Hunger is a great sauce or so they say.

By the sounds of it, Ballyhaunis were the hungrier and more driven side in this afternoon’s county Senior hurling decider which was played at Adrian Freeman Memorial Park in Tooreen. The four-in-a-row chasing hosts may have been the strong favourites coming into this game but their neighbours were up for the fight from the start and got their reward by the finish.

It was Tooreen who made the first significant move in this game. The teams traded points for much of the opening half, the home side taking a one-point lead into the first water break. A goal for Tooreen soon after gave them a clear lead for the first time and they took that three-point advantage into half-time.

It was a grand day up here in the capital but the lads on MidWest were saying it had been very wet and windy in that first half in the west. Tooreen had the wind behind them in the first half too, so that three-point lead looked a fairly precarious one.

So it proved. Scoring four out of the next five points after the break, Ballyhaunis were level within ten minutes of the resumption and soon after they struck for a goal from Jason Coyne to surge three points clear.

The defending champions never got back on terms after that. Ballyhaunis took that three-point lead into the second water break and they led by three at the finish as well, winning the game and the TJ Tyrell Cup on a scoreline of 1-15 to 1-12. Congrats to them.

So Tooreen’s drive to win four Mayo SHC titles on the spin came up short. Instead Ballyhaunis claimed their 13th county title and their first since 2016. This keen East Mayo hurling rivalry is certainly alive and well.

A lack of hunger is never something the women’s footballers of Carnacon could ever be accused of. This evening at MacHale Park they faced Moy Davitts in the final of the Mayo LGFA Senior Championship where they emerged winners by 2-15 to 0-11. It’s Carnacon’s 21st Senior county title in a row.

Although Carnacon pulled away to win in the second half, today’s decider was a competitive one, with Moy Davitts taking a one-point lead into half-time. The champions emerged with a renewed sense of purpose after the break, however, landing three points in a row before two goals in quick succession, scored by Amy Dowling and Aiofe Brennan, set them on the road to victory and, with it, yet another county title. Well done to them.

In the day’s opening game at MacHale Park today, meanwhile, Kilmovee Shamrocks came out on top in what was a high-scoring Mayo LGFA Intermediate final. They beat MacHale Rovers in that one by 5-9 to 2-13. Congrats to them.