Search Results for 'Peadar Gardiner'

James Horan has rung the changes ahead of Sunday’s Connacht Championship clash with Galway in McHale Park. The Ballintubber club man has made a total of six changes to the starting 15 from the side that narrowly avoided being eliminated from the provincial championship at the hands of the exiles in London last month. In defence back come into the team Keith Higgins who missed out against London due to injury and Trevor Mortimer at wing back. Horan has also opted for a whole new look midfield, with Breaffy duo and brothers Aidan and Seamus O’Shea manning the key sector of the field where they are expected to line up against Finian Hanley and Joe Bergin in the middle of the park. Kevin McLoughlin comes into the side in the half forward line alongside team captain Alan Dillon and Andy Moran, while Cillian O’Connor will make his first championship start for Mayo alongside Alan Freeman and Jason Doherty in the full forward line.

James Horan has rung the changes ahead of Sunday’s Connacht Championship clash with Galway in McHale Park. The Ballintubber club man has made a total of six changes to the starting 15 from the side that narrowly avoided being eliminated from the provincial championship at the hands of the exiles in London last month. In defence back come into the team Keith Higgins who missed out against London due to injury and Trevor Mortimer at wing back. Horan has also opted for a whole new look midfield, with Breaffy duo and brothers Aidan and Seamus O’Shea manning the key sector of the field where they are expected to line up against Finian Hanley and Joe Bergin in the middle of the park. Kevin McLoughlin comes into the side in the half forward line alongside team captain Alan Dillon and Andy Moran, while Cillian O’Connor will make his first championship start for Mayo alongside Alan Freeman and Jason Doherty in the full forward line.

James Horan waited until the action in the Sigerson Cup had concluded on Thursday afternoon before selecting his side for this Sunday’s clash with Kerry in McHale Park. Horan has made a number of changes from the side that lined out against Down in the opening round of the National League a fortnight ago. Into goal comes Breaffy’s Robert Hennelly for his first start in the Allianz League, the Breaffy man has been one of the most constant performers for both club and the underage county sides over the past few years. Tom Cunniffe holds onto his spot in the corner, with Ger Cafferkey moving back to full back after being previously placed at centre half back in the league opener. Belmullet Chris Barrett who didn’t make the match day 26 for the league opener gets the nod at number four. Peadar Gardiner and Trevor Howley come into the half back line with Kevin McLoughlin holding on to his spot along that line. The midfield pairing of Jason Gibbons and Ronan McGarrity will once again patrol the middle third. The Ballintubber and Ballina Stephenites combination looks like one that will be the preferred one for Horan in the long run. Aidan Campbell comes into the side in the half forward line with Andy Moran getting the number 11 shirt with Alan Dillon on the other flank. Aidan O’Shea moves into the corner from the last day out in the league, with Aidan Kilcoyne being rewarded for his good showing against NUIG getting the nod at full forward with Mark Ronaldson retaining his place in the corner. Mayo are of course without the injured duo of Alan Freeman and Enda Varley from the side which started against Down and a number of other players are still out injured since before the start of the season.

This evening’s meeting of Mayo and NUIG in McHale Park in the home final of the FBD League will bring together two of the men who put their name in the hat for the Mayo manager’s job last year. James Horan was the choice at the end of the search to fill the spot left vacant by John O’Mahony, but John Maughan who is now over the students was right in the running until he decided to withdraw from the race not long before the finish.

The Alliance National Football League kicks off this Saturday and first out of the blocks in division one are Mayo, under new manger James Horan. They take on the defeated All-Ireland finalists Down at 7.30pm in McHale Park under lights.

While the FBD League in January is not somewhere that you can make an solid predictions of what is to come in the year ahead, there is one thing that you can take from this year’s early season jaunt around the province at this stage, and that is that James Horan was true to his word when he said he would be giving all his players a chance to impress during the competition.

Just over six months since Mayo last played a senior inter-county game the road is opening up in front of them for another year. On Sunday in Ballinamore in Leitrim the newest version of the Mayo senior team will take to the field under the guidance of James Horan for the first time. Since his appointment at the end of September, Horan has only been able to run his eye over his new charges a handful of times, the last time last weekend in a series of inter-squad challenge games and previous to that in a number of trial games in November.

The winter training ban for inter-county footballers and hurlers is officially over, even though some counties did not seem to know it was in place in the first instance; and the first bit of competitive action of 2011 in Connacht kicks off this weekend with the start of the FBD league.

At a special ceremony at NUI Galway on Tuesday, 24 new recipients of NUI Galway student sports scholarships, three of whom are Mayo natives, were presented by chairman of the NUI Galway Sport and Recreation Union Committee, Ruadhán Cooke. The recipients joined the 30 existing holders of NUI Galway sports scholarships. NUI Galway supports high performing athletes in a wide range of sports through its sports scholarship programme.

Twenty-four students have received NUI Galway student sports scholarships at a special ceremony this week.