Search Results for 'James Horan'

The good news for Alan Mulholland and his management team before they face Mayo next Sunday in McHale Park (2pm) in the Connacht final is that niggling injuries to Shane Walsh, Joss Moore, James Kavanagh and team captain Paul Conroy have all cleared up and all men are available for selection for Sunday's clash.

Mayo manager James Horan said this week that his players and management have not wanted for anything from the county board during his tenure and they have a very good working relationship. Speaking this week he said, “I’ve been in this job four years and to be honest, the players and the management have not wanted for anything really from the county board. I know, no more than the managment team, they can get a lot flack and abuse. We’ve had our ups and downs for sure, but we’ve worked very, very well. Vincent Neary has come in and is exceptional and works very well with us. So overall, very happy with the relationship with the county board. Everyone has to be pointing the one way for a unit to be successful, but we’re getting there.”

As I expected, Galway qualified for the Connacht final after a somewhat facile victory over Sligo in the semi-final in Markievicz Park last weekend.

Local historian and author Terry Reilly has penned a new play telling the stories of the Ballina men who fought and died in the trenches of World War I and the families they left behind.

After walking their way to a third Connacht title in as many years last year, Mayo were sorely in need of a test in the competition this year and that's what they got from Roscommon in Hyde Park on Sunday. After the game Mayo manager James Horan was in a reflective mood following his sides tight one point win.

Rarely does anything come easy to Mayo in Hyde Park and on Sunday they were peering over the ledge and an exit from the Connacht championship at the hands of Roscommon, but they were able to go to the well once more when it was needed to eek out the win that puts them into the Connacht final.

Mayo travel to Hyde Park on Sunday to take on Roscommon in the Connacht semi-final.  It’s remarkable that it has only been five weeks since we played New York in Gaelic Park. It feels like that game was in a different year. I mentioned in a column a few weeks back that James Horan should keep five or six midfielders in his panel, however I didn’t envisage what was going to happen after that. Tom Parsons is the latest to be struck down with a bad hamstring tear on top of Barry Moran and Jason Gibbons already suffering disheartening injuries. They say things happen in threes, so I hope no more players join them on the casualty list. No time is a good time to get injured but end of May/early June is the nightmare time for any footballer. If your injury is so bad that you are not able to participate in any level of training it may leave you on the scrap heap for the rest of the year as the stamina and fitness levels you have worked so hard to build up will dwindle away like a puff of smoke.

This time last year Mayo trounced Roscommon by 0-21 to 0-9 in McHale Park in the provincial semi-final.

James Horan sprang a surprise with the team he announced for Sunday’s Connacht semi-final against Roscommon this week when he opted to hand Conor O’Shea his first championship start at centre-half-forward alongside teenager Diarmuid O’Connor who will be making his second championship start after making his debut against New York at the start of last month.

By Ray Silke