Search Results for 'Martin Brennan'

John O’Mahony and his senior management team are more than likely disappointed with Keith Higgins’ decision to play hurling for Mayo rather than travel to NY for Mayo’s championship opener on Sunday week. The Mayo hurlers will play Kerry in their championship opener on the same weekend. The talented corner- back has just returned to Ireland having spent a number of months in Australia. Keith did however line out last week in Mayo’s challenge match against Kildare in Kiltoom. I expect that the Mayo management are delighted to have their ace defender back in plenty of time for the bigger challenges ahead, but would have liked if he could have travelled to the Big Apple for the weekend. However it should not have come as a huge surprise that he declared for the hurlers as Keith has always declared his love of hurling and it is no secret that it is his preferred game. This is the first time that both codes have clashed on a championship weekend, which is unfortunate as it has forced Keith to declare his preference. Coincidentally, I met with Martin Brennan, the Mayo county senior hurling manager, during the week who told me that he was thrilled that Keith opted to play in Mayo’s Christy Ring Championship encounter with Kerry. It was not a total surprise to him either as he had been in touch with Keith frequently over the last number of weeks once he was aware of the imminent clash of fixtures.

Kildare 0-19

Having previously announced that they would be stepping aside at the end of this season, the carrot of playing in next season’s All Ireland senior championship would tempt Mayo management team of Martin Brennan and Pete Finnerty to stay on for another season according to Brennan. Standing in Mayo’s way of achieving that goal are seven other sides and the competition will begin in earnest this weekend.

Evan Sweeney’s point five minutes into injury time last Saturday evening in Austin Stacks Park, Tralee, broke Mayo hearts in the first round of the Christy Ring Cup. The point saw Kerry slip by Mayo on a scoreline of 3-11 to 1-16 and send Mayo into a losers play-off with Westmeath this weekend. “It was heartbreaking,” according to Mayo manager Martin Brennan when he spoke to the Mayo Advertiser earlier this week. The Westport man has been guiding Mayo for the past two years alongside Galway legend Pete Finnerty, and before the game last weekend was full of confidence of taking Mayo that one step further this year after losing in the Christy Ring Cup semi-final last season. But no, it’s do or die for Brennan’s boys if they lose on Saturday against a Westmeath side which has won two of the last three Christy Ring Cup titles. It’s a relegation play-off and trying to avoid getting bumped down to the Nicky Rackard Cup for next season that they face.

“Nobody will remember getting to a quarter final, you only remember the winners.” Martin Brennan has had a pep in his step this week following on from seeing his side overcome Westmeath in last weekend’s Christy Ring Cup losers play-off in Westport. This weekend Mayo have a short trip to Athleague in Roscommon to face Kildare in the second tier competition in what Brennan says is “as close a home game as you can get, we’ve played there a number of times down the year and a lot of the Ballyhaunis and Tooreen lads have played plenty of hurling down there through the years”.

he Mayo hurlers caused one of the shocks of the year on Saturday last in Westport GAA Grounds, as they dumped early season favourites Westmeath out of the Christy Ring Cup for 2009. Westmeath came into the tie as 1/7 on favourites, but the bookies got it all wrong as Mayo kept their championship aspirations alive thanks to a dogged display of power and skill.

The whirlwind nature of this year’s Christy Ring Cup continues a pace this Saturday when Mayo make the long trip to Newry to take on Down. Mayo having reached their second semi-final in the tier two competition in two years will be looking to go one better tomorrow (June 6) after losing out to Carlow at the death last season in McHale Park.

Mayo 1-16

Mayo more than likely will be missing the services of experienced Ballina goalkeeper David Clarke for next weekend’s Connacht senior football championship semi-final against Roscommon. The shot-stopper pulled up injured during the first half of last Friday night’s challenge game with Louth in Garrymore and had to be replaced by Kenneth O'Malley. Clarke's groin injury will see the Ballinrobe 21-year-old in line for a recall to the senior side after picking up a potentially career ending kidney injury 18 months ago in a Higher Education League game.

Results from the Stan Fields Memorial prize are as follows: 1 Martin Whelan (19) 66 net; 2 Adrian O’Neill (8) 67 net; 3 Matt Dooley (17) 70 net; 4 Sean O’Shea (8) 71 net b9; 5 Terry Brennan (11) 71 net b9; Gross James Hurley 75 gross.