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.
Read more ...Byrne turns in another strong performance
Fri, Apr 27, 2012
John Byrne turned in another sterling performance in Seregno near Milan on Sunday, finishing in 7:16:30 in the World and European Championships. And in turn he helped the Irish team to a superb sixth place finish in the World section (provisional result).
Read more ...Which Mayo is the real Mayo?
Fri, Apr 27, 2012
Confusion reigns as far as this columnist is concerned in trying to predict the outcome of Sunday’s league final. It is eerily quiet about the place, for many reasons, which has meant the build up to this final has been quite different. There is also a wintry sting in the air these past few days which does not help create an exciting atmosphere for a big game. The reality for the downbeat mood could also have something to do with the fact that that we just do not really know what to expect on Sunday. But I felt that way too for the semi-final, when so few from the participating counties took an interest in proceedings. Very few I met or spoke to prior to the game gave Mayo much of a chance of reaching the league final. Most thought that Kerry had played tricks with the Mayo players’ minds during the final round of the league one week earlier in Tralee. Kerry played with the kind of arrogant cocky swagger which is their wont for most of the afternoon in Croke Park without displaying an ounce of panic until the game had practically slipped away from them. On this occasion there were no big guns on the subs bench to rescue the situation… they were all on the field of play. They played poorly and fitness levels were questionable. They were also missing two of their big stars in Declan O’Sullivan and Tomás Ó Sé, and a combination of these factors meant that they could not stop a more energetic Mayo side once they got a sniff of victory. In times past when Kerry felt any level of threat, they simply put the foot back on the pedal and drove on. Not so on this occasion and after Pat Harte’s brilliantly executed penalty Mayo looked re-energised, fitter, fresher, and stronger as they recorded another famous victory over the Kingdom. The handful of loyal supporters that travelled were not found wanting when assisting their team over the finishing line.
Read more ...It’s big day for the Mayo ladies on Sunday too
Fri, Apr 27, 2012
While most attention will be on the goings on in Croke Park on Sunday afternoon, there is one other major knock out league game going on involving Mayo at more or less the same time.
Read more ...Trevor Mortimer bows out of the top level
Fri, Apr 27, 2012
The retirement of the last remaining link who saw action on the field in the 2001 national league winning side, Trevor Mortimer, was announced this week. The newly announced Mayo vice-captain David Clarke was an unused sub-goalkeeper in that game. The Shrule-Glencorrib man who captained Mayo to the 2009 Nestor Cup had been part of the Mayo set up since 2000 and played in the All Ireland finals in both 2004 and 2006, having also played in the u21 final in 2001 when Tyrone defeated Mayo. He made his senior debut for Mayo in a national league game against Clare the year before.
Read more ...Andy to lead Mayo for the year
Fri, Apr 27, 2012
When Maurice Deegan calls together the captains for the coin toss in Sunday’s national league final, Andy Moran will be the man who goes to centre field for the green and red. The Ballaghaderreen man has captained Mayo on a couple of occasions in the past, but Sunday will mark his first official duty as the full-time captain of the team.
Read more ...Mayo aim to put down Counihan’s rebels
Fri, Apr 27, 2012
In the 11 years since Mayo claimed their last national senior title, they have gone to Croke Park on four occasions in national finals only to return home empty handed and more often than not on the end of a bit of a beating. All Ireland finals in 2004 and 2006 along with league finals in 2007 and 2010 have all seen Mayo come up short on final day.
While there are always plenty of internal and external examinations as to why Mayo do not get over the line as often as they should, Mayo always come back looking for more, taking on all comers, confounding the critics at home and away each time. Only a few weeks ago the old questions were being asked of Mayo, but they once again confounded the critics and are now 70 minutes away from picking up a national title ahead of the start of summer.
Read more ...A road not for the faint hearted
Fri, Apr 27, 2012
On the far side of the field from the stand in McHale Park, on a Sunday evening just five weeks ago, Mayo manager James Horan told the massed press pack: “The masterplan doesn’t change just because of a few defeats - if you start to change it then panic sets in. We know what we’re trying to do, it’s a bumpy road, but we’ll keep at it.”
Read more ...Super League kicks off with clash of the favorites
Fri, Apr 13, 2012
The Mayo League and clubs have been in the headlines of late over off the field issues, but on Sunday all eyes will be where they should on the park as the Mayo League kicks off for the 2012 season across five divisions. The Premier A and B along with division one and two will get proceedings underway on Saturday evening at 6pm, with the main attraction the Super League, kicking off on Sunday at noon with the meeting of Castlebar Celtic and Westport United in Celtic Park, with the action in the other games in the division getting underway at 2.30pm.
Last year’s champions and runners-up will once again go in to the season as the two favorites to be battling it out at the end of the season for the title. While a loss so early in the season may not seem detrimental on paper, with only 14 games in the eight-team league, there's not a lot of time for any side to close a gap at either end of the table.
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