Search Results for 'John Kelly'

It is a case of six of the best for Westport United in the Mayo Advertiser sponsored Mayo League Super League team of the year. The run-away Super League champions have half a dozen players picked in the 4-3-3 formation team of the season. Gary Cunningham gets the nod in goal with Martin Geraghty and Shaun Tagg the centre back pairing. In the middle of the park David Cameron is one of three midfielders with both JP O’Gorman and David Hoban making up two thirds of the strike force. Both Claremorris and Ballina Town have received two nods, with full back pairing of James Stretton and Andrew Shally claiming the awards for the south Mayo men. Michael Duffy earned a spot in the midfield three with Brendan Lavelle picking up his award in the front line. The last spot on the team went to Castlebar Celtic’s Ger O’Boyle whose good form saw him called up to the Irish junior side, before cruelly picking up an injury just before the game.

BOSTON SCIENTIFIC 5-08

DOLORES KEANE, Philomena Begley, and Michael English are among the singers coming to Galway to perform at the annual Michael Commins Music Shows.

On the undercard of Sunday’s senior final is the meeting of two sides who have been beaten in three of the last four junior finals as they look to finally make the break up to intermediate football. Ardnaree were seen off last year by Islandeady and were also beaten in the final of three years ago by Kiltimagh. The Neale were last in the final in 2008 when Killala saw them off to claim the title.

It may have taken only two games to get this far, but come 2.30pm in Ennis tomorrow and the chance to win a Celtic Cross over the next 60 minutes, every ball will be contested as ferociously as if it were the senior equivalent in Croke Park on Sunday September 23.

There’s something heart warming about Donegal. Their team ethic is not based on fancy individuality that can so often lead to failure, but on the values of hard, honest toil and a simple, effective game plan. They have a manager who doesn’t care in the slightest what the football fraternity think of him or his team. He has set out his stall and is sticking by it. The whole world was down on top of them last year, (myself included) because of their ultra defensive dour style of play. Jim McGuinness was vilified for tarnishing our ‘beautiful game’ with such an ugly conservative style of defensive system that saw supporters, including many from his own county, walk out in disgust from Croke Park, when Donegal missed a glorious opportunity to defeat a Dublin side that were there for the taking. In fact, I spent most of last summer hoping they would be beaten as I genuinely hated their style of play. The reality is, they have some fantastic forwards, last year, inexplicably, they utilised them so far from goal that they rarely got an opportunity to do serious damage to any opposition. Six points against Dublin in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final is a case in point. This year they are unquestionably easier on the eye and appear to have realised that they have the ability to be serious contenders for an All-Ireland title if they are prepared to play a more attacking expansive brand of football. I admire them for that and for the fact that they have refined their system which now has seen them score an average of 18 points per game in the five games they have played in this year’s championship. They have also retained their air tight defensive system, only conceding a single goal from open play. And to be fair Jim McGuinness deserves great credit for turning the fortunes of a county whose team, up to last year, were the party, fun loving boys of the inter-county scene.

With the club championship providing plenty of distraction last weekend from the impending All Ireland semi-final with the defending All Ireland champions, this weekend the build up to the showdown really cranked up.

Success has its costs and for the Mayo County Board, success in the Connacht Junior Football Championship came with the cost of having to send a Mayo team across the Irish sea for the third time this year. The Mayo hurlers had two adventures in London in the league and the Christy Ring Cup, and this weekend it is the turn of the junior footballers who are heading to Manchester to take on Lancashire in the All Ireland semi-final tomorrow at 2.30pm in Old Bedians, Manchester.

Castlebar Golf club was at its very finest condition for the Richard Lyons President’s Prize last Sunday.

Mayo 2-12