feeling, most of them would have taken the week off work to either celebrate or simply drown their sorrows, and to wake up last Monday morning and return to their daily lives is really the hard part for them especially as they left without the holy grail. It is very depressing. I have to commend the two O’Sheas and Robbie Hennelly who were very giving of their time to supporters after the Breaffy and Charlestown league match last Sunday, signing every autograph and taking part for every picture request.

Local pride comes to the fore this weekend

Fri, Oct 04, 2013

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.

The agony and the ecstasy

Fri, Sep 27, 2013

As the week has ticked on and we have got back to normal life after the event, the disappointment has started to slide as we look forward to next year and what it may bring. For those who had slogged since the start of the year in the green and red and the men and women who guided them from the sideline, the pain will take much longer to subside. But to each and everyone of them we owe a great debt of gratitude. They gave us a summer to remember and made us dare to dream again. They do not owe the people of Mayo anything, they gave their all and then some, that they came second best is something we have to take and move on from and something the Mayo senior team and their backroom team will surely rise from again too. They are the young men who have put their lives on hold, put their bodies through torture, and kept coming back looking for more, long, long after the rest of us would have said ‘no more’.

Back to the big time for either Kiltane or Kilmaine this Sunday

Fri, Sep 27, 2013

It is a battle of north and south on Sunday afternoon in MacHale Park when Kiltane and Kilmaine go into battle for the Egan Jewellers Mayo GAA intermediate football championship at 3.30pm.

The south Mayo men are looking for their first intermediate title since 1985, while Kiltane have not been in this grade since the 1970s. But after relegation from senior ranks last year, they have battened down the hatches and gone hell for leather to win their way back to senior status at the first attempt.

Two Mayo boxers in World youth and junior semi-finals today

Fri, Sep 27, 2013

The hard work being done by the boxers and coaches in Mayo continues to garner success on the biggest stage this week, with at least two Mayo girls guaranteed at least bronze medals in the World Female Youth and Junior Boxing Championships which are taking place in Bulgaria.

Hoban in Irish junior squad

Fri, Sep 27, 2013

Westport United’s Dave Hoban has been selected as part of Ireland manager Gerry Smith’s panel for the Quadrangular Umbro trophy in Limerick next week. The four team trophy will be contested by the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northen Ireland, and the Isle of Man from October 3 to October 5. Hoban is one of only two Connacht players to make the 20 man squad for the competition. The Republic of Ireland will kick off the competition on Thursday October 3 against Scotland at 3pm at Pike Rovers, before taking on the Isle of Man on Friday in Janesboro at 1pm and wrapping it up against Northen Ireland on the Saturday at 3pm at the Fairgreen ground in Limerick.

Mayo bring Markham home for the first time since 85'

Fri, Sep 27, 2013

The future's bright, the future's Mayo. Despite what happened in the senior final afterwards, the achievements of this current crop of Mayo minors should warm the hearts of the county over the winter months. Enda Gilvarry's team, have been a joy to watch this summer, playing with free-flowing abandon and ruthless streak. In the six minutes either side of half time, they kicked 2-4 to set up Mayo's first win the All Ireland minor championship since 1985. There were young heroes all over the field, with David Kenny, Eddie Doran, Michael Hall and Stephen Coen all leading from the back. While you couldn't ask for much more from the full-forward line, who contributed 2-8 between them, with Tommy Conroy and Darragh Doherty grabbing 1-2 each, with Liam Irwin kicking four points from frees.

Mayo were the better team from the word go and while the Tyrone doggedly stuck with them in the early stages it had much to do with Mayo moves breaking down as they tried to work out how to get around Tyrone's defensive set up. Ronan Nugent opened the scoring with a fine point after he barrelled down through the heart of the Mayo defence after a minute of play. The game was levelled up by Liam Irwin who pointed a free after Darragh Doherty was hauled to the ground out near the Cusack Stand. Lee Brennan put the red hand men back into the lead a couple of minutes later as both sides tried to get to grips with each other.

Mayo fall short at the final hurdle again

Fri, Sep 27, 2013

It has to end sometime. But not just yet, as Mayo's wait to stand on top of the mountain goes on for another year at least. There were no excuses from James Horan afterwards as he explained: "We had enough ball to win the game today. We just made too many mistakes, too many turnovers. I think it's that straightforward."

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