Big three book senior semi-final spots, while Killala reach junior decider

Sun, Sep 27, 2015

As the evenings become shorter the action on the field in the club championships in Mayo gets more and more serious. This weekend just gone Breaffy, Castlebar and Ballintubber all booked their places in the semi-final of the senior championship with wins over Garrymore, Aghamore and Ballina Stephenites respectively. The fourth quarter-final which was due to take place this weekend between Knockmore and Kiltane in Ballina was postponed and will now take place next Saturday, October 3 at 5pm in James Stephens Park. The winners of that game will meet Castlebar Mitchels in one semi-final, with the all west Mayo dual of the defending champions Ballintubber and the pretenders to the crown from Breaffy meeting in the other. Those semi-finals are due to take place on Sunday, October 11.

Breaffy pushed to the limit by Garrymore

Sun, Sep 27, 2015

While Garrymore would have prepared for all eventualities as best they could going into this game, the prospect of Aidan O’Shea loitering behind his midfielders and closing things up at the back is probably one of the last things they would have expected to face on Saturday afternoon. O’Shea who was deployed as a target man full forward for Mayo all summer and was posted in a similar position in Breaffy’s last league game against Kilmaine a fortnight ago and his positioning would have caught plenty of people off guard who were in the county grounds for this game.

Mitchels power home into the final four

Sun, Sep 27, 2015

It was always going to be a tough ask for Aghamore to turn over the 2013 champions in this game, they needed to keep things tight and tidy at the back and try and build up a lead they could hold on to going down the home stretch and hope that it would have triggered some doubts in the Mitchels minds.

Ballintubber grind out win over sticky Ballina

Sun, Sep 27, 2015

The Ballintubber juggernaut roles on into the semi-finals of the Mayo Senior Football Championship after the defending champions had nine points to spare over Ballina Stephenites at the end of an intriguing encounter in MacHale Park on Sunday afternoon.

Killala squeeze past Achill after epic encounter

Sun, Sep 27, 2015

Nothing could separate these sides the first time out and the narrowest of margins was all that was between them at the end of a pulsating encounter on Sunday afternoon in MacHale Park. After missing two frees at the death to win the game the first time around, Achill had a chance to level this game up in injury time, but Pee Sweeney’s effort from tight out on the MacHale Road side of the ground missed on the near side and Killala held on for a memorable victory.

This was a classic championship encounter and by far the most entertaining of the four games played in the county grounds over the weekend and the north Mayo men’s one point victory has set up an all north Mayo final against Ardanree that will fittingly be played in James Stephens Park in Ballina on Saturday, October 10.

Hurlers look to get it done second time around

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

Brian Finn's Mayo minor hurlers did it the hard way last weekend when they pulled a dramatic draw from the jaws of defeat on two occasions to give themselves another shot at claiming the All Ireland Minor C Hurling Championship for a third year in a row. On a number of occasions Mayo looked to be dead and buried last Saturday in Ballinamore, but they dug deep when needed and a Conor Browne goal deep into overtime in extra time gave them a 3-15 to 2-18 draw against the red hand men from Tyrone.

Another championship year comes to an end

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

The curtain came down on the 2015 football season in quite possibly the worst weather conditions I remember for our showpiece game. I felt sorry for the players, the supporters, the umpires; even the referee was offered a sigh of sympathy. Some of the most sought after seats in Croke Park were all of a sudden not as appealing as they would normally be as they were exposed to the elements, with some supporters not returning after half time. Many people are of the opinion that conditions do not affect the top players and they can adapt to whatever is thrown at them, I beg to differ. Some of the finest exponents of the GAA game were left to look like they were quite literally playing on ice, sliding all over the place, and that the ball was covered in oil. Keeping your feet was almost impossible when you went full throttle, and handling the ball when it was fired at you was as difficult as peeling an orange in your pocket while wearing a pair of boxing gloves. Bernard Brogan, one of the most skilled players on view was the prime example; he spilled up to six balls in the first half alone that he normally would have gobbled up. Let no one tell me players do not mind playing in such conditions.

Garrymore looking to return to greatness

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

Between 1974 and 1982, Garrymore were Mayo's team. They picked up six senior county titles in those nine years and made an appearance in the All Ireland club final in 1981 going down to Nemo Rangers. Since their last victory 33 years ago the south Mayo hamlet have failed to make it back to the Mayo showpiece, last year they did reach the last four but were seen off by Castlebar Mitchels and tomorrow afternoon they are gunning to get back to the same stage again.

Big guns come out looking for final four spot

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

Breaffy v Garrymore
Saturday, September 26

The ultimate in conflicting family loyalties

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

We all know men who have taken over other clubs, apart from their own, for different reasons over the years.

Joseph N'Do takes charge of Mayo League representative side

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

Last weekend the Mayo League announced that Joseph N'Do would take over as the head coach of the league's representative team for the coming season. In a statement the league said that they were "delighted to have acquired the services of someone with a wide range of skills and experiences gained in leagues across Europe and on the international stage".

Westport move closer to retaining title

Fri, Sep 25, 2015

Ballina Town remain hot on Westport United’s heels thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 win over high-flying Manulla on Saturday night. A first half Dwayne Helly goal was crucial for the north Mayo men in a hugely competitive affair. Westport Utd picked up another three points to maintain their position at the summit of the league thanks to a 3-1 win at home to a stubborn Charlestown Athletic side. David Hoban scored twice with Mikey O'Brien grabbing the third goal for Westport. The only black-spot was the straight red card issued to goalkeeper Gary Cunningham in the 90th minute. Tom Towey tucked home the penalty and it was only a token gesture in the end. That loss also saw Charlestown's relegation to the Premier A for next season sealed.

Meanwhile Iorrais Aontaithe came from behind to defeat Ballyheane at the weekend. Ashley Jensen eased Ballyheane clear on 53 minutes before a late flourish by Iorrais Aontaithe was enough to see them home. Brendan Nallen scored direct from a corner in the 76th minute, before Jason Boylan nailed the winner after a mix-up in the Ballyheane defence.

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