Results round-up

Willie Joe
Photo: Burrishoole GAA

Well, that was a cracking weekend of club football, with thrills, spills, last-second scores, a penalty shootout and history made.

The only place to start is, of course, with the history makers. They’re the women footballers of Burrishoole who, appearing in their first ever LFGA Senior county final, this afternoon at Bekan dethroned champions Knockmore to claim the title.

The wet and windy weather had taken hold ahead of the 4pm throw-in at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence today and the sky darkened to such an extent that the floodlights were needed. It was, though, the women from the west of the county who lit up the gloom as they fought back from a goal down to claim victory by a point.

Burrishoole opened the scoring in today’s decider with an early point but, in a tense, low-scoring game, that was the only score they’d get in the opening half. Knockmore, meanwhile, didn’t get off the mark until the 26th minute – from a Shauna Howley free – but they then struck a significant blow, when Clodagh Keane shot to the net.

Little by little, Burrishoole clawed their way back into the game after the break. Clodagh McManamon pointed to cut the gap to two before a goal chance failed to produce a major but the point that was secured was welcome all the same.

With fifteen minutes to go, the match was all square but a second Shauna Howley free six minutes from time edged the champions back in front once again. Knockmore held that lead into injury time but then the challengers drew level again and soon after were awarded a free in a good position.

The free still had to be converted, however, but up stepped Maria Cannon to write her team’s name into the history books by popping it over to seal a dramatic 0-6 to 1-2 win. There’ll be fulsome celebrations out west tonight and proper order too. Well done to them.

Match report from the Mayo News is here.

Photo: Charlestown GAA

There’s also set to be a fair bit of celebration going on in the east of the county tonight. This is because Charlestown Sarsfields won the LGFA Intermediate county title, beating Louisburgh by 2-9 to 0-14 in what was another dramatic decider, and Ballyhaunis got the better of Aghamore by 3-7 to 2-5 in the Junior final.

Here are the results of the other LGFA games contested there over the last few days:

  • Senior Shield final: Castlebar Mitchels 2-8 Hollymount 2-6
  • Senior relegation play-off: Kilmovee Shamrocks 5-11 Moy Davitts 4-8
  • Intermediate Shield final: Kilmoremoy 1-6 Davitts 1-1
  • Junior A Shield final: Parke Keelogues Crimlin 4-9 The Neale 0-6
  • Junior B Cup final: Kilmeena 5-8 Tourmakeady 1-6
  • Junior B Shield final: Carnacon B 3-21 Claremorris B 1-2

Onto the lads, where the drama was, if anything, even more gripping.

Photo: Mayo GAA

Both of this afternoon’s Moclair Cup semi-finals at MacHale Park were well-contested battles, with the two of them going down to the wire. In the end it was Ballina Stephenites and Westport who made it through to the county final, as they edged out Ballintubber and Castlebar Mitchels respectively.

It was the more experienced Tubbermen who made the running early on in the game’s opening match. They briefly led by three points in the opening half but when Evan Regan bagged the opening goal of the game, following a bad mix-up in the Ballintubber backline, the trajectory of the contest was immediately altered and the Stephenites always looked the likelier winners from there.

Ballina took a two-point lead into the second half. When Frank Irwin goaled on the second attempt following a penalty award they were well on their way. Victory looked assured when Luke Doherty poked home their third goal.

To their credit, though, Ballintubber fought back. Cillian O’Connor set up brother Diarmuid, who, as he’s done so often for the county team, was perfectly positioned to meet a long ball in, stretching to palm it past David Clarke and into the net. That set up an exciting finish but Stephenites held on to win by three on a scoreline of 3-10 to 1-13.

Match report from the Mayo News is here and match highlights are here:

The second semi-final was an even more enthralling contest, capped by an utterly bonkers finish. Westport made most of the running throughout – leading by two at the break – but a deep-lying Castlebar Mitchels outfit stuck with them in a game where scores proved hard enough to come by.

When Westport extended their lead to four points with five minutes to go, a first Senior final appearance since 1991 started to come into view. Mitchels hit back, though, with three points on the spin, to leave just single point between them as the game went into injury time.

When Mitchels were awarded a penalty, expertly converted by Ethan Gibbons, it looked as if Westport had left a match they always had the winning of behind them. Then, down at the other end, this happened:

Sub Shane Scott wasn’t on the field all that long but the piledriver he crashed into the roof of the net meant that he’s sure to be the toast of the town tonight. That late, late goal saw Westport home by 1-11 to 1-10.

There’s a Mayo News match report here and here are the match highlights:

That wasn’t all the drama at Senior level either. Over at the Saucer, The Neale – hammered out the gate by Westport in their opening group game a few weeks back and their injury-ravaged team odds-on for relegation ever since – held their nerve to beat Davitts 3-2 in a first-ever Mayo club Championship penalty shootout, after their relegation decider finished level, 1-8 to 0-11, after extra-time. The result ends a ten-year stay at the top level for Davitts.

Photo: Ballyhaunis GAA

Replacing them in the Senior ranks next year will be Ballyhaunis or Kilmeena. Ballyhaunis, beaten in the IFC decider both last year and in 2019, made it back to the Sweeney Cup final today when they beat Hollymount/Carramore by 1-12 to 0-9.

Joining them in the final will be Kilmeena, as the West Mayo team’s rise continues apace. The current All-Ireland Junior football champions were too good for Bohola Moy Davitts earlier today, winning by 1-13 to 0-13 and so the club that were playing their trade in the Junior ranks last year are now just an hour away from potential promotion to Senior.

Heading in the other direction are Lahardane MacHales. They lost out yesterday to Ardnaree Sarsfields by a single point in a closely contested relegation decider, a match that ended 1-11 to 1-10. Match report from the Mayo News on that one is here.

The Junior A semi-finals were won by Cill Chomáin, who beat Achill after extra-time by 3-12 to 1-15 (Mayo News match report here), and Islandeady who got the better of Shrule/Glencorrib by 0-13 to 0-11.

In Junior B, the semi-finals were won by Achill, who beat Ballycroy by 0-12 to 0-9, and Moygownagh, who beat Ballycroy by 1-1o to 0-12.

That’s the lot, I think. As I said at the top, what a weekend of club action it was.

117 thoughts on “Results round-up”

  1. Absolutely incredible from The Neale. They were as close to certainties for the drop as you could get for weeks. They stay senior without winning a game :@

  2. Fantastic stuff this weekend. Not the best quality but some very exciting stuff. The ground will be getting a lot softer now so goodluck to all teams training this time of year!!

  3. Heart goes out to Davitts. Ended up in the relegation final by losing to Castlebar, Garrymore, Charlestown and Ballaghaderreen, all top 10 sides. And then to go down on penalties. Neale a country mile the worst team in senior this year but the “easier to stay up than come up” adage has never ran truer. Given the system in place, you only theoretically need to turn up in one game and to their credit they did that today.

    So Westport and Ballina the two most talked up teams at the start of the year have made it! Are Ballina nearly winning games too easy though I wonder? Can they dig out a tight game in the melting pot? For all the talk of Westport being a bit soft centred in big knockout games in previous years (not without merit), they’ve dug out two huge ones this year. I still think Castlebar are way off their pomp of a few years ago though and are probably still a few years early with this team too, while Garrymore had some injuries (both could have easily gone the other way) – Ballina do seem to be in better form, and haven’t really looked back after that huge statement win against Knockmore, so they’re my pick.

  4. – First of all huge congrats to Burrishoole women and to WJ for such an extensive results roundup.
    – Castlebar defensive tactics would put Rory Gallagher/Derry to shame.
    – It was a dire match reflected in the lack of atmosphere in the stand until injury time.
    – Yet there were some good individual scores and performances but too much play between the two 45s and ping pong across the field.
    – Kevin Mc Stay’s notebook will be fairly empty with probably more names crossed out than added.
    – Anyhow Westport deserved to win and lets hope there is some decent football in the final and not the drudge served up today.

  5. Proud of Mitchells today. Westport lucky as hell. Very poor second half from them.

    Sean Morahan is going to be a star.

    Hopefully Ballina to win it out.

  6. The Neale were not the worst team by a country mike in senior this year. They were in the same group as westport and ballintubber, both of them in the last 4 of the championship today. They were well beaten by westport but put up credible enough performances against ballintubber and mayo gaels. Anyone who read Ger Flanagans piece in the mayo news would have seen that Balla struggled to beat the neale in the relegation semi final. I would consider Balla unlucky not to teach the quarter finals and are, in my opinion, a better team than Davitts. It was no surprise that the game today was evenly contested, the neale were wasteful at the start of both halves and probably got a bit of luck to draw the game. But despite everything they refused to give up and fair play to them. They will regroup and the trials of this year will be of huge benefit to their young inexperienced team. Maybe they are punching above their weight at senior level but they should be congratulated for that.

  7. @Rober How were Balla unlucky not to reach the quarter finals? That’s a big statement for a team that couldn’t win a game in what was probably the easiest group to qualify from.

  8. Fair play to Burrishoole, really ground it out and were probably the better team on the day(a terrible day in Bekan at that) they were lucky not to lose a player or two to cards mind, but for some good saves they could have had goals also.
    Knockmore done really well to reach consecutive finals with most the team in their teens and missing 4 or 5 of last years starters including midfielder, Centre half back, wing back.

    Hard to disagree with Olive, this year’s championship hasn’t seemed to have thrown up many additional names for the new manager to ponder that weren’t in last years squad. Morahan being one.

  9. Mitchels are essentially playing with a team full of teenagers and a rookie manager and people giving out about their style of play. I’ve yards it all now

  10. Mitchels are not a team of teenagers! Rory Byrne, Donie Newcombe, Ger McDonagh and Paddy Durcan have 4 county medals and played in 2 all Ireland club finals.

    Westport probably have a younger team than them on average.

  11. The Knockmore team that won two years were a lot of teenagers out of minor likes of Flynn, Holmes, Dempsey, Naughton.

    Castlebar had a great year, won league and made semifinal. The style of play got them results. It’s just not everyone’s cup of tea. But with pick they have and amount of underage success they like the other town teams will improve.

  13. Third man in. Balla lost to belmullet by one point having let in three soft goals. If they won that game alone they would have come out of the group.
    No group is easy to qualify from in Mayo just ask ballagh, Aughamore and belmullet. The standard is high. We’ll done the Neale, with Tommy back next year they will be a different proposition.

  14. Are you looking for birth certs signed the aul Archbishop-Wide Ball?

    I used the word ESSENTIALLY.

    You know exaggeration for the sake of effect, making a point kinda thing

    Castlebar Mitchels had a sizable number of very young and inexperienced players who played today

    I believe against Knockmore they started with a 17 and 19 year old in the full back line. I think Barry Moran said the the average age of that team (minus the 2 oldest lads) was 21

  15. No they wouldn’t Lionel, claremorris ended up with 4 points in second

    Two of the Neale’s group making semis was every bit down to circumstance, castlebar are obviously more or less on same level as Westport while you could say the same with garrymore and btubber (who were decimated by injuries in the group and would have been there for the taking in any other group). Charlestown are better than mayo gaels – Davitts had better performances than Neale until yesterday but look that’s not how it works, and fair play to them but I feel for davitts, they had rotten luck all campaign.

    The gas thing is there’s every chance the Neale or davitts wouldn’t have even made the semis in the uber competitive intermediate this year.. much easier to stay up than come up. Would still love a two up, two down system again

  16. Before getting worked up over poor, low scoring fare in our championship we need to appreciate that in semis and finals teams are likely to be evenly matched and be ultra cautious with so much at stake. It’s not just a Mayo thing if you look at results from the other strong counties at the weekend. Too much typing to put in all the club names…
    Dublin final…0-11/0-10
    Donegal final….1-09/2-05
    Kerry semis…0-15/0-09 1-09/1-08
    Tyrone semis….0-11/0-10 0-11/0-08
    Down final….1-13/0-15
    Our 3-10/1-13 and 1-11/1-10 stand up pretty well against the others.

  18. @Lionel letting in 3 soft goals against a weakened Belmullet seems to be framed as some sort of positive for Balla. They blew that game themselves so I’m not sure how anyone can say they were unlucky not to win it… They nearly won it, but they lost it, and only had themselves to blame. They didn’t do anything against Breaffy and lost to Claremorris. In no way were they unlucky not to make the quarter finals in my book.
    And I think the quarter final showings from Breaffy and Claremorris go to show it was the weakest group this year. Anyway, didn’t mean to drag out the point, that discussion was probably for a few weeks ago.

    Well done to The Neale though, nearly everyone had written them off and without Tommy, it was a great achievement to stay up.

  19. Shane Walsh of Galway the difference in Dublin county final .

    Did Tommy conroy play any part for the neale yesterday ?

  21. Walsh worth every… bit of paperwork 🙂

    Must be hard to generate the same level of satisfaction as his sister for example who won a county medal with their home club on Saturday, but all the best to him I guess. Ironically he’d have had far less club football commitments if he stayed with KClon, as Crokes are surely going to be involved into the new year.

    That said he’s a class act and 4 points from play in a county final in “winter football” is great going. Two huge performances in finals this year, maybe we’re finally going to see the best of him on a consistent level

    If they get Mannion back its very difficult look past them in the all Ireland series.

  22. @Joe G, would agree, not that I’ve heard too many people going on about our low scoring games versus other counties, but there’s nothing in it. Maybe people who are going on about it are conditioned to expect 70+ minute scores or aren’t allowing for the time of the year/conditions etc..

    What I have heard is a good few talking about is the lack of potential new county players bursting through… Much like the scoring, this is similar in other counties imo. It takes a while to get a club player conditioned to high level intercounty standard… We won’t be getting a wave of new county players from any one club championship imo. If we got 1,2 or 3 each year, and develop them, we would be doing very well. Added to that, the way county football is gone with development squads etc etc… There’s a lot of players getting their chances / who will get their chance to impress. Maybe people are expecting a new wave of players with the new management, but it’s unrealistic to expect that imo.

    One thing we’re very fortunate in Mayo is that we’ve can have very little regrets in terms of players who can play for county being available. Some counties have numerous guys that maybe good enough but haven’t made themselves available for whatever reasons, we’re lucky enough that everyone seems to be wanting to play no matter what. Testiment to that is that there are very few complaints about lads not having a fair chance over the last decade and a bit. Gibbons gets mentioned a bit in this context, as did Douglas a few years ago… But both have probably been given fair chances and just fell a tiny bit short.

  24. The disappointing aspect for me is that in all the games I’ve watched, the star players have been the established Mayo lads with the exception of Ballina who have had big performances from lads that are close to the Mayo panel. No one has come from out of the blue to put their hand up but maybe that’s just a reflection of our knowledge of players in general now.

    On the Westport-Castlebar game, fair play to Castlebar for sticking in there and nearly winning it but for me Westport were a good bit better than them and seemed to have a bit more. They also kicked some terrible wides. Westport are really missing a ROD type player. For all the talk of bottling the last few years, that’s a big win for Westport and very similar to the Ballina game last year. But it has struck me now that they aren’t going that well and for probably the third year in a row, they seem to have played their best stuff in the group stage.

  25. Unstoppable, the Ballina lads that impressed (Callinan, Frank Irwin and although was very quiet yesterday McStay) were already in the Mayo panel last year.

  26. Kilkerrin Clonberne Ladies – who his sister plays with – were in a county final on Saturday hence why he was “back home” then I suspect

  27. It’s hardly a surprise that the Mayo county players are the star players at club level. I watched the Dublin county final yesterday and aside from Shane Walsh the standard was poor enough.

    What you’re looking for is players with potential to make the step up. I think we’ve had that in the Mayo championship. Ethan Gibbons was Castlebar’s best player in the QF and Sean Morahan was their standout yesterday IMO. Neither were involved with the Mayo senior panel.

    Ballintubber aside, the other 3 semi finalists had very young teams overall which is a good sign.

  28. @Ciaran, thanks, didn’t know that. Regardless, just thought it was a funny caption. He certainly played a big role yesterday, massive point at the end. Can’t say I’m ever too disappointed seeing Johnny Cooper on the losing team.

  29. Agreed wide ball , just a shame we don’t see the likes of mark moran drive on , perhaps he’ll have a stormer in county final .

  30. Shane has never really helped himself from a PR point of view throughout the whole saga 🙂

    Yeah I’m surprised at the standard in Dublin to be honest, the bigger clubs nearly have the pick of county teams.. It baffles me that there are still ordinary enough players on starting 15s in the latter stages, the number of players these clubs have to pick from is astronomical

    Walsh alone would have been enough to win a county title for any of the top 5 or 6 teams in Dublin this year. I thought Crokes would cut loose altogether with him in their ranks, but if anything they’ve relied on him alone to dig out a few results. Even without Mannion they surely should be able to find a few top quality forwards? With all that said its hard to see them not making the All Ireland semi or indeed final, although Naas did look emphatic in Kildare so Leinster may not be a complete given

  31. This year could be the real making of Shane Walsh, absolutely unreal on the biggest day in Gaelic Football should have been man of the match over Clifford and leads Kilmacud to a County title without there other talisman Paul Mannion under huge pressure after his transfer from Kilkerrin Clonberne.The best footballer in the province at this moment and 3rd best in the country after Clifford and Con.He has moved into a different gear this year and will take some stopping next season.

  32. Mark Moran has really struggled now in two big consecutive matches, marking teak tough defenders in Caolan Crowe and Donnacha McHugh.

    Instead, I’d like to see others like Ethan Gibbons get a proper run for Mayo. Sean Morahan is an exceptional talent. At age 17, it will be interesting to see if McStay brings him in right away…. he should definitely be in the development squad for Mayo. At the very least. Not only skillful, but is showing lots of bottle. In big matches. He had number 2 on his back yesterday but played most of the match around the middle third from what I could see.

  33. I think Morahan probably stands out as the best prospect not to have been already involved in the senior set-up. Given his age, probably worth being a bit cautious and not expecting too much at this stage.
    Ethan Gibbons has taken a few years to make his mark with Mitchels, he would be a rare case of a (relatively) late developer to come through. Is he a guy who hit form, or could he really make the step up. I know him so I hope the latter but it’s hard to call.

    There are very few surprise players out there in this day and age. We’ve done a good job at having a look at / developing players in the county.

    In my thinking, I would still be looking at the likes of Orme, McHale, Carney as players who can still progress and make a bigger impact at county level. They might be seen as somewhat established but I still look at them as still being in that process of developing into county players from a S&C and experience perspective. It takes 2-3 years these days before you see the true potential imo. The likes of Orme was very light but you can see the change in him and he’ll probably continue to get stronger/up to pace over the next year.

  35. Was listening to Newstalk radio earlier and Pat Kenny says “after the break we have a roundup of all the weekend major sports events”. After the break he’s joined by a lady pundit from Off the ball. They start with Liverpool v Man City followed by a mentions of Man Utd and Arsenal. Then a bit on Damien Duff and Shelbourne. Onto rugby and she explains why Leinster didn’t blow Connacht out of the water, was because Connacht played everyone behind the ball. It’s rugby and everyone has to be behind the fecking ball. Finally onto gaelic games which I had waited patiently for. They mention the young lad in Thurles being assaulted and said this kind of behaviour has happened several times recently……..That was the sum total coverage of the country’s biggest and most popular sports on a massive gaa club weekend. All in all quite pathetic coverage by a station with national coverage. Thank God for midwest.

  36. For me Irwin was very good yesterday and impressive with long range free taking off the ground and mikey Murray had a big impact when introduced kicking a point off either foot.

  37. But where do you draw the line Joe G? A section giving proper coverage to local GAA could take hours if done right. Do they stick to the traditional strong counties in both codes or cover everyone (interest in the some of those counties themselves would be very low)… Do they include intermediate or junior… they would have to cover ladies as well. They would need an army of reporters and several hours to do it any justice. For a national broadcaster, realistically, we’re only going to get intercounty coverage. I look at it as an added bonus to get club games shown on TG4 and RTE occasionally.

    Midwest is excellent, as are the Mayo News and Ah Ref Pods as well as some of the local papers. I would actually look at it as a positive thing, it’s a chance for local media to shine and for the most part, that’s exactly what they do in Mayo.

  38. If kilmeena go on to win the intermediate championship it will be one of the best achievements of any mayo club ever, in the past 12 months they have played 3 championship finals with a 4th to come its a outrageous achievement.

  39. Some expectations here are a bit unrealistic. The days of fellas coming from obscurity to make an impact on a county team like Mayo are over.
    It’s now a two and in some cases three year process to build a young players body to the level required for senior intercounty. The youngest player on the field in the all Ireland final this year was u22 in case anyone has any doubts. That’s 4 years older than Sean Morahan, just to give a bit of reality to the talk around him.
    The players that will have breakthrough seasons for Mayo next year are all familiar names that have been on the panel to some degree for 2 years or so already. Players like Frank Irwin, Paul Towey, Sam Callinan though he may even still be a year early, Aidan Orme, donnacha mchugh, Jack Coyne of Ballyhaunis, those type of players.
    The next level back is the newbies this season that need to just join the Mayo extended panel and learn. Don’t expect them to play any serious games in 2023. Players in this category would be Sean Morahan, Bob Tuohy, Jack Livingstone, Conal Dawson and a handful of the exceptional minors from last year like Clarke.
    The only place you could get a player that makes a quicker impact is a mature aged player that really steps up a level this season in the club championship. Oisin McLoughlin, Dylan prendergast, Ronan Carolan and Ethan gibbons could be options here. The chances of any of them coming in and pushing out an established player like Diarmuid o Connor or Stephen Coen in 2023 though are pretty rare really.
    For all the Aido at full forward talk, I think Diarmuid at full forward has been completely overlooked as an option. The guy is dangerous as anything in there, and far far more of a threat than Aidan. If you are going to lump in moderate quality high balls on top of someone at full forward as a gameplan, give me Diarmuid on the end of them over Aidan any day of the week.

  40. Some going by Kilmeena

    In senior, Shrule making a county final (I think in first year up?), Btubber winning their first title (I think 2/3 years up?), Belmullet making a county final 3 years up are notable mentions also.

  42. Commentators stating that the Neale were weakened by the loss of Tommy C are way off the mark. The team had the most unfortunate year ever. Their entire full forward line was lost with 2 ACLs and a torn miniscus. Their two midfielders were out for much of the championship with Padraic Walsh missing the relegation battle as well as group matches and he had surgery this past week. Two of their starting backs were out with one getting stiches in a facial wound that was opened again when he came back. Stephen Conroy, Seanie Cosgrove, Darragh Moran and Dan Kelly played through the pain barrier in the later matches. At one championship game there was 12 probable starters injured. What the management team did to get the result yesterday was extraordinary. BTW corner back David Morrin had a stormer of a game yesterday.

  43. I just want Tommy Conroy to continue his ACL rehab properly and get back on the field in January or February when he’s ready. Any talk of him playing last weekend would be ridiculous and very irresponsible. Don’t care how important the game was, the same would apply if it was an all Ireland senior football final for Mayo. Nobody comes back early from knee reconstructions.

  44. I wouldn’t rule out a player on age alone. There are plenty players on the Mayo panel for the past few years who’ve made little progress, and some who’ve gone backwards.

    Gaelic football isn’t rocket science. If they’re good enough get them in. Put the bloody ball over the bar, find space, kick-pass well (all of which the likes of Morahan can skillfully do).

    Plenty new talent over the past couple of months for McStay to consider. Give these new players a chance. A few of last years panel may have to be dropped. This is inevitable and essential.

  45. If Robbie happened to be in goal yesterday when Diarmuid flicked his goal past David Clarke,I feel that there would be a fair amount of commentary on the site lambasting him-just a thought….

  46. Touché Opt2misteek. Thought Diarmuid looked very good yesterday – have only seen highlights so far.

  47. Third Man In. Wouldn’t expect them to cover every game in gaa, nor in soccer or rugby either. Surely the alternative isn’t to totally ignore the no1 code in the country.

  48. Ah now Opt2misteek! Clarke probably picked up that bad habit from watching Robbie at all those trainings 🙂

  49. @Mikey 3, agree will everything you said there and history backs up your claims. However, Morahan is exceptional. Probably the best U18 talent in Mayo since Cillian. Unfortunately he’s not a scoring inside forward! For example, and no offence to the lad, he’s miles better than Hession. But I would play him in the FBD and give him some sub appearances in the league. He is that good.

  50. But where do you draw the line Joe G? Maybe at senior county finals? Wasn’t trying to argue that there shouldn’t be any coverage, was just thinking out loud/playind devil’s advocate tbh… It’s not an easy call and would involve a fair bit of outside reporting if they wanted to cover even a small percentage of games in any significant way. I just think they see intercounty GAA, together with the final stages of the All Ireland Club Championships as that line.

  51. Newstalk gives very little coverage to GAA games in general, especially on their breakfast show which is almost entirely rugby and soccer

  52. Mickey 3 when was the last time there wasn’t an under 21 player playing in an All Ireland Final? It’s so long ago I can’t remember. Just because it didn’t happen this year doesn’t mean that’s the way it will be next year. Enough under 21 players play senior football that there’s a competition every year called young player of the year.

  53. @Mikey3
    I agree with you regarding Diarmuid although I would throw him the number 11 shirt for the season. No chopping and changing playing out on the wing. He played some of his best football in years at 11 early in last years league games but bizarrely he was then moved back out wide. A bit like Jason Doc, Diarmuid is well able to win dirty ball in congested areas.

    I could see him alternating between 11 and 14 during games and linking well with Ryan.

  55. RTE’s Des Cahill continues the mass exodus of outstanding broadcasting talent from “The Sunday Game” I wonder just how can our esteemed National Broadcaster.can manage such a loss, imagine if the hemerage of outstanding broadcasting talent spread to RTE’s coverage of current affairs (some as current as 40 year’s old) or light (very light) entertainment..Oh Holy God, what would happen?..I wonder what County Team will Des manage?..Are the Dub’s about to swap one Des for another?… What about the Rossie’s? ..There might be mass protests in the streets, the departing Des could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.. But then again, we the Irish are not a protesting people really…. but many did protest, when the “Sunday Game” ditched it’s iconic theme tune, composed by James Last ‘The Hunter’s Tale’ .. you can’t beat a bit of music really!

  56. Great drama and football over the weekend despite the very poor weather. Very well done to the Neale, written off by all concerned and it was Davitt’s who got the backlash of all the negative sentiment… All the discussion on bring 17 or 18 year old lads through to senior sounds like desperation to me. Having been close to the u17 set up for the past couple of years we have to be very careful how these young talented footballers are managed through to U20/senior. Most are either in LC or early colleges years and will be playing U20 county and senior with their clubs and also colleges and/or third level. The demands on them both at a physical development level and physiological level are massive, and cannot be underestimated. i know this from the experience of having sons involved myself. They have plenty of years to play county level if they are good enough and want it enough from 20 + onwards….Adding a Mayo development squad or FBD into this seriously risks injury and burn out…..unless they are truly exceptional and in my view at Clifford levels….only my view thanks

  57. Westport very lucky to get away with those two thrown passes before the ball was crashed into the net

  58. Is there any footage of that last ditch Westport goal? Sounded like a deranged final few minutes in all. Doesn’t seem to be on twitter?

  61. Print media nationally is terrible for Gaelic games. Irish Examiner is the best and only good National Newspaper for Gaa by a long way but it can be heavy on Kerry and Cork stuff.The Irish Independant has gone very poor in recent years, and the Irish times the worst of the lot.The Hogan stand magazine was a big loss too and never replaced, no actual magazine for a young lad to buy about Gaelic Games in comparison to Rugby and Soccer
    Radio and TV coverage pretty poor aswell on RTE no midwerk programme to preview games anymore like Breaking ball and Sports Stadium.Podcasts are the only show in town for Gaa coverage really.

  62. Pullhard – it’s embedded into this piece on the blog. Just click on the player I’ve embedded and it’s there for you to see in all its deranged glory!

  64. Yes, Mikey3, I’ve said it a few times over the years here on Diarmuid at 14. Completely wasted on the wing. He gets frustrated and is often anonymous whereas when played centrally, be that MF of CF he generally contributes very well.

    At FF he can score he can win ball and score goals. He is a really talented player when used correctly. Hoping now McStay & Co can get the best out of him

  65. Mayonaze and Mikey3. Must admit that Diarmuid at ff never occurred to me in the past but you’re correct about the goal threat he carries. On the assumption that he must play centrally which I agree with then for me it’s either midfield or full forward because surely a fully fit ROD would be a must for the playmaking role at no.11 providing we have enough strength and mobility inside. If Ryan is needed in the ff line then maybe Conor McStay could go centre forward. Just thinking out loud here but your idea of Diarmuid close to goal is intriguing. Would love to hear from any Ballintubber followers if they have seen him tried out there.
    Third Man In. You’re right about knowing where to draw the line on GAA coverage but national media ignoring it completely seems like a poor management decision.

  66. Forget about Newstalk for GAA coverage RTE is the only radio station to give live reports from matches right across the country every Sunday All good reporters including our own Angelina Nugent and John Casey The RTE GAA website also provides all the latest news and results on matches and events.

  67. A steep learning curve for the young Castlebar side at the end, as they probably had a couple of opportunities to get the ball in hand and win a free or to clear the ball, but turned it over in a dangerous area, prior to Shane Scott’s bullet. The defensive tactics alluded to by some other posters are indeed hard on the eye, although I suspect that this is intended to keep them competitive, given that they struggle a bit to score from play, especially goals.

    In truth, it would have been a robbery had they won, as Westport were ahead for almost the entirety of the match and kicked a few bad wides when they were on top. I hope now that they can finally get over the line, would be nice to see Lee Keegan (who was class again) to win a county SFC medal.

    What is good now is that we genuinely seem to have a really competitive county senior championship, after a decade in which Ballintubber and Castlebar largely dominated. I think next year there will be up to half a dozen sides who will believe that they can win Moclair. Likewise in the ladies championship, great to see Burrishoole breaking through after Knockmore’s breakout win last year.

  68. Have to say the talk of Diarmuid at FF is not something I would have ever considered, but if we were going to go down the route of someone unconventional in there, he could be a great shout. He’s a ball winner and a finisher. The thoughts of a fully fit Cillian and Diarmuid on the inside would certainly be a cause for concern for opposition.

  69. @Mikey3 well said some excellent points. Diarmuid was a real threat at 14, also it should be said Cillian was excellent at 11. He still thinks faster than most and his quality of ball in all day long was excellent. I think Conor Mcstay added to that Mayo forward line next year adds a smart creator and I feel he will work very well with better players around him. Evan Regan is certainly benefiting from his selfless, smart play.

    I think we need to air in the side of caution with Sean Morahon. We have plenty of cover in defense and don’t want to burn the young lad out before he gets to fully fledged adult level in 3/4 years. Jack Coyne for me has been the other stand out player in the 3 championships. He can defend, mark and attack well. Get him in at corner back next year and let Leeroy back out to the half back line or midfield next year. We saw how good he was last week for Westport in a more advanced role. Also think O’Hora is a safer bet playing in the half back line. Has the tendency to dive in which can be fatal in the full back line. Drove Ballina on well from there the last day.
    Frank Irwin was good from frees the last day but himself and Callinan were beaten up a stick by veteran Jason Gibbons in the air.
    Have we any new potential inter county midfielders in the county?

  70. @Clubman51 – Morahan seemed to play more in the half forwards the last day even though he had number 2 on his back, he started there for the u20 also this year. I do agree though time is on his side and with his leaving cert coming up and at least 2 more years u20 he should be given the time and space to develop.

    In regards to midfielders Cillian Goulding for Balla, James Mccormack for Claremorris and Nathan Moran for Hollymount all impressed me in the games i saw. Jack Carney, Frank Irwin and Callinan should all hopefully develop into midfields in time they are still very young.

  71. JKEL88 – what height is Sam Callinan? I’ve seen him, and thought him a bit on the small side. Midfield?

  72. Just to let people know seasons tickets are available to renew now on Ticketmaster,I just renewed two Chairde Maigheo tickets,that’s €500.
    I’d really like to get a standard season ticket now as the Chairde Maigheo is no advantage now and is €250 v €150 for the standard.
    In the past a CM ticket meant you didn’t have to go to any games and you’d still be guaranteed a final ticket,now in reality (in my own case anyway ) I went to every game.However this year with there being so many games I won’t be able to swing it with work for all of them (although I’ll give it a good go!) You can only opt out of one game,same as standard ticket.
    It’s getting very expensive to follow intercounty games.If Mayo go all the way to the final between travel,tickets and expenses it would be €2000 for myself and the Mrs and that’s just championship.
    We’d usually do an over night or two for league games and with the long distances involved that’s another serious chunk.All if this isn’t taking into account families and kids.
    I’ll still follow Mayo everywhere and the GAA can’t do much about the cost of living crisis but the gouging on the CM season ticket is bad form and leaves a sour taste.
    I renewed them because I think we’ve a great chance of making (and winning!) the final.

  74. Mikey Murray who came on for the Stephenites may well be an option at midfield. Gibbons lorded it at midfield until he arrived. He’s a bigger unit than Irwin or Callinan and scored two very good points in that second half.
    He’s been out injured for the past two years but was part of the Mayo panel and played against Armagh in a Castlebar qualifier.
    Interesting to see if he can nail a starting place in the county final.
    He’s probably a similar age to Fionn Mc Donagh and Ethan Gibbons who both played well on Sunday and all three are well worth a look for the Mayo set-up in that there that bit more mature.

  75. I think Mikey Murray started that qualifier against Armagh,was parachuted out of nowhere straight into starting at mf.We were destroyed with injuries around the middle in summer 2019.I often wondered what happened to him or would he come back.He had a great game when he came on the last day.

  76. Season ticket is out – renewal only for Mayo and same prices as last year- 150 for standard and 250 for Cairde Maigh Eo

  78. @uncle Sam I’m going purely from memory and I was at both matches but I don’t think he started in Newry,I’m pretty sure he didn’t come on too but open to correct.

  81. @All The Way, Mikey Murray made a big impact off the bench this weekend but he is way too slow for intercounty midfield.

    Bob Touhy will be another mid-field option within a year or two, tall and good fielder, with a good a engine. Just needs to fill out a bit. Frank Irwin, I like the cut of and he was great from paced balls at the weekend but as mentioned, got absolutely cleaned by Gibbons on kick-outs. Lets see how he does in the final.

    I didn’t know that about Jack Coyne but it is great if true. I feel like we have a big group of excellent 15 to 19 year-olds, but very little in the 20 to 22 year old group. Maybe Hession will push on this year, and Callinan or Orme too, but there is not a lot there in terms of exciting talent.

  82. IMO the Cairde Maigh Eo card is great value and after using it for county and club games it really left very little cost. That and it is supporting your county in the financial sense as well as in the sporting sense. If football is your passion then it is a no brainer.

  83. “Opt2misteek says:
    October 17, 2022 at 1:58 pm
    If Robbie happened to be in goal yesterday when Diarmuid flicked his goal past David Clarke,I feel that there would be a fair amount of commentary on the site lambasting him-just a thought…”

    Maybe, but Robbie wasn’t in goal because he had already contributed to his team getting beaten and knocked out in the previous round.

  84. @sinabhuail

    Mayo will play 7 league games this year (8 if there’s a final and we get to it) If we get to the All Ireland Final that could be up to 10 championship games.Thats 18 possible games in about 26 weeks, (not even including FBD)I’m pretty committed and dont miss many games but there’s not many that could commit to that travel and expense,especially if families are involved. If you have a CM ticket you have pre bought a ticket for every league game and have to buy a ticket for all but one championship game.Therefore any game you miss (whether in league or after the one opt out in championship) you are losing money.The season ticket and CM ticket used to save money and hassle.Through the new rules with season tickets since last year and now the new format next year the season ticket and especially the CM ticket don’t make sense and it’s a cost and a luxury not as many will be able to afford.Id glady drop down to a standard season ticket now but that’s not allowed apparently.
    If you use the CM ticket for club you can claw back some money but you still won’t likely break even.
    It’s a simple matter of numbers.
    I doubt they’ll sell out this year even though there’s a lot of optimism and a feel good factor back in Mayo football,its not a reflection of our support,we’ll still he the best supported County in Ireland.
    I renewed mine because I believe we’ll be there or thereabouts with regard to getting to the All Ireland final.

  85. Just seeing match reports in papers today, Cillian not scoring from play had a big outcome on the match. Who was marking him??

  86. FW , still though you can’t buy a Mayo season ticket , don’t even think there is a waiting list anymore . Nor Dublin .

  87. Id say its safe to say, but the days of getting any goodies from MayoGaa for Cairde MhaighEo members are long gone. Used to get jackets, hats, etc back in the day

  88. @Sean
    Yes they sold out last year and every year before but I think it’ll be season 2023 ie the ones that are available to be renewed from this morning that wont sell out.When/if they will go on sale to the general public we wont know until it happens.

  89. Genuinely forgot to renew mine in 2016 and never had an opportunity to purchase through open sale since .

  90. Anytime I have seen Jack Coyne play for Ballyhaunis he has been impressive – fast hands and fast around the ball – bit like his club mate Zippy.
    Not sure why he wasnt on panel last year. He is probably around 22 now and if he is interested I would expect him to get a run at corner back next year in the league

  91. Unfortunately going to give the season tickets a miss this year. Hard to justify paying up front for 16/17 matches for 4 people. The cost of the tickets and travel has gone through the roof and the games only really matter from the All-Ireland 1/4 final onwards. The rest are glorified challenge matches. Have really enjoyed bringing the kids to matches, but spending €4000 – €5000 when you include travel costs is very hard to justify.

  92. Hi to all out there I’m just wondering if there is anyone out there not renewing there Season ticket for 2023 I would be willing to take it over

  93. Same as tommytyler there id love an opportunity to buy a season ticket again . Is it possible to take someone’s over if they’re not renewing though ?

  94. Sean burke, id say youd have to buy it in there name, and perhaps you/they will able to change the payment details on there account, i dont know. That or its a messy set up of sending them money for every championship game by Revolut or something .

    Im not sure if anyone knows for sure , what system, if any, Ticketmaster Gaa have for issueing ‘ new’ ‘season tickets, that have being given up by existing members.

  95. Hi The West is best I would be willing to take over your season tickets if your interested you can contact me through this site thanks

  96. Hi Tommtyler, I wish I could accommodate that, but I’m not keen on sharing as DOB and other details are linked to account etc. Probably ways around I’m sure, but I’m a cautious sort. Sorry about that. I reckon a lot of people wont renew, so some should become available online I’d imagine. Mayo gaa charge a premium for the €250 ticket, so they’ll be keen to shift as many as they can. I sincerely hope you get sorted, as we had many years of joy going around following the county. After looking at it objectively, unless you plan on travelling to 95% of the games, then it just doesn’t pay. If you think you’ll miss more than 2 games out of the lot then better to buy as you go I reckon.

  97. I had issues with the season ticket last year and emailed them and they got it sorted.
    If people on here are looking for tickets you could try this email address,that’s the one I got them on
    seasonticket@gaa.ie

  98. Jack Coyne – made the 26 for ever a couple of seasons ago, and only featured against Leitrim if I’m not mistaken? About to nod off so the archives will have to wait WJ!

  99. Podge,maybe it says more about Cillian then the marker,when you loose the little bit of speed you have you are gone.

  100. JR, I wouldn’t be ruling Cillian out just yet. He never relied on raw speed. He has a lot to offer Mayo for another few years yet imo. Even if he was to become an impact sub over time. He’s certainly not gone imo.

  102. I have two tickets on my seasonticket account, I emailed seasonticket office to confirm that the 2 tickets would be beside each other in croker.
    The response i got was: “The seating group option is not available this year. However, we have been working on the ticket exchange function, so it runs smoother for the coming season.”
    Has anyone else asked gaa this question?
    It is utter madness that they cannot confirm that the two tickets on seasonticket account wont be sitting beside each other.
    It seems to me that the gaa has gone backwards, the seating group was the best, and also tickets on each account sat beside each other.

  103. @mayomanindublin
    I had the same issue last year and got the exact word for word response you got there.
    The only way to make sure your seats are together is to transfer them into one account.
    In my case I put myself and the Mrs season ticket all in my name,everything is debited from my account now,the two tickets have my name on them and they’ll always be beside each other.
    It’s annoying and I had to email them a good few times about it but it got sorted in the end.

  105. Jr,Cillian’s brain works fsster than most-if there is a PROVEN better option then fair enough,but I have yet to see the evidence- he’s still miles ahead of most.

  106. WJ I know a few weeks ago you asked not to speak about the Westport/Castlebar U-17 game. In light of this evenings statement by Castlebar I am not sure what the stance is. With that in mind all I will say is fair play to Castlebar for staniding up on this – very easy just let these incidents pass. Unfortunately I think this is going to make national headlines and bring us back in the news again

  107. Looking Forward-this is a tricky one as I believe solicitors, guards and Tusla are all involved. IMHO, If people want to comment, maybe they should do so on the Mitchels FB or Twitter feed.

  108. 96 week ban reduced to 2 weeks. That is disgraceful. I am only going off what is being alleged to have happened, but that person should be banned for good if its true. GAA disciplinary system is appalling

  109. Thanks Whitey – Didnt realise so many were involved . Will keep my thoughts to myself for the moment. Hard preparation for a club for a county senior final with tusla and whoever else involved in an investigation.

  111. I don’t have an issue with people commenting in general terms about the issue but the problem, of course, is that comments will inevitably stray beyond that and I have serious reservations with those kind of comments being posted. I can already see that comments of that kind have already been posted on the Mitchels’ Facebook page where the statement is. The mind boggles as to how people think it’s okay to post online what could be deemed as libellous comments under their own name but that’s the world today for you.

  112. WJ-those comments have already been removed (I assumed by Mitchels)

    They are playing this one straight the line and don’t want any side shows to distract from what are very serious allegations (from what I’ve been told)

  114. Thanks, Whitey – I’m not surprised. It’s simply astonishing that people think it’s okay to comment in that fashion in a way that could place themselves in legal jeopardy but it’s good to see that some control is being exercised on it. You’d think, given that the case involves an underage match, everyone would see the need for restraint in offering their unvarnished opinions on it but sadly some don’t.

  115. Two new podcast episodes online for club members on Patreon today, the first focusing on the Senior action from last weekend, while the second one concentrates on the Intermediate and Junior matches.

  116. Wille Joe and all , the only comment I will make as being a neutral at the Castlebar / Westport U17 game is that there is two sides to every story and what we are reading this evening is one side ….when the County Board made the original fixture for the final there was silence and the issues raised now were not to the fore. So it would be good if the County Board could outline the rationale of the decision to overturn the original sanction and permit Westport back into the competition and reduce the coach’s ban. Otherwise they risk being held to ransom by other clubs when they are unhappy and then decide to take the route of making public statements to the national media and not being prepared to follow due procedure through the relevant GAA channels.

  117. Just about to get stuck into the 2 new podcasts. Don’t know what we’d do without them on these cold dark mornings. As for the U17s controversy, like everyone else I have my own feelings and opinion on it but I wasn’t an eye witness, I wasn’t at any of the disciplinary proceedings and I won’t express an opinion or take sides on others opinions or viewpoints.

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