Ladies well beaten in decider 

Like their males counterparts seven days ago, the Mayo ladies this afternoon suffered defeat against Dublin in the All-Ireland final at Croke Park. Unlike the lads, though, this one didn’t come down to the wire, with three Dublin goals in the final ten minutes pushing their margin of victory out to twelve clear points. Dublin won in the finish by 4-11 to 0-11.

From our perspective, there can be no real complaints about the result. We were on top early on but failed to translate the dominance we enjoyed into scores, never managing to lead Dublin by more than a point at any stage.

When Dublin broke clear for the game’s first goal – scored by Niamh McEvoy after a rapid attacking move – the whole tenor of the contest changed. Dublin now had the upper hand and when the Mayo girls were reduced to thirteen players, goalkeeper Yvonne Byrne and Rachel Kearns ending up in the sin bin on yellow cards, things went from bad to worse.

In fact, it could have been an even more perilous situation for us then, as Byrne’s yellow was for a trip which resulted in a penalty for Dublin. Aisling Tarpey had the unenviable task of facing up to Sinead Aherne’s penalty kick just after coming on but Aherne’s effort from the spot lacked conviction and the sub goalie was equal to it.

The two yellow cards spanned half-time – with Mayo 1-6 to 0-6 in arrears at that stage – and so, until they were back up to their full complement, it was largely a game of containment and doing what they could to prevent Dublin getting out the gate completely. Despite a few close shaves, this they managed to do.

At half-time it was announced that the official attendance was 46,286, smashing to smithereens the previous record attendance at an LGFA final set last year. Today’s attendance was also, by some margin, the biggest at a European women’s sporting event this year.

From half-time until ten minutes from the end the two teams traded points, with Dublin unable to pull clear but our girls equally unable to close the gap any further than the three points that had separated them at the break. But at that stage, we were still in it and Dublin – beaten finalists for the previous three years – started to look slightly rattled.

But then came the decisive breakthrough. We were once more reduced to fourteen – Orla Conlon the player ordered off on yellow this time – and seconds later, Dublin broke through for their second goal. This one was scored by sub Sarah McCaffrey, sister of Jack, who finished emphatically to the net.

The game was up now and further grace notes were added via two late goals. It was cruel on the Mayo girls who’d battled so hard all afternoon but who were simply overwhelmed at the finish.

Like the lads, the final result for the ladies comes at the end of a stirring championship campaign. From the low of losing to Galway in the Connacht final to the high of dethroning long-time champions Cork, the ladies have much to be proud of this year. Today was simply a step too far for them.

It would be churlish too not to mention today’s winners and to note that this victory saw the Dublin ladies, after many disappointments, finally reach their goal. As we so well appreciate, it takes courage to keep coming back year after year following each successive knock-back and they deserve great credit for doing so. Well done to them on their win today.

89 thoughts on “Ladies well beaten in decider 

  1. Hard luck Mayo ladies it Just wasn’t to be this year. Gutted. Cora and the girls beaten by a better slicker side. Dublin getting a rather irritating habit of beating us in finals lately!

  2. Hard luck to the girls. Too many missed opportunities unfortunately, particularly in the first half and they were out of steam 5 mins to go, largely because of the enormous energy put in when down players earlier in the game.

    Gaelic football, at the top level is a 20 man/woman game. Mayo will hopefully learn that in order to win an All Ireland now you require a very strong bench and in some circumstances having so called ‘super-subs’.

    The lads definitely need this. A strong 17 isn’t even enough. You need a 19/20 to get over the line and to finish strongly.

  3. Hard luck girls. Dublins running game was the difference in the 2nd half. Always a player coming off the shoulder at speed. Cora had 2 defenders stuck to her the entire game. The sin bins probably wore us down but the first half ended strong albeit 13 v 15. Dublin introduced subs at a crucial time of about 20 mins to go. This is a major part of the game now. In senior mens game its no use bringing on guys with 65 mins on the clock. Its a 20 man game now.

  4. In team games the ball needs to be passed around. One player working alone will not beat a team. When that player is marked by two opponents there must be a free team-mate to be found some place. To ignore this principle and to continue to take a series of low percentage shots ( especially during the first half) is a recipe for defeat. Well done ladies and hard luck but it was lost in the first half.

  5. Half-time couldn’t have come any quicker for the girls as they were bailing water at the end of the 2nd quarter. Dublin could have been 3 goals up at the break but nonetheless Mayo will rue their missed chances in the first 10/15 minutes. Shot selection probably not as good as it needed to be throughout as there were too many wides and shots dropped short. Didn’t look like troubling the goal either which at this level will usually be fatal unless you are splitting the posts with abandon. In fairness to Dublin they were defensively strong and didn’t give Mayo the space they would have liked. Experience at this level won out for them at the end. Frank Browne did say afterwards that they decided to go for it and not sit back, which probably resulted in the flurry of goals at the end.

    Absolutely gutted for them and for Cora who deserved a more fitting swansong. I’d love to see her back next year but she owes Mayo absolutely nothing at this stage and can bow out with her head held high. They’ve all done their county proud and will be back challenging next year

  6. Hard luck girls. Dublin the better team by far so no complains on that front. Credit to the huge Mayo traveling support again.

  7. Hard luck girls, sin bin was a huge contributing factor today. Cora had 2 marking her for the whole game, 3 and 4 sometimes. Scored one great point with 2 if not 3 dubs around her!

  8. – The Jackies deserved to win but the final score flattered them a little.
    – Its been years since I was at a Women’s match, the pace of the game is an eye opener.
    – Mayo hit hard and ran to the very end and deserve huge credit as do the huge Mayo contingent in a fantastic crowd of over 46000
    – Credit to TG4 for all the flags they provided and coverage during the year.
    – These Mayo women will absolutely be back.

  9. I really enjoyed today and Dublin are the deserving winners.
    Despite Cora been heavily marked, the team kept passing her the ball
    despite the many wides. Other forwards should have come forward and atemtped shots.
    They were capable, but in the first half, it looked like only Cora could take the chance at scoring.
    That was our real weak point. We could get the ball up, but couldn’t finish.

    But hey, it was a good day out, and for many of the team, their first all Ireland.
    The atmosphere had no aggression, only good humour. A very different experience
    from the men’s games.

  10. Better team won today and Dublin will surely enjoy their victory after the defeats they suffered in recent times. Dublin ladies looked fitter and faster and their subs made the desired impact.

    Even when Mayo were playing well and seemed in control, they took too many shots under pressure resulting in wides and dropping short into goalies hands. Not going to get away with that in AI final, I’m afraid. Dublin s defence were very well organised and this caused a lot of frustration for Mayo.

    Disappointed for our ladies, who obviously worked so hard to get here, disappointed for the most senior players who have possibly played their last game in Croke Park, disappointed for the fans, enduring more pain is hard to take.

    … but most of all I’m disappointed at the lack of disapline by Mayo ladies which resulted in three sin bins. This was the factor in our loss that is so inexcusable. Ladies football is more popular than ever and is surely the fastest growing ladies sport in the coutcry. Blatant and cynical fouling is creeping into the game at all levels. It does nothing to enhance the game, a game that’s supposed to be non-contact. It cost us today!

  11. The comments about the match and mayo on the the rte website are truly shocking. Another Mayo bashing session.

  12. This is no Hard Luck” story. The Mayo ladies despite their best effforts were beaten by the better team. Well done Dublin ladies! Mayo were always just trying to hold on. No amount of grasping and clinging could change the inevitable. Fair play is a good sport and all that .

    Every rainbow has a beginning and middle, the end is the beginning and the beginning is the end. It’s all in the way you see the curve.

  13. I wouldn’t heed the Mayo bashing – fuck them if that’s what they get their kicks from. It’s unfortunately the way when you don’t come away with silverware. Always proud of my county considering our geographical, economical and population disadvantage – it’s hard to believe that we can even be regularly on the same playing field as Dublin with one tenth the population of them. It’s something to celebrate and what other counties can only dream of. Why weren’t Galway ladies there today for instance?

  14. Don’t care about how people bash our teams. I’m so proud of our women. They gave it everything and were beaten by a super Dublin team. Thanks for the effort and for causing our hearts to believe. It’s not to be in 2017 but always hope for tomorrow, for next year. Maigheo go deo. We are not going away. We’ll be at the business end again next year and who’s to say it won’t be our year. Thank you and well done. MAYO always

  15. There is a tidal wave of hate and bile aimed towards Mayo, as a county and group of people, all over the RTE comments sections.

    It is a fucking farce and an absolute disgrace that our national broadcaster would allow this.

    Every single comment on that site goes into moderation and has to be checked before publishing.

    That is absolutely unacceptable in my opinion.

    I just paid my fucking licence fee last week. It wasn’t so I could see knuckle draggers insult my county on a daily fucking basis.

  16. The vitriol on the RTE website aimed at us merely goes to prove further the point I made in that post I did a few days ago. It’s a tidal wave in one direction and one direction only and I agree with you Mark it’s an utter disgrace that RTE would allow such stuff to be posted unchecked. They could deal with it if they wanted to – I’m able to, and this is just me on my own – but they clearly don’t. National broadcaster, my hole.

  17. Well done to our ladies today , dublin were deserved winners , jasus the pace of that game was ferocious at times, we as a county have so much to be thankful for, what unreal sporting heroes we have , both our men and women’s teams making it to all Ireland day, not many counties can say that , really enjoyed the day apart from the result !
    f**k RTÉ and all their shite , it is an utter disgrace ,
    Will be glad to see the back of September for sure.

  18. WJ ,
    Firstly it’s a tribute to Mayo supporters that they are so gracious to the Dublin ladies team.As a dub , so refreshing to see.
    Social media is a plaything for some strange people .
    I agree with u on the disgraceful comments . It’s not an excuse but I genuinely believe trolls make deliberately provocative comments to stir the hornets nest. Was looking at a couple of Dublin fan sites and there were comments about the ref was biased, Dublin did not deserve to win etc I don’t believe these were from real Mayo fans but deliberately put up just to goad people .
    Could even be trolls from Dublin doing it.
    Please can we all agree that when we meet in the flesh we have great fun. Social media does not define me or the Dublin fans.

  19. Mayo GAA could start by moderating their own Facebook page. Today’s post about the ladies overran with gloating Dubs. Should we have to read this crap on our own site?

  20. Absolutely, John – as I keep saying, in the real world everything is different and much more reasonable. As long as that continues to be the case – which, thankfully, there’s no reason to believe it won’t be – there’s hope for us all. The online trends are, though, worrying and do need watching.

  21. Ultair..It was wall to wall comments from Dublin fans within an hr of the game..To be fair some were gracious to Mayo ladies,particularly Cora..Others not so..Irrespective of the comments I will always be baffled as to what drives supporters to an opponent supporters page after a match..Its literally the last thing I would do..Thank God this is all coming to an end..We have had a gutful ..

  22. I’ve long stopped even looking at those kind of sites/comments sections. Social media is, for the most part, a platform for nurturing and promoting hostility and animosity. My advice is stay away from places where you know it’s open to idiots with pathetic and vicious minds; particularly if the site isn’t properly monitored. RTE are a shower of clowns and are so ridiculously pro-Dublin it’s farcical, but that’s just it.

    To hell with the begrudgers. Mayo people/supporters would be far better off thinking positively and using their energy to figure out what needs to be done in their own clubs and at county level to drive Mayo forward. I don’t know about all of you, but I sure am sick and tired of 2nd best and the blend of patronising and ridicule which invariably ensues our final defeats. So, rather than using up energy in a negative fashion concerning ourselves over what is being said about us(mostly by idiots, washed up former players or lazy journalists looking to create headlines) we should instead, feed off it and drive Mayo forward. Think of all the areas we can improve and become proactive.

  23. If RTE are prepared to facilitate this Mayo bashing, maybe Mayo managements and players should take a leaf out of Mickey Harte`s book, and refuse to grant them interviews etc, until we see a change in policy ?

  24. Tough on the girls today, and feel gutted for them, but Dublin thoroughly deserved their win, so well done to them, we had a great few years as fans, so a big thank you, for the fantastic entertainment to lads and lassies.dont give up on ur dreams, they are so close, and so achievable now, it’s ur destiny,and our pleasure as supporters.

  25. I haven’t gone near any of the RTE stuff but in general their attitude to what is acceptable leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t know is it laziness or a sense of trying to generate stories but it’s not good enough for a national broadcaster.
    There is a way to corner them however. Post the link of whatever was unacceptable on Facebook and ask them to justify it’s publication of the comment in terms of its comment moderation policy. I suspect that you won’t get an answer, but if enough people keep getting them boxed in like that it might piss them off enough to do something about it.

  26. Gerry Canavan Mayo Gaels had 2-3 (1 f) versus Westport at the weekend. Kept them in it he did.
    It will be interesting to see how he goes with NUIG this year. He’s a lad who is usually scoring a few from play every game.

  27. RTE are a fucking disgrace and have been for a long time. As Willie Joe pointed out, he manages to stay on top of comments here, its not like its impossible for them. I would simply suggest everyone stays away and give them as few clicks as possible…it is obvious it’s clicks they crave with some of the shite they publish. Less clicks less revenue…if enough people did this, it may hit them a little where it hurts. I for one have been an eejit rising to the stuff I’ve read on there but I think I may be finally starting to see the light.

  28. Social media and internet comments don’t reflect our experiences of dealing with people in day to day life. However those comments are made by people and are so widespread you would have to wonder is it that the comments are actually a true reflection of what those same people think, they are just, in true Irish fashion, just afraid to say it face to face?
    The other point I would make on this is that you know its there, just avoid annoying yourself and polluting your mind with this stuff after a defeat. And stay away from the places it is done the rest of the time. There is nothing to be gained from it only mental disturbance and high blood pressure! I don’t watch the Sunday Game anymore because 1. They generally don’t know what they are taling about, and 2. It only annoys me. Life is too short to be dealing with that shite.

  29. Never argue with a fool, he’ll only drag you down to his level and beat you on experience.

  30. Does Eamonn Sweeny need to go on some tablets or something? Cant keep up with his changing moods and opinions which diverge 180 degrees from week to week.
    I haven’t and wont read it, the headline says enough for me. Thanks Eamonn, we were all week looking for someone to blame but you cracked it for us. Lads, lets start blaming ourselves, Eamonn said so from his remote cabin in Sligo.

  31. Also, I’m no fan of Sweeney (or at least his recent offerings) but I can’t see where he suggested that Mayo are behaving in any improper fashion in that article.

  32. I think Eamon Sweeney needs to have a lie down for a while. Incedently I hear he has been lined up to do a duet with Sinead O Connor with Asian and Damo Dempsey on backing vocals during the half time entertainment at Next years all Ireland final where Dublin will once again have home advantage and their first choice referee. But I’m not bitter. While I’m having a rant Cora Staunton owes Mayo nothing but she needs to learn she can’t do it all on her own and it’s ok to pass the ball.

  33. Ignoring what is been said is the best policy going forward. It is interesting that Mayo and Dublin (see Dunphy and Kimmage) the two best teams in the country are taking alot of flack from various outlets. Irish begrudgery and the view of seeing things from the worst angle is alive and well.

  34. Also, I’m no fan of Sweeney (or at least his recent offerings) but I can’t see where he suggested that Mayo are behaving in any improper fashion in that article.

    Sweeney is insinuating that Mayo INTENTIONALLY let teams back into games

    “In the replay Mayo’s dominance was such that their ability in a close finish never had to be tested. Once more the question was why, given their obvious superiority, they hadn’t concluded the job the first day.

    You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to see that so many similar finishes can’t be a coincidence. Mayo are much, much better than Derry, Cork and Roscommon yet they were unable to prevent these vastly inferior teams from sneaking draws at the death”

  35. The passage you’ve made reference to above doesn’t explicitly suggest that Mayo are involved in anything murky; Sweeney could just as easily be falling back on the mental weakness theory, which is in keeping with the rest of the rest of his piece.

    Anyway, I think we’re giving this particular hack far too much publicity.

  36. When we are on top we need more goals. But we are not getting these goals as we lack elite pace up front. Our goal taking percentage is reasonable but we dont create enough overlaps or one on ones with the keeper.
    We underrate goals in Mayo.
    “Con OCallaghan didnt do much after the goal” I heard it 10 times since the match.
    A Mayo forward is better off scoring three separate points than one goal in terms of retaining their place.
    Look at typical shooting practice. Overly focussed on points. Goals are what win championships.

  37. Thought this thread was about the ladies game ..? 🙂

    Hard luck to our women yesterday. I felt for them – they are a far better team that yesterday’s performance or indeed scoreline suggested; and not a lot went right for them. Unfortunately poor decision-making in front of the posts was one of their downfalls – our attack was far too one-dimensional. Cora has often triumphed against being double-marked; yesterday was not one of those days. Dublin defended very well I thought and their counter-attack was excellent. We in contrast were sliced open far too easily and yes, our indiscipline cost us. A special mention though for Aisling Tarpey whose first act after joining the field of play was to save a penalty – very impressive stuff.

    Very disappointed for the women, for Frank Browne, Laura Higgins and the rest of the backroom team who together put in so much hard work this year. Watching Cora, Yvonne Byrne and a couple of the stalwarts sitting on the pitch at the end, it’s hard not to think of this as the end of an era. Those sticking the boot into Cora on social media would want to take a good hard look at themselves and think about what they themselves have achieved. What a fickle bunch we are.

    We were goaded and jeered yesterday by a bunch of KIDS leaving the ground. Good to see they’re teaching them young how to win without grace. Never in all my days of going to games – including women’s games – have I encountered this from supporters of any other county, young or old.

    On the pitch however, the Dublin women know all about heartbreak, so it would be very hard to begrudge them that win yesterday – they certainly put in the better performance and were classy and gracious in victory (as indeed were their male counterparts for the most part last week). Good to see the men there cheering them on too. Congratulations to them and I hope they enjoy their victory and celebrate it well.

  38. Hard luck to the ladies. The Dubs were the better team by far. Their number 15 caused seirious damage with her pace.

    Time to put the lid on this season. When is the Connacht provincial draw does anyone know?. Would love a handy route to the final this year.

  39. I wonder will RTE be shut down and a proper national broadcaster put in their place?

    Or will they be let get away with that?

    Time for them to go now. A mickey mouse outfit. Not fit for purpose.

  40. @Anne Marie.
    Never mind them. History teaches us that those who don’t respect their opponent grow weaker.
    We are stronger overall than Dublin GAA, guarantee you that.
    Fair play to the ladies they did well to make a final.

  41. Our girls tried their best and did their county proud. No complaints – Dublin were just that bit better in a few positions and deserve their victory. As regards the goading and put downs by idiots online and certain journalists, that doesn’t bother me at all – I simply avoid it the same way I would avoid dog shite on the footpath. Instead, I prefer to celebrate the fine players and teams ( men and women) who represent Mayo and look forward to even better days ahead.
    Still proud – still hopeful despite everything!

  42. Agree with observer 2. Might be time for Mayo to take a stance on media imbalance a la Mickey Harte. Even Jim Gavin boycotted them briefly this summer. We all pay the tv licence after all and although imbalanced comments shouldnt bother us comments should be moderated. It’s terrible that any Mayo manager after losing an All-Ireland final should have to wonder whether comments made in the media could have influenced the ref. Maybe there should be a Gaelic Managers Association where a media code of conduct be agreed upon. The problem is that the media outlets treat modern intercounty football like English Soccer. It’s ok to criticise the likes of Man Utd or Liverpool because they are professionals and their supporters choose to follow them like any commercial brand. When someone makes derisory comments on an amateur intercounty team you insult a whole county. Time for the GAA and Mayo County Board to have a serious look at this.

  43. Regarding the vitriol aimed at Mayo by the triumphant Dubs, I would like to echo the phrase coined by the writer George Bernard Shaw in a letter to Michael Collins’s sister, Joanna, after Collin’s assassination in 1922. “Don’t let them make you miserable about it,” urged Shaw “so tear up your mourning and hang out your brightest colours”

  44. Congrats to Mayo and Dublin ladies . Clearly the better team on the day won .

    Anne-Marie , I wonder if you could let us know was this jeering from one or two kids or more than that ?

    I certainly don’t think it’s a big surprise to me that kids are picking up on this when you read all the articles about how ” winners ” need to ” kill or be killed ” and they see 78 th minute Dublin and a referee who did nothing to intervene when multiple Dublin players were acting illegally.

    Of course the kids are going to think it’s legal what Dublin did . After all the referee saw it . And he did nothing .

    Anyone who believes that this learned behavior will not have an influence on how these kids will behave when they grow up and acquire power is fooling themselves .

    Alan Brogan , The Winner , gets to rewrite history today and create moral equivalence between Lee Keegan’s behavior and that of the combined efforts of Cormac Costello and the entire Dublin forward line in the last minute . This air brushing of what happened is hard to take . Equally hard to take is his justifying that winners need to do whatever it takes with hardly a mention of the worst aspects of Dublins illegal behavior.

  45. Quick one for ye? Did anyone in the country know who Eamon Sweeney was this time last year aside from his mother? He’s a two bit soccer hack from Ballymote who’s knowledge of the GAA could fit on a stamp. But such is today’s media that the ability to actually do your job can easily be masked by being provocative, opinionated and “edgy”. He has gone from obscurity to relative obscurity all on the back of a few headlines. Has anyone actually read his articles? A well groomed chimp armed with a typewriter missing 3 letters would give him a run for his money. He’s the journalistic version of Kate Hopkins and every click he gets validates the clown.

  46. Sweeney’s been writing for the Sunday Independent for at least a decade.

    He also wrote an autobiography of his time following Sligo Rovers, which in fairness is an entertaining read. I enjoyed most of what he wrote for quite some time, but in recent years he seems to have developed a chip on his shoulder about us. This could possibly be down to a fact that a Mayo man once disabused him of the notion we consider Sligo rivals, something that’s come up in his column more than once.

    Incidentally, a namesake of his working for The Irish Times appears to have gotten some abuse from some Mayo fans due to their thinking he penned the “Lions led by Donkeys” piece. This is wrong and should be condemned by us as vociferously as some of the noxious stuff coming from some Dubs.

  47. Liam.. That’s a good point you make, re Kate Hopkins and the clicks, and that other clown you mentioned.. Before I came on Blog I must admit that I clicked and started to read, the latest bile from that ignorant and untruthful excuse for a journalist ,.. I has the good sense not to continue with such tripe!… Never in the history of All Ireland finals has the performance of the referee gone so completely unexamined… RTE’s own footage, of some of the highlights and controversial moments of the final, were never touched on, never mind reviewed…. As for Jim Gavin lack of empathy.. Who cares?… Eamon Dunphy opinion on the personality of Dublin footballers, Who cares?.. Does Eamon think that it’s ‘The Rose of Tralee,’?.. Where personality is deemed important… Eamon’s own personality is an acquired taste…. The only Dublin player I heard interviewed after the All Ireland final, was Dean Rock, and I couldn’t find any problems with the guy.. Articulate, intelligent, truthful… I don’t blame all the players for some of the filth and bile the, others who would claim to be Dublin supporter’s, have spewed up in recent day’s… I most certainly do blame, RTE for their appealing lack of scrutiny of many aspects of the All Ireland final… Mostly the referring performance… And to those who keep on saying that ‘Mayo had the chances to win it’… And then find that sufficient for the lack of scrutiny… Well that utter rubbish… I’m sure Ireland had the chances to beat France, despite Theire Henry’s hand ball incident in soccer..years ago . Didn’t stop the indept review of the incident and the referee… Quite rightly so… Anyways I met several Dublin supporter’s after the match.. That said the Joe McQuillian was a disgrace… His performance certainly was a disgraceful .

  48. Hard luck yesterday Mayo girls but nothing to take from it but pride and motivation. It is simply inspirational for us to yet again see the green and red take to the field on the biggest day of all in September. Like I said after the lads defeat, we are only getting better and going from strength to strength.

  49. Aeschylus wrote 2500 years ago

    And even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart
    until
    in our own despair, against our will
    comes wisdom through the awful grace of God

  50. Well last year Sam went into my friend’s Dublin school with a certain Dublin player who I won’t name (I don’t know why I’m not naming him?!) Dublin born Principal told him they had a mayo teacher and introduced her. Whole school of about 500 kids were congregated in the hall for the occasion. Player said to the kids ‘what do we say to Mayo, Boo Mayo’. Got the whole school to boo their Mayo teacher. She was horrified and disgusted. We have Paul Flynn into us and he is a gentleman. I had to tell my own class off last year, came in goading and laughing at me. They got a lesson on being good winners and being gracious in defeat. Dublin GAA kids know nothing only winning. They don’t remember the years pre 2011.

  51. We are into week 2 after the final and still the shit is going on. At this stage I would have preferred most of the nastiness happened beforehand like last year. It’s strange.

  52. did any of ye read comments on rte website not impressed at all. wonder should steven and the players do interviews on rte now.

  53. Cait..Would imagine Rochford is not reading anything on that website..I hope that someone from.the County Board has heard about this and would take appropriate action..Am I correct in thinking that no manager is obliged to an interview with RTE?? Personally I think the whole thing stinks..

  54. Sinead37, I would’nt get too upset about that in your School, if I was you I would have given them an almighty load of homework.
    Eoghan O Gara was asked what his favourite sandwich was in a Glasnevin School last year, when they brought Sam Maguire to the School. He replied ham and cheese with no Mayo ( this is Dublin slang for Mayonnaise ).
    I have’nt seen the comments on the RTE website, no point in even giving it the time, Mickey Harte only talks to the BBC, has shunned RTE for a few years now.

  55. Management and players should shun RTE over a few reader goading comments? Really? We’d be the laughing stock of the country. Embarrassing. Such hypersensitivity I’ve never seen the likes.

  56. We would also have to boycott the Independent, Hogan Stand, Facebook etc etc. Anywhere people comment on football. It’s endemic now. Mickey Harte had a valid grievance but do some people honestly think the team should boycott RTE over the comments section on their website? Seriously? That’s not to say we should be happy about it, the national broadcaster should be held to a higher standard than most. The utter garbage, trolling and all-around muppetry that passes for ‘debate’ is a sight to behold. It’s almost like a study in anthropology, give a pre-historic man a computer and see what he manages to post up. Email RTE about it and if enough people complain then maybe they’ll do something about. Wouldn’t hold my breath though.

    WJ, agree moderation is a difficult task, but thankless? Not from me and no doubt from plenty others here also.

  57. Mayo88, I’d advise you and others not to read the comments on the RTE website. There are a lot of nasty, smallminded Dubs on there. Steer clear is my advice.

  58. Ultair,… … I know in Merseyside that the ‘Sun’ has been and is still boycotted for its one side and inaccurate account of the terrible loss of life in Hillsborough… Before you start, I am not equating anything that happened at last week’s All Ireland final with Hillsborough.. People pressure, admittedly influential people pressure , has seen George Hook gone from Newstalk, at least temporarily… The truth needs to be the concisus… Not a concisus formed by a biased media, which is then fed to the public as truth, which is what is happening… I posted the ‘Dublin Steps’.. available on YouTube for anyone to look at.. This is RTE footage and it has not been discussed by RTE… The RTE footage of what happened in segments of the match is without question, an 100% accurate account of what was happening on the pitch at the time.. The inaction of the referee has to be questioned, as to why play was allowed to continue with Dublin so blatantly breaking the rules of Gaelic-football… And why it happened so often?….. It is a legitimate question to ask.. Why is that?.. Is is also legitimate to ask, Why are Mayo pundits so quite?.. I have my own theory..

  59. Billy is a a genius. Loves his sport. A great man to spin a yarn.
    There is no doubt a section of Dub supporters that are hard to take
    But I can say hand on heart having lived there for over 40 years the majority are
    Salt of the earth and would genuinely not begrudge us an All Ireland win.
    Mayo people all over the capital have done trojan work within the clubs in the capital
    The genuine Dubs know and appreciate that

  60. JG,…. My theory is to let anybody interested, make their own minds up… I can never know for certain why any man, ignores what is obviously happening, and with modern day technology easily proved… When the Sunday Game, want to analyse something they do so, but they have to use the actual TV footage of what happened.. Many times in the past, injustice has been shown to have happened on the pitch… Remember the TV footage of the Diarmuid Connolly incident when he received his 12 week ban.. Pat Spillane did not mince his word’s… But either way, the incident was fully covered… Too many things were completely ignored by the Sunday Game last week.. And that’s not the normally the case after an All Ireland final, with many controversial incidents,

  61. With the format of the Sunday Game on the night of the all- Ireland final – controversial incidents involving the winning team are not going to be analysed in any detail. Look at the format – the Sunday Game is been watched live in the winners banquet and they are going over to the winners banquet 3-4 times during the programme interviewing players/managers etc. They are not going to criticise the winners in this format.

  62. The moaning on here is off-putting. I understand we’re all sore, but time to move on. Redmond pissed me off something rotten last week, and its well covered in the other thread, but now its time to put a lid on it. Theirs a genuine fear through out some parts of the County that Rochford might be stepping down, couldn’t blame him if he does, as he has a young family. But in the case of it happening, who are the alternatives for the job? The only man I can think off is earning a small fortune out in China.

  63. South Mayo Exile… I wouldn’t or don’t expect RTE to criticise Dublin.. I expect them to critique the match,

  64. I do have to say that hurling analysis on the sunday game is completely different to the football analysis.

    Football analysis has become a joke.

    The football analysts in general do not do a good job. It’s more about themselves and their acceptance to their audience than discussing the facts of what happens on the pitch.

    The hurling fraternity would not put up with this kind of crap analysis.

    Hurling analysis comes across as very honest when the reviews are done on the sunday game.

    Strangely, the football analysis is generally much more balanced when Dublin or one of their main rivals is not involved.

    Somehow I believe that if Dublin was a hurling powerhouse and if the majority of Dubs followed their hurlers we would then see the hurling analysts on the sunday game been handpicked and the hurling analysis would go down the toilet the same way as football has gone.

    As long as Dublin are in the ascendancy I’m afraid we are going to see this one sided
    bullshit.

    Ciaran Whelan has to squirm anytime he is asked to rate how well did Mayo play.

    I don’t find o’rourke too bad. Brolly, well he can come out with 2 different opinions on the same subject. The kerry lads are afraid to say feck all in case they are seen to be backing their own great team of the 70’s or 80’s.

    Des Cahill sits with whip in hand like a little dictator to steer the conversation in the Dubs favour.

    They should sack all the football analyists and get the hurling analyst’s to cover both sports.

    The football analysts on rte and their analysis are what the 1st 4 letters of their name spells.

    Anal.

  65. Completely convinced now , we are the most sensitive bunch of snowflakes ever known to sport. Everyday since the defeat I read another after another post of crying whinging shite.

    Every single true Mayo supporter is hurting , I think of it every hour of the day since, why didnt someone get in and gather cillians free off the post, why didnt clarke just compose himself for three seconds more , etc etc but this butthurt shit is really terrible, please for the dignity of yourselves.stop it, it doesnt fit the ethos of the team.

    2018 wont be long coming, we have it all to look forward to.

  66. Sean Burke.. ‘butthurt shit’ ‘crying whinging shite ‘.. For the dignity of myself I will not let that go without a response… If you can see anything inaccurate, untrue or false that I have posted, I would be delighted if you could point it out to me.. I did present some irrefutable evidence to support my arguments.. Free speech is most definitely in the ‘Ethos’ of a democracy.. And I never heard any member of the team suggest that we must stay quite on any particular subject… You are entitled to hold a different opinion yourself! But are you really in a position to comment on the dignity of others?

  67. Hard luck ladies. Just met a better more clinical team and there’s no shame in it. The thing now is to practice hard and also see what else you can add to your armory for 2018. Just like the men’s team, it’s a killer to lose the final but as of today that the reality and only time will heal this pain.
    For 2018 the only way is to see who else out there is able and willing to play hard enough to push you the last few inches. There’s only 1 Cora, I get that, but maybe there’s others involved already that will step up a gear and start scoring a bit more?

  68. Leantimes you’re deluding yourself. Irrefutable evidence? From a one-sided Youtube video? Time to let it go now my friend. We will rise again but 2017 is done and dusted.

  69. Leantimes, with the greatest of respect, I think its time you let it go.
    There’s no doubt that the ref missed some things and they did not get discussed, I’m sure the Dubs have similar views on certain incidents too. Whatever happens now is not going to change the result.
    Continually dragging it up is no good for your soul, man.

  70. Both sides of the fence have their points of view.

    Everyone is entitled to their tuppence worth.

    I agree that things have to move on. The team and manager have to move on and begin to focus on their new season after another 2 or 3 months as well. We have to move on as well and get fully behind them again for the next push for Sam.

    Alot of people have their own questions over what has happened over the past week or 2 and especially the final. Their opinions need to be respected as well.

    I can see where both sides are coming from because I had plenty of questions myself over the final.

    I can listen to everyone’s point of view, maybe some people cannot.

    Its a blessing for me to hear from each side of the fence, those that want to forget about this year and those that want to talk about the fair / unfair shake that Mayo got this year.

    Democracy is all inclusive. If we don’t consider opinions from all sides then we are just dealing with a skewed version of events.

  71. http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/mike-quirke/the-lure-of-short-term-success-clouding-any-long-term-vision-459676.html?&session=j8tiC/LMQM3LjpDs/boe2jR1D/2+Ejvv98DuJJ1pz+A=#
    For anyone interested, this is a fantastic piece by Michael Quirke in today’s Examiner. It’s also worth reading to remind ourselves that there are still proper sports journalists out there. It’s not a Centre of Excellence we need, it’s proper coaching structures.

  72. We lost! Like most other Mayo supporters I found that very hard to stomach. But it is over and no amount of talk can alter that reality.
    I choose to comfort myself with the fact that we were as good if not better than Dublin in most aspects of the game except on the scoreboard and there only by the slimmest of slim margins. I am confident that if we go again we can improve to yet another level – enough to win the damn thing next year.
    Look back with pride – look forward with hope!

  73. i am asking this question will the management go to all the club matches for the next few weeks and have a look at the talent that is out there ?

  74. We can look forward with confidence but there is the big thing of those 2 blatant penalty non calls and cons goal with all the steps . They had to be seen by umpires and referee, and were ignored.
    We, being the good little country people will do as directed and bow and genuflect after getting screwed. What’s the guarantee it won’t happen the same way next year?

  75. Ultair…. You are deluding yourself , if you are calling into question video evidence…by describing it as one sided…. Of course, it’s one sided, it shows the truth and nothing else… In full colour… What can be the motivation of anyone who would. suggest it was one sided? … At least you didn’t suggest that it wasn’t true …. Other than what was shown on that particular clips.. There are two Penalty incidents…. It is fair. and absolutely necessary to ask the questions… In fact, I consider it to be of. some importance that a more in depth analysis is done…. Jim Gavin, lampooned the Roscommon Ref, (Jim Nealon I think his name is?) after this year’s league final, and said that it was important that, ‘more experienced referees got the biggest match’s)… Well, Well We’ll, Jim, He certainly got his wish… Despite the fact that Nealon performance was rightly praised by most of the pundits…. Despite the lack of analysis of Joe McQuillian performance in the All Ireland final, I have yet to hear any praise for him from any source…… Of course Dave is correct in saying,…’ bow and genus lecture after being screwed ‘… Jim Gavin didn’t’ bow and genuflect ‘after NOT being screwed in the league final… And he got the type of (just for Ultair).. The type of’ One sided’ refereeing performance he would have liked!

  76. Liam, an interesting article alright but Quirke failed to mention that the start of the blue wave was members of the Dublin county going to the government and receiving funding for 40-50 full time coaches for the capital. This was at a time when gaa was at an all time low in the city. Don’t tell me if the likes of Offaly or Wexford or even mayo went to Leo he’d be signing cheques for them.

    Your right in that underage coaching structures are the important issues facing the county board at the moment. More so than winning an all Ireland.

  77. Sinead37, that reminds me of the time a Mayo-mad friend of mine, teaching in a Dublin school, had Ciaran Whelan visit the classroom not long after *that* game in ’06. Sore from the defeat and probably expecting a bit of soothing adulation from a bunch of Dublin kids, Whelo was more than a little surprised to see the room fully decked out in green and red, and a remarkably large proportion of Tallaght kids wearing Mayo apparel. He knew he was in for a rough day when the line of the questioning from the young audience began along the lines of “Ciaran, why did you hit poor Ronan McGarrity?” It was, I’m told, a rather awkward half hour and our hero was happy to make his exit.

    Disclaimer: this story may have grown legs over time, but sadly, you wouldn’t get away with that level of sneaky indoctrination in the capital these days!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *