Search Results for 'John Maughan'

They were underdogs in most people's minds, but not their own when they went into the county final against Kilmaine, but the warriors from Lahardane were paying no attention to that particular script and they blew away the south Mayo men to claim a historic victory. Now this Sunday they are just an hour away from another historic movement when the face Sligo champions Ballymote in the Connacht Club Junior Football Championship final at 2pm in MacHale Park.

Moy Davitts were crowned county intermediate champions after a dramatic replay victory against neighbours Kiltimagh last Saturday evening in Elverys McHale Park. In a pulsating contest that ebbed and flowed, Pat Clarke’s charges won the spoils after scoring a goal and a point in the final minutes snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

They surprised many - but not themselves - in winning the Mayo junior title and on Sunday John Maughan's men will go looking to book a spot in the provincial final when they take on St Gabriel's from Galway at 1pm.

This promises to be something special on Sunday, we got it wrong last weekend when we picked Balla to see off Lahardane and book their spot in Sunday's semifinal — John Maughan's men hit Balla with everything they had and were deserving eight point winners. They never let Balla settle and against the wind they went in leading by two points, in the second half they really upped the ante and outscored their opponents by 2-7 to 1-2, after they had been pulled level five minutes into the second half, with sub Cormac Reilly netting two goals in the final quarter of the game.

On Sunday in MacHale Park the junior semifinals of the Mayo GAA championship will be played as a double header with the action getting under way at 2pm, with the meeting of Kilmaine and Ballycastle. The north Mayo men booked their place in the final four last Saturday night when they saw off Kilmeena in a quarterfinal replay by five points in terrible weather conditions, their opponents booked their spot in the final four with a big  3-16 to 1-9 quarterfinal win over Killala a few weeks ago.

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! I could apply that quote to the Mayo Advertiser asking me to return for a one-off All-Ireland final article or to Mayo football itself. Either way, I am delighted to be in this position in mid-September. As ardent football fans we have been deservedly rewarded in this county. Supporters have fed off our team’s energy and vice versa. That relationship is an essential component for a successful season so do what you can to make it to Dublin this weekend and bring the colour, bring the noise. When the 66-year drought ends this Sunday and the pent-up euphoria is unleashed with little hope of abating, my one concern is that the names of the men who built a football-loving county and laid the foundations for thousands of fanatics and players may be lost in the many celebratory renditions of The Green and Red of Mayo.

"Have we now got to the stage of having the disposable shovel? Because for the price you've told us we're buying them for, you'd do well to get one fixed for less than that price," asked Cllr Richard Finn this week at the March meeting of Mayo County Council. The councillor was responding to a presentation given by the council's procurement officer John Maughan to the elected members.

Two decades ago he was part of a brash young bunch of players who made their way into John Maughan's team that came from nowhere to almost claim an All Ireland title, but lost out to Meath after a replay. But he didn't hold a grudge against the Royal county as he ended up marrying a lady from there who "felt a bit of sympathy" for him. He broke his leg and dislocated his ankle in a game in 1999, and that more or less ended his serious playing career. But at the end of last month he tweeted "Playing Junior C Championship at 42 and at times trying to chase Colm Mcs nephew is a serious recipe for extreme stiffness on a Monday" Who is it you ask that's still playing football club football 20 years later chasing after the nephew of one of his team-mates from that All Ireland final? It's John Madden, the man who stood between the sticks for Mayo in those clashes against Meath.

The Mayo minors championship adventure ended in Tullamore on Bank Holiday Monday where they went down battling to the Leinister champions Kildare by six points. In a game that had plenty of attacking adventure and impressive performances, it also had lots of talking points from the man in the middle Niall Cullen who issued four black cards in the game, three of them for Mayo. But at the end of the day the better side on the field won the day as Kildare turned the screw on Mayo in the second half when they had a strong breeze at their back to book their place in the All Ireland semi-final.

It is a quarter of a century since Mayo tangled with Kildare in the All Ireland Minor Football Championship, in their 1991 semifinal meeting Mayo emerged victorious on a score of 1-12 to 2-3 in Croke Park. On Monday afternoon O'Connor Park in Tullamore will be the venue for their next meeting in the minor championship, this time at the quarterfinal stage.