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Amateur cyclists from all over County Kilkenny and beyond are this week scrambling to sign up and join some of the county’s top GAA stars to ‘Race The Rás’ and help raise money for GOAL and the Irish Cancer Society.

The morning after letting a game that was there for the winning slip against Kerry in McHale Park, it would be no player’s ideal way to spend an hour in the presence of journalists looking for answers to myriad questions on the state of play in Mayo football. But as is necessitated in the age of sponsorship and PR, Andy Moran took some time off work and brought himself to the border in Cong to promote Sunday’s Allianz League game against Galway in Tuam Stadium.

Most fitness fanatics and serious sports people take time off or retire early due to injury. The average age for a footballer to retire from competitive games is just 31. But there is a way too not only prolong your career, but improve your play. Yoga helps to stretch and strengthen the muscles in a safe and extremely enjoyable way.

Ballina Town are on the look out for a new manager following the news that Brendan Kenny has decided to step down form the position of manager. Kenny who led Ballina Town to back to back Super League titles stood down this week following Ballina’s elimination from the FAI Junior Cup last weekend. He told the Mayo Advertiser this week that, “It’s been a great four years with the lads, but I think it was time to step away. It’s been all go in the Mayo League because your going all year round and I feel like I have brought them as far as I can. A big thing for me was retaining the Super League title, but I don’t have the energy to give it all the time you need anymore so I’m taking a step back. I’ve been there for four years now and the lads need a new fresh voice to push them on further, and it’s a great opportunity for a manager to come to a side who are the top of the tree in Mayo. The club has come on leaps and bounds over the last few years not just off the pitch, we have the new club house and the astro turf which is a great credit to all those involved and I’m pleased to have been involved in that.”

The Athlone Community College Gaelic Football initiative is now progressing well for its first year and under 14 footballers.

The Dermot Flanagan nomination debacle that upset the Fianna Fáil party in Mayo this week was due to be thrashed out at a Mayo Dáil Ceantair meeting in the Welcome Inn Hotel in Castlebar last night (Thursday). Mr Flanagan himself was due to appear at the meeting and personally explain how it was he had canvassed for four days in the county to garner support as a potential candidate for the party, following which he announced on Friday January 14 that he intended to seek a nomination, before suddenly withdrawing entirely from the campaign 48 hours later.

A - Athlone GAA Club celebrated their 125th year in existence. It was an honour for me to be captain 50 years on from the first of the famous six-in-a-row wins. Unfortunately we added no silverware at senior level. Making the knockout stages was progress and hopes are high that we can build on that in 2011. Our u14s won the Feile and u16s won the county title indicating a bright future for the club.

Entrepreneurs, film makers, academics, and designers will be speaking about what inspires them and delivering encouragement to audiences at the Ignite Galway event next week.

Stephen Carolan, a work colleague in Mayo County Council, called me a few weeks ago to arrange a chat with me to discuss the topic ‘Mayo GAA as a stimulator of economic activity’. I am struggling a little to come up with some ideas yet I would welcome the chance to sit and discuss the issue due to the importance of the topic. I think the best way to come up with some initiatives is to pull those interested in making a contribution into a room for an hour or two to discuss. It is amazing to think what might come out of such a discussion like that when like minded individuals get around a table. It is a crucial issue in the current situation we find ourselves in as there is a real danger that we will lose some of our finest players to emigration.

• Legendary Kerry All-Star Jack O’Shea is the guest of honour at this year’s Claregalway Hotel GAA Dream Team Awards which take place tomorrow evening.