Magnificent seven for Mayo AC

Fri, Apr 22, 2016

Mayo AC were represented by a team of 24 (13 women and and 11 men) at the National 10k Championships recently. More than 500 club athletes competed for medals in team and individual age categories. The Mayo AC contingent included five teams - senior women, over 35 men, over 50 men, and two teams of women over 50. It was another great day for the club, continuing their success in national competitions over many years, and in terms of medals won they were the top club in Connacht with seven of their 24 runners winning medals.

Ladies look to book final spot

Fri, Apr 22, 2016

Tomorrow afternoon in Birr, Frank Browne's Mayo Ladies' side will be putting their 100 per cent league record on the line when they take on Kerry in the National League semi-final with a spot in the final up for grabs. It has been a seriously impressive league season so far for this side who have swept all before them in the group stages, picking up seven wins from seven games to top the division, finishing nine points in front of the four sides below them in the table who all finished on 12 points. That led to its own confusion and controversy with Armagh initially being told that they had made it into the last four only for it to emerge that it was Mayo's opponents Kerry who had qualified for the play-off spot.

Magic u21s refuse to throw in the towel

Fri, Apr 22, 2016

For those of you who have ever been to Old Trafford to watch Man Utd I am sure you are familiar with the song about “never dying” in honour of the club’s resurrection after the tragic Munich Air disaster. I know there has not been such a tragedy in Mayo football terms but such a song would be very appropriate about Michael Solan’s Mayo u21 team. They never give up. They never die.

Before talking about the game I want to give a small indication of how special a win this was and how the Mayo u21 football team refused to surrender under extreme circumstances when it looked like they had given their all but came up short against a rampant Dublin team in the second half in Tullamore. To summarise, Mayo were cruising at half time, they were in total control yet they surrendered a six point lead to go four down with 10 minutes to go (that is a 10 point swing in lay man terms), only to miraculously get the energy to claw their way back into the game when everything was going against them and snatch it at the end with a Conor Loftus free four minutes into injury time. I struggled to breathe and hold my composure live on radio as I could not believe what I was witnessing, this was perseverance of the highest order, this was special, very special.

Loftus kicks Mayo to glory after epic encounter

Sat, Apr 16, 2016

There was no need for the Mayo faithful who made the 300km round trip to Tullamore to switch on their radios on the way home if there was more than one happy soul making the trip back west on Saturday evening. For they had plenty food for thought and conversation after seeing Mayo produce one of the gutsiest comebacks in memory to edge into the All Ireland u21 final on Saturday, April 30 against Cork.

Big test ahead for Solan's U21s

Fri, Apr 15, 2016

The Mayo U21s travel to Tullamore on Sunday to take on Leinster kingpins and three in a row provincial winners Dublin in what promises to be a cracking semi final. Dublin got the better of a well fancied Kildare side (winners of the Leinster minor title three years ago) in this year's U21 final.

Solan looking to continue successful season

Fri, Apr 15, 2016

Michael Solan oversaw Mayo shaking off seven years of disappointment at the U21 grade in Connacht by guiding them to their first provincial final and title since 2009 against Roscommon in Sligo a fortnight ago. The Ballaghaderreen man sat down with the Mayo Advertiser in the lead up to this Saturday's All Ireland semi-final against Dublin to look ahead to that game and back on his first few months in charge of the side.

The man at the back

Fri, Apr 15, 2016

Goalkeepers are a different breed from the normal, the ones whose mistakes are remembered far more than saves they made, so they have to have a special bit of confidence in themselves, and Mayo's U21 goalkeeper Matthew Flanagan is no different. The Balla man has the strange history of playing for the county's u21 side in championship action before he did the same for the minor side back in 2014 and his have it a go attitude shines through when talking about that occurance. "It was strange, it just happened quickly, I was training with the minors and I got a call two weeks before the championship, they had a few injuries and asked would I come into the group and I said 'sure look, why not' and we hadn't the best day, but it was great to come in and get the game, sure I was only 17 at the time I think."

Quinn is going for gold this summer

Fri, Apr 15, 2016

Castlebar's Nicholas Quinn will join Fiona Doyle, Shane Ryan and diver Oliver Dingley in going forward for selection for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games having gone under the FINA (International Swimming Federation) Olympic A time in Eindhoven on Sunday last. Quinn swam an impressive 2:11.24 in the 200m breaststroke, almost half a second under the qualification time of 2:11.66. The Castlebar native who trains and studies at the University of Edinburgh progressed to Sunday’s final in 2:13.27, just off his personal best of 2:13.04, but a commanding performance in the final saw him smash that time to claim gold and a ticket to Rio.

Super League kicks on again

Fri, Apr 15, 2016

Westport United v Manulla
Saturday April 16 at 6pm

Champions Cup beckons for Connacht with one more win

Fri, Apr 15, 2016

Win on Saturday, and Connacht will achieve their seasonal ambition to qualify for next season's Champions Cup. That is the huge carrot for Pat Lam's men when they host Munster in this vital Guinness Pro 12 fixture in the Galway Sportsground (7.15pm). And Lam says his squad is an a "great space" to do just that.

Castlebar's Nicholas Quinn makes Olympic time in Eindhoven

Mon, Apr 11, 2016

Castlebar's Nicholas Quinn will join Fiona Doyle, Shane Ryan and Oliver Dingley in going forward for selection for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games having gone under the FINA (International Swimming Federation) Olympic A time in Eindhoven tonight.

Solan's men light up the weekend

Fri, Apr 08, 2016

On a weekend that saw Mayo hang on for dear life to their division one status, you would imagine that would be this week's main topic of conversation, however the Mayo u21's rise from the dead in Markievicz Park against Roscommon in the Connacht final shades the limelight from their senior counterparts in what was a very satisfactory weekend all round for Mayo GAA. We all remember the 2013 minor final between Mayo and Roscommon for Liam Irwin’s stunning goal and Mayo hanging on for dear life at the end, the u21 final was a repeat, only three years later of course, with a lot more recognisable and familiar players on show.

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