Search Results for 'Noel Connelly'

In sports management, it is often said that when a successful manager leaves a job, you want to be the guy, who follows the guy, who followed the successful guy. Because following in the immediate footsteps of someone who brought great success is a very tricky task to master. But when Pat Holmes decided that he was going to step away from the Castlebar Mitchels’ hot seat following their defeat in last March’s All Ireland final after guiding them to county and provincial glory for the first time in two decades, his two trusty lieutenants Shane Conway and Alan Nolan stepped up to fill gap and they have bought them back to the county final at the first time of asking.

The widely anticipated County Board meeting passed off relatively peacefully last Thursday night with a few members of the board resigning over the process in which the new Mayo managers were appointed. The story had gained national headlines for all the wrong reasons and certainly it was a little embarrassing the way matters were conducted in appointing Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly. An apology was offered as there were and still are a lot of disgruntled people in the county. I am sure Kevin McStay and Liam McHale are bitterly disappointed at what happened, and some gesture or apology to both men should be offered as both are true Mayo Gaels who gave an awful lot to the green and red and they deserved at the very least an interview before been told they did not have the job. I am sure anyone reading this has heard the vile rumours about players not wanting McHale, which I am told could not be further from the truth. It is amazing how widespread the rumours went and pretty much to the point that people started to actually believe them. Liam McHale suffered a severe character assassination over the last few weeks and did not deserve it. Good luck to Pat and Noel; it is time to let them at it. The new management team along with selector Michael Collins and strength and conditioning coach Barry Solan from Ballaghaderreen were deep in discussion and taking lots of notes during the senior semi finals last Sunday. I am a little surprised a forward coach/selector was not incorporated in the set up, I guess they will be basing their team on a strong defence. I feel someone like Kevin O’Neill would have been a great addition to offer some insight into good forward play. I am delighted Barry Solan has finally been given a chance with his own county. Apart from working with Laois and Kildare he has also done a lot of work with Katie Taylor so there is obviously good pedigree there. If Hollymount/Carramore win the intermediate title on Sunday and get a good run in the Connacht championship, Noel Connelly’s wife Valerie and their children may not be seeing a lot of him for the next few months.

Come Sunday evening shortly after 5pm, they’ll be building bonfires on the way into Hollymount and Carramore or Ballyhaunis to celebrate either the amalgamation from south Mayo or the east Mayo men returning home with the Mayo intermediate title in their arms and a return to senior football.

It's been some week for Noel Connelly, the former Mayo captain was appointed as the new joint manager of the Mayo senior football team alongside his old running mate Pat Holmes. While the whole appointment process and the wrongs and rights of it were played out in the public spotlight, Connelly also had to be preparing his Hollymount-Carramore team for Saturday afternoon's Egan Jewelers Intermediate Championship semi-final replay against Belmullet. Last weekends meeting between the sides wasn't anything to write home about as Belmullet played to their strengths and packed their defence and hit Hollymount-Carramore on the break and used the sharp-shooting of Jonathon Donoghue to keep themselves in the game.

It has been a strange week in GAA circles, no more so than here in Mayo. I am lost for words about the way our new management team of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes have being appointed. Instead of being a joyous and enormously proud day for both men it has been steeped in controversy. It is embarrassing that the story has achieved national media coverage for all the wrong reasons, more on that again in the coming weeks. But first off may I wish them the best of luck with the job in hand, it is one of the biggest in the GAA.

There were 16 teams when it started out, but only four remain as the semi-finals of the Mayo GAA senior football championship are down for decision in Elverys MacHale Park on Sunday afternoon.

Last night’s county board meeting of Mayo GAA took centre stage both nationally and locally following the recommendation of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes as the new senior football managerial team last Saturday night. The handling of the appointment has been the hot topic of discussion around the country since it was announced on Saturday night.

Thursday nights meeting of the Mayo county board saw Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes ratified as the new Mayo senior management team for a three year term. The pair were given the unanimous support of the club delegates at the meeting when the proposal was put before them.

Two of the potential names in the hat for the vacant Mayo senior manager’s job have spoken to the Mayo GAA County Board in relation to the job, the chairman of the board, Paddy McNicholas, told the Mayo Advertiser this week. The closing date for nominations for the post was 11pm last night. Speaking to the Advertiser yesterday morning, McNicholas said: “We’ve two men who are interested in the job, with Noel Connelly backed up by Pat Holmes and Kevin McStay who is backed up by Liam McHale. We’ve spoken to both men about the job, one in person and the other on the phone recently. There are a few other names out there, but none of them have come to any of us about it yet.” When asked how many nominations had been received as of yesterday morning, a number of hours before the deadline closed, McNicholas said that he was not aware that any official nominations had been submitted at that stage, but expected them to come in during the course of the day.

The final pairing of this years Eagan Jewellers Mayo intermediate football championship should be known come sundown on Saturday evening after an exciting double header of action in Elverys MacHale Park. Belmullet were the last team to book their place in the final four last weekend when they finally saw off the challenge of Mayo Gaels following a replay in Ballina last Saturday evening. The north Mayo men had three points to spare over the Gaels in a 0-12 to 0-9 win, with Jonathan O'Donoghue's seven points playing a major role in their gallop towards the last four over the closing stages of the contest.