Photo: The Green above the Red
I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ve enjoyed the last few months, as I’ve been able to prise myself away from what had for ages felt like 24:7 attention to the blog. It’s been nice, to be honest, to focus my time mainly on issues other than Mayo GAA but over the past two months I have also been working away on one of my pet projects on the blog, the outcome of which I’m now able to reveal in all its glory.
As most of you will know, the results archive here on the site is something I’ve been chipping away at – with significant help from others, I might add – for over a decade at this stage. Collecting all those results and player details is painstaking, time-consuming work, the kind of thing that can only be done when distractions elsewhere are at a minimum. Q4 every year is, then, the obvious time to make progress in this area.
When I last updated you on where things stood with the archive, back in December last year, I had completed gathering Under 21 and minor championship results back to 1987, which meant that there were thirty years of senior (championship and NFL, with FBD match results back to 2000), U21 and minor championship results available online. What I’m happy to announce now is that I’ve completed collecting all remaining outstanding U21 and minor results, back to when both competitions first began.
In the case of the U21 championship, that goes back to 1964. As far as I know (and, as I’ve found from all this online trawling, one can never be 100% sure if every match has been included, though my hope is that they all have) the archive now contains the result of every championship game, every team that lined out (and subs introduced) and every scorer for all of the matches we ever played in the U21 championship.
For minor, the same is true for at least sixty years. After that gaps start to appear in terms of full team lists and scorers – as coverage of sport in general gets spottier the further back in time you go – but I’m still reasonably confident that I’ve got at least the result (as well as date and location) of every single minor championship match we ever played, all the way back to 1930. The photo at the top, by the way, is of the 1935 All-Ireland winning minor team, the first Mayo team ever to win an All-Ireland.
I now think that, to all intents and purposes, the long slog in compiling the results archive is over. The results are all there – though I would urge everyone who’s interested in this stuff to study the details closely and please let me know if I’ve missed anything or entered any details incorrectly – so, to that extent, the job is done.
In truth, of course, it’ll never be done. There’s more tidying up and double-checking to be gone through, there are gaps relating to team details from matches in the far distant past that I hope to fill in, at least in part, at some stage. And, of course, at the front end another year’s results get added every year once that year’s action is over. The march of time goes ever onwards.
If you fancy perusing through the results archive the place to start is here. For those of you who may be interested in the background to how I’ve gone about collecting all the results, a note on sources and methodology is here.
What a fantastic resource to have available to us. This is an excellent piece of work WJ, fair play and thank you.
Some man for one man WJ….
It is an outstanding facility for all to view and full congratulations and thanks to W.J. for compiling and displaying all the data on Mayo football.
Brilliant work Willie Joe we are blessed to have you. Any word on who the 15 lads brought into the devolopmental panel are? Fair play to Stephen Rochford he’s leaving no stone unturned
Brilliant work WJ ..Maybe you could get a job as Alan Dillon’s campaign manager if he runs for election !!!! Seriously , thanks for all the work you put in .
Brilliant WJ, well done.
Thank you WJ. This is going to shut a lot of experts up in pubs in Mayo and further afield.
I can see it now,
Tom
“ O’Neil didn’t play against Fermanagh, ever”.
Johnny
“ I’m tellin ya he did, didn’t I see him meself?”
Barman
“ I’ll settle it, give me a second “
That’s fantastic. Just got my very passionate and proud mayo dad a new smart phone. I want to set him up so he can see your blog which I’m always telling him about. He will lo e going through all those stats. Well done and thanks ????
Congratulations and thanks Willie Joe. This archive is already a priceless resource and now even more so. Will settle many an argument.
A massive contribution WJ unrivalled anywhere. Thank you
Top of class as usual..
If u were in the football game ud b in Andys class…. barely making U-16 subs….last pick 1998/7?? What persistence and tenacity… real Mayo Man you are.
Willie Joe, Aghamore and Mayo legend.. sincere gratitude
You’re amazing, Willie Joe, just absolutely amazing.
Are those 1935 minors in the photo above not one hardy looking bunch of gossúns? Looking at them it”s hardly credible that they are minors.
Haven’t as of yet had a chance to delve into the archives.. I will,.. No doubt, yet another tremendous contribution to the story of Mayo Gaa, all courtesy of Willie Joe.
Don’t know what’s keeping u Leantimes! A marvel achievement!
@AndyD in those days bigger arms, hands n shoulders. You’d have 10 years manual labour done by 18 and outdoors in all weathers.
I seen an interesting one in the archives. A G Cuddy being a heavy scoring forward at u21 in mid 70s. I never heard of him going onto Senior.
There are a few interesting stories like that at senior also of brief career seniors who scored heavy. Padraig Brogans scoring rate from midfield was remarkable.
This reminds me of a report to a board of a multinational company by a stellar CEO. All I can say as a would be board member: double this man’s bonus and award at least a 25% increase in his salary!
Mile buiochas WJOE faoi an stair seo. Ta do blog go hiontach ar fad-fail saor agat. Comhgairdeas do Alan Dillon. Bhi se thar barr do foireann Mhuigheo. Go neiri leis I gconai. Comhgairdeas do na lads Mhuigheo a fuair All Stars I mbliana. Mhuigheo Abu!
Well Done WJ and thanks for the effort you have put in
Gabriel Cuddy was a grand light forward in the famous doldrums period in the style of the then mayo footballers…grand !! Claremorrus was his club.Joe Cuddy was a singer at the time who reped ire in the Eurivisiin …. Without much success either… But of course the participation was important and things were to change in time
P Brogan was the finest fiotballer prospect we be ever had in my time 1958-2017. V mem was an U- 21 in Ennis v cork in ? We lost but ’twas the first time I regarded him as a gazelle on the pitch. A great musician (Irish) I’ll not forget his like!
JP, I’m well aware of the manual labour end of things in those times – indeed there was no let up until the ’60’s when tractors etc. became more common. I myself learned how to lap hay in that “glorious summer” of 1958. How many born since would know what lapping hay meant? Even so they’re a hardy bunch of lads.
Yes indeed AndyD a delightful memory and amazing it was how imp it was in bad weather to lap. I can smell the smell of well aav d hay from here but also the annoyance of finding frigen thistles in the clumps when youse be rolling around in it for fun and the joy of sliding down off the top of a reek where youde been employed as a tramper!….. Horse and rake … Hay ropes..tea and soda bread with real butter…. Nice neat cock with bottom pulled well…fit to mature in the field till haggard time were to come!
What a feat Willie Joe in being able to add the minor and under-21s to the archives! A lifetime’s work in any man’s language. Glad to see my uncle’s (Billy Devers from Ballina) name on the 1930 team – the first year Mayo were represented, I believe. Unfortunately they were beaten by one point (1-3 to 0-5 in the decider. Billy emigrated to England the following year and never played gaa again.
That looks v like P Mockair I back row…… v back.
What Devres were they John?
I see the archive is bringing out the sentimentality in some of us (and why not). It’s not what it used to be.
Good man Willie Joe and thank you. The “Mayo Man of the Year” has been awarded for less.
Well done to Cora and Carnacon once again they have done the county proud
Inbetweener:
Billy Devers as he was then known was from Castle Road, Ballina. Later the name Devers was changed to Devere by his uncle Fred Devere who was editor of the Western People. Billy’s brother Teddy played with Ballina Stephenites for many years and another brother Ernie was a well-known footballer and boxer,
Fair play to ya Willie Joe!
What an amazing resource WJ and thank you sincerely for the time and effort you have put in.
On a related note, you – or someone else here – might be able to help me out with a bit of trivia. I’m trying to ascertain who would have captained the 1952 Mayo team in the Senior Football Championship. They went out to Roscommon, but my understanding is that there was a journalist’ strike at the time so match reports are sparse. In fact, I believe that owing to this fact, the wrong result was communicated to RTÉ radio at the time, incorrectly awarding the result to Mayo.
We think it was probably John Forde of Ardnaree Sarsfieds that captained the side, but can’t find confirmation of this anywhere. Any insight would be appreciated!