David Clarke today became the second Mayo player in as many days to announce his retirement from the inter-county scene. In doing so, the 37 year-old Ballina Stephenites clubman brings down the curtain on an incredible twenty-year stint as an inter-county player. The news was confirmed by Mayo GAA earlier on today (here). The announcement included a statement from the […]
Donal Vaughan said today it was “with a heavy heart” that he was announcing his retirement from inter-county football at the age of 32. It’s a sentiment that many Mayo supporters will share, as another member of the consistently competitive team James Horan fashioned in his first tenure as Mayo manager calls time on his inter-county career. Having represented the […]
The New Year is here, with the bonkers year that was 2020 now part of our shared history, though the pandemic’s continuing spread means that all the factors that uprooted normality last year are still very much part of our present. But the start of a New Year still provides an opportunity to look ahead. While it’s unlikely that we’ll […]
We’re just a few short hours away now from the end of 2020. A strange bloody year it’s been too and I don’t think too many will weep at its passing, even if an uncertain 2021 lies ahead. From a football perspective, though, it was a positive year for us. Sure, we got relegated and, yes, we lost yet another […]
There’s usually a more leisurely lead-in to Christmas here on the blog but in this strangest of years it’s coming hot-foot just after the All-Ireland final. But that’s the kind of year it’s been. It is Christmas, though, so it’s time to pull the shutters down here for a little while. Well, until I collate the MOTM poll numbers to […]
For the past two weeks we’ve been running ‘The Final Countdown’ series on the Mayo News football podcast and now, less than 24 hours out from throw-in in the All-Ireland final at Croke Park, the series reaches its conclusion with this final episode. Mindful of the fact that Mayo supporters everywhere are all confined to barracks this year, in this […]
‘The Final Countdown’ series is almost complete on the Mayo News football podcast ahead of Saturday’s All-Ireland final between Mayo and Dublin. Almost but not quite! Kevin McStay’s wonderfully evocative column in the Irish Times earlier in the week really hit a chord with Mayo supporters and in this episode we’re delighted to welcome Kevin back onto the podcast for […]
Christmas or no Christmas it’s foot to the boards this week on the Mayo News football podcast. Our first episode of the week went online last night and we have three more to come – tomorrow, Thursday and Friday – ahead of Saturday’s big match. For the Friday episode we’re looking to gather some audio input from Mayo supporters. We […]
This non-football piece was written for the ‘What’s Best for the West’ series that is currently running in the Mayo News. It appeared originally in this week’s edition of the paper and is available here. This autumn, forty years will have passed since I left home having finished in Secondary school. I’ve never lived west of the Shannon since then […]
Billy Joe Padden’s interviewing skills have been a major feature here on the Mayo News football podcast in recent months and in this episode he’s back with another special guest. This time, Billy Joe sits down for an in-depth discussion with Mayo GAA and Connacht Rugby star Gavin Duffy. The Ballina native enjoyed a varied sporting career, mainly in rugby […]