THE venue for this year’s Connacht final may be novel but it is not unprecedented. All of 98 years ago the replayed provincial final of 1922 between Galway and Sligo was also contested at Croke Park on the last day of September in 1923. As was common in those times, the match in question, which was played in late September […]
It’s funny the way things go. Earlier this year, when the Covid-19 pandemic had wiped all live sporting activity, as well as so much more besides, from the map, I went scrabbling for the record books to see if I could find a comparable year, one in which the Championship hadn’t been contested. I had to go back all the […]
‘The road to Croker’ series on the Mayo News football podcast aims to set the scene ahead of Mayo’s appearance at GAA HQ on Sunday week when they take on Munster champions Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final. In this second episode in the series, we’re looking back, both on last weekend’s action and on the tragic events that took place […]
Well, here we are. The Covid-era rapid-fire Championship of 2020 is down to the final four and we’re still standing. An odd quartet we certainly make, even if, from a historical standpoint, this year’s All-Ireland semi-final pairings are nothing if not apposite. I think it’s fair to say, though, that even a few short weeks ago nobody would have predicted […]
Delayed football and hurling Championships aren’t unprecedented, even if the most recent occurrences came decades ago. Unfinished Championships happened too, though you have to go back close to a century for the last football one, an infamous episode that saw us swindled out of what would have been our first All-Ireland. But only once ever in the GAA’s history was […]
It’s that time of year again when the allure of a good book acts as a pleasing counterpoint to the cold and the dark and, from a GAA perspective, to the absence of much in the way of on-field action as well. If you’re on the hunt for some dark evening reading and, like me, your interests span the GAA […]
I’m back in the capital after a very enjoyable weekend in the west and back with me too is a treasured copy of the Aghamore GAA club history. The book was launched on Friday night at a jam-packed event in the Park Hotel in Kiltimagh, where Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh was guest of honour and it was he who formally launched […]
Photo: @AghamoreGAA I mentioned this one a few weeks back but then the date was changed so no harm in a quick reminder. Aghamore GAA club’s launch of a book on their club history takes place tomorrow night (Friday) at the Park Hotel in Kiltimagh, throw-in time 9pm. Special guest on the night is the legendary Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh. The […]
Photo: @AghamoreGAA Long-term followers of the blog will, I’m sure, know that Aghamore holds a special place in my heart. I’m delighted, then, to give a push to a book that’s due out next month chronicling the history of Aghamore GAA club. The book is the brainchild of retired teacher Jackie Coyne who, back in 2013, came up with the […]
I’m currently reading Terry Reilly’s entertaining and informative The Green Above The Red (which I’ll review in more detail at some point next week) and, in doing so, I came across the text of the famous letter written by a number of the Mayo team to the County Board in November 1947, the aim of which was to do something […]