Farney challenge for u21 stars

Fri, Jan 09, 2015

Mayo u21 manager Niall Heffernan got his sophomore year in charge of the inter-county team at this grade of football off to a winning start last Saturday. Mayo opened up their Hastings Cup campaign with a 3-7 to 0-5 win over the Lake County men in Tubberclair. Heffernan and his backroom team will be looking this year to reverse what has been a poor half-a-decade for Mayo at this level, not since the last of a four-in-a-row of Connacht titles put together by the current senior management team of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes in 2009 have Mayo managed to win or even compete in a Connacht final.

This year’s crop of u21s features a large number of the minor team that won the All Ireland in 2013, with half-a-dozen of them starting last Saturday. Claremorris’ Marc Mulligan started in goal with Aghamore’s David Kenny and Breaffy’s Michael Hall in the full-back line, while Balla’s Val Roughneen and Ballintubber’s Diarmuid O’Connor made up the midfield, with Breaffy’s Liam Irwin starting in the full forward line, all graduates from the 2013 All Ireland winning minor class. James and Patrick Durcan from Castlebar Mitchels have in the past shown their class at the top level of the club game and both started on Saturday, with James scoring 1-2 from the centre-half forward position.

Just one change for Connacht ahead of Edinburgh test

Fri, Jan 09, 2015

Connacht coach Pat Lam has made just one change to the starting 15 for this evening’s Guinness Pro12 clash with Edinburgh from the side that beat Munster in the Sportsground on New Year’s Day.

Final push kicks off this weekend

Fri, Jan 09, 2015

It has been four weeks since the Mayo sides were in action in the Connacht Junior Leagues, this weekend sees the final leg of the league season kick off as the season hits crunch time and enters its final rounds.

Hurlers look to keep up winning start

Fri, Jan 09, 2015

It has been a far from ideal pre-season for the Mayo senior hurling team with manager Christy Philips resigning just before Christmas. But last weekend they got 2015 off to a winning start in the new Connacht Senior Hurling League when they saw off the challenge of Leitrim by 2-13 to 0-5 in Ballinamore. The Mayo management team of JP Coen, Derek Walsh, Tommy Feeney, and John Waldron fielded an experimental side but will have been pleased with what they saw from their side in their first outing, with only a very small bit of training behind them so far.

Connacht Cyclo-Cross Championships wraps up series

Fri, Jan 09, 2015

The inaugural Connacht Cyclo-Cross Championships were held in the grounds of Westport House, the coastal seaside town was the perfect setting for such a championship with open green undulating fields surrounded by mature woodland.

Castlebar BC hosts first tournament of the season

Fri, Jan 09, 2015

Castlebar boxing club is to hold the first tournament of 2015 in Breaffy GAA clubhouse this Sunday, January 11.

The club members are looking to showcase their talents with a full programme featuring their up and coming stars, and also including their more experienced boxers.

Westport United left to fly the flag

Fri, Jan 09, 2015

It is all down to Westport United if the Mayo League are to have an interest in the FAI Junior Cup in the latter stages of the competition. The aristocrats of Mayo soccer are the last side left in the competition after both Iorras Aontaithe and Ballyhaunis Town bowed out at the fifth round stage a few weeks before Christmas. This Sunday Westport United will take on New Ross Celtic in a game re-fixed from mid-December, with kick-off in the Sportspark at 2pm on Sunday.

The Westport United travelling faithful who have enjoyed many the long trek around the country supporting their team in the FAI Junior Cup, will be staying at home this weekend as New Ross Celtic make the trip from the sunny southeast to the Sportspark in Westport. Westport saw off the challenge of Ballinasloe Town 3-0 in the last round of the competition with Joe Lawless, Pat Fitzgerald, and David Cameron all getting in on the scoring act.

Mayo pick off students to get year up and running

Sun, Jan 04, 2015

Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly got their senior management tenure off to a winning start in Elverys MacHale Park on Sunday. The fare on show wasn't anything that will be remembered for long, but it got a few miles in the legs of a a couple of new and some returning faces in green and red.

Management happy with win, but a lot of work still to be done

Sun, Jan 04, 2015

Not long after they had overseen a win in their debut contest as the joint managers of the Mayo senior football team, Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes came out of the dressing room to speak to the local press corp in the concrete tunnel under the bowls of the stand in Elverys MacHale Park.

Phillips steps down as senior manager

Tue, Dec 23, 2014

With just over a week until the Mayo senior hurling team start their 2015 campaign in the Connacht Hurling League away to Leitrim on Saturday January 3 they are looking for a new manager after Christy Phillips resigned last week.

The Limerick native who was in charge of the side for the last two seasons and guided them as far as the Christy Ring Cup semi- final last summer said he was walking away after a number of senior players had lost faith in him as manager. Last season had

Connacht go down to Leinster

Tue, Dec 23, 2014

Connacht wrapped up their pre-Christmas run of fixtures with a disappointing 10 point loss to Leinster in the RDS on Friday night. Connacht were right in the game to the death and were only trailing by three points as the game wound down, but a last gasp try from Leinster winger Zane Kirchner secured the win for Lenister and denied Connacht a deserved bonus point.

Festive competitions wrap up club action for the year

Tue, Dec 23, 2014

Balla
Breege Jennings was the winner of the last ladies’ stableford competition before Christmas with a score of 34pts last weekend. She finished in front of Pauline O’Connor who finished in second spot, and Carmel Henry came home in third spot. The men’s competition was won by John Tuohy, with Don Dillon finishing in second place after both men finished on 38pts, with Tuohy winning thanks to his back nine scoring and Michael Neary finished in third place.

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