165 thoughts on “The weekend’s matches”

1. Wishing the best of luck to Westport men in their Connacht quarter final and the ladies of Burrishoole and Charlestown in their provincial finals. Why the Westport and Burrishoole games had to clash is beyond me. These fixture clashes between the men’s and women’s game happen so often that I’m beginning to wonder if it’s done on purpose. Like many others I would have liked to be able to take in both games but c’est la vie.
   A brilliant podcast with Mike and Austin and Austin’s in depth knowledge of the Club scene in Mayo while working and coaching in Dublin is pretty impressive. I didn’t realise Westport were 2 to 1 for the Moycullen game. That indicates to me that Moycullen are unbelievably good or Westport are being underestimated. Hope it’s the latter. Anyone with news of Westport injury updates and is Colm Moran still not available? If they had at least Eoghan McLoughlin available it would be a major boost to their chances.

2. Will Colm Moran be available for Westport? His transfer appears to of gone through on the GAA website?

3. With the clocks gone back there’s an extremely narrow window to now play matches during the day, wouldn’t really read too much into any fixture clashes to be honest, especially with two different organisations at play

4. Oisin Mullen story again , Irish examiner saying he’s all set to go out to oz as cat B rookie in 2023 .

5. I see that too Seán and it’s really annoying to see it. It also makes no sense to me. He committed to Mayo and if he was going to go then surely he would have done so by now. I am sure McStay, Roch and co have spoken with him and would be building a team around him. Surely the next few years with Mayo can be huge for him and really exciting and I would expect that he is being looked after too. Oisin’s reasons for staying with Mayo appeared long term reasons last year and it would be a real u-turn were that to change. Needless to say it would be close on a fatal blow to Mayo’s chances if losing players of this calibre. Again, Mayo GAA need to doing their utmost to retain all the county’s best players.

6. In short, we may not win an All Ireland with Oisin, but it becomes an incredibly more difficult task without him. Aside from that, it sends out a terrible message and cements the example set by Hanley over a decade ago.

7. Thought the Oisin Mullin to the AFL story was put to bed back in January of this year? If not, it seems like an unusual move? I believe we need players like Oisin to stay with Mayo in order for us to win Sam. Losing him to Geelong would be a massive set back to our ambitions. Surely McStay has Mullin as one of the first names on his teamsheet.

8. My opinion hasn’t changed from last year, its a super opportunity for a young man and I wish him very well if he takes it.

   Hopefully its put to bed a lot quicker this year though

9. I’m sure Padraic Joyce has Peter Cooke as one of the first names on his preferred team sheet but sometimes big opportunities do arise for young men

   At the end of the day this is a personal decision for himself and there should be no meaningful pressure put on him to stay. He’s already done a lot for his county in a relatively short career

   The world of MayoGAA won’t stop turning if he does make the move and Kevin will just have to move on with the players he does have available. That’s life

10. My opinion last year was that Oisín was a bit old to be learning a new sport. How could he compete in a professional environment with lads who played Australian football their whole life? He’s 23 in a few months so it’ll be even more difficult now.

    However it’s a great life opportunity. There has been an exodus of young Irish people to Australia in the last 6 months so I can see the attraction from Oisín’s point of view.

11. If Oisin were to leave Ireland and play in OZ, just like so many of our Mayo young women are currently doing, I think we should all wish him the very best of luck,.. of course we need young sports stars to remain in Mayo for Mayo to have the best chance to lift Sam.. Maybe we should all reflect on why for so many a life thousands of miles from home is so attractive. Young people need a life, and also need a chance in life. And they need a better chance in life than what Ireland is currently offering, the chance maybe to live and or study in a tent or a car… After 100 year’s of independence this Dystopia is an unfortunate reality,

12. Good luck to the under 17 tomorrow evening.

13. Ah I don’t think you can compare the average student to a high profile sportsman, like Oisin Mullin. He is quite unique and guys like him should be taken care of. Yes, the GAA is ””amateur”” but let’s be real to, there are many incentives to keep talent at home and to be very frank, if Mayo GAA are serious about wanting to bring home an All Ireland then he will remain here – it’s as simple as that.

    Yes, people should live life etc but few relatively speaking, are born with those natural talents he has. I honestly believe that were he to go to ALF that he would look back in years to come with regret, regardless of how successful that move was. I think he knows this too and his desire to play for Mayo shone through last year so I think it would be a very strange move now were it to happen, given all that went on 12 months ago.

    There has been a real positive feel good bubble since McStay too over. Oisin going would well and truly burst that. Here’s hoping that the report in the Examiner is nothing more that mere speculation.

14. I think there’s a media and GPA lead narrative that an inter county player is financially burdensome. It’s most definitely on average, key word on average financially positive.
    Doors open up much easier for inter County players. Many, many examples of securing high paid positions way ahead of their peers.

15. @Mayonaze..Of course Oisin is an elite young sportsman, and guys like him should be taken care of.. Elite sportspeople make up about 0.001% of Society, we should live in a society that looks after all the young Irish people, elite sportspeople or not.. Every young sportsperson is only one bad injury from joining the 99.99% of mere mortals who are not elite sportspeople.. and who knows maybe Young sportspeople might actually like to live in a society where those they grew up with also have a chance… There is another “Elite” in Irish society, the decision makers, for you are for me, they are up there in the Dail… many are actually landlords, and the worse this current housing Dystopia gets, the more they personally financially profit… Unfortunately they are not one bad injury from joining the rest of us!

16. Leantimes ,do have a look at the meaning of dystopia, please.We are not there.

17. I hope this is put to bed one way or the other fast. We can do without this nonsense again this year. I thought oisin wanted to help mayo win that all ireland in 2023. Good luck to westport on sunday

18. After the last few months Oisin has had make some time away in Australia will be good for him. I wish him well in whatever he decides. Waiting around for Mayo to win Sam has made old men of some of us especially after the Tyrone final if I was him id go

19. If indeed this story is true (and the Examiner are usually pretty reliable), then good luck to him.
    He’s been through a lot lately, so maybe he just needs to get away from it all for a while. That might include Ireland, Mayo, GAA, whatever.

    There’s far more to life than Mayo football, even though it doesn’t always seem like it to us!

    Hope he stays. But sometimes you just have to do what’s right for you as an individual.

20. At the end of the day it’s Oisins decision only if he stays or goes, he is not under any contract so is free to go if he chooses. If he stays fantastic, if he does go then the best of luck to him, I’m positive he will be a success. Geelong would be the perfect club with established Irish players already there to help him settle in. I don’t by into the idea he is too old to learn the game, doesn’t seem to stop any of the ladies playing out there. I also don’t buy into the idea that him leaving is a massive blow to Mayo, loosing a player of his calibre is a loss but one thing we are not short of is attack minded defenders.

21. why is mayo football always in the news and making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. If Mullen goes to Australia good luck to him , hope he stays, its not the end of the world if he goes, he could get a serious injury any day or give up football for many reasons. Just remember our best game of fooball in recent years was against the Dubs last year and he was not playing, Time to take Mayo off all media and just go and win something before we are in the headlines again.

22. The political commentary on here really does get tiresome, sometimes. Can we just focus on the football and the hurling instead?

23. A professional sports team courting one of our players hardly counts as being in the news for the wrong reasons.

24. Roll on another 30 years, I will be in my 80’s, God willing, we could well be hearing the sob stories about Mayo All Ireland near misses, defeats etc.
    Time waits for nobody, move on, it’s already been 33 years of All Ireland defeats, history is surely against Mayo.
    The only hope is for the future is when the Dubs and Kerry will have a barren spell at the same time.

25. Let’s just wait and see. If the story is inaccurate the. Brilliant. If it’s not then that life and we wish the lad all the best. There is more to life than playing GAA. In fact with the way this country is going down the tubes, aside from family and friends, the GAA is one of the last remaining uplifting things about the country.

26. Some of the time it seems an unpopular opinion to have and in GAA discussions they make you feel near guilty for having such an opinion but do I hell as like want Oisin Mullen to go to oz and furthermore why would any GAA enthusiast want our best players dropping out of our national sport . Some of the arguments are flawed and fake tbh , like weighing up a fellas prospects of going abroad , a fella you’re neither related or know personally .

    I understand if he goes , it’s common courtesy to wish him the best but surely your first emotion should be fuck it we needed that buck . I just don’t get it . Every effort should always be made to make sure the best players in Mayo are available to play for Mayo . We may all go home if that’s not the case

27. Good luck to young Mullen if he moves to Australia.
    It is a great opportunity for him.
    In 1957 2 of our players moved to Louth and literally won the all Ireland for them from midfield

28. That Examiner story raises questions. Not saying it’s wrong, but it’s curiously worded.

29. I agree with you on this Seán. Fully.

    I’ll tell ye what’s a great opportunity for him and for all other lads talented enough, that is to wear the green and red in Croke Park, representing your family, your people, your place and home and getting the chance to maybe be lucky enough to lift that flippin’ cup. That’s great greatest opportunity. Far greater than playing some game you’ve never played in your life for some random club on the other side of the world. Top GAA players these days are very well looked after and their profile opens many doors for them to give them every possibility of living a very comfortable life. Our top players should play for Mayo. Full stop.

30. @jr, Jese I was not fully aware of that 1957 Louth case. I had heard about one of them, didn’t realize there were two!!

31. Abit dissapointing to here on the recent Patreon podcast that of all the players called up to Kevin McStays preseason panel ,all have been already tried before by James Horan or Stephen Rochford bar Ethan Gibbons from Castlebar. So no real new blood been brought in, Thought the likes of Conor Diskin, Ronan Carolan ,Dylan Prendergast, Darren Quinn, Kuba Callaghan deserved a chance , there’s very few catch and kick scoring inside forwards in the Mayo panel, and there is only 3 of the top 10 scoring forwards in the Mayo Senior Championship in the present Mayo panel.

    Players in
    James McCormack Claremorris
    Ethan Gibbons Castlebar
    Jack Coyne Ballyhaunis
    Niall McManaoman Westport
    Oisin McLaughlin Westport
    Mikey Murray Ballina

    Players out
    Fergal Boland
    Darren Coen
    Conor O’Shea
    Fionan Duffy

32. Would it not be better to wait until Oisin makes it known one way or the other than all the speculation on a rumour.
    Regarding new players, I doubt that there’s anything hard and fast decided. Whether it’s players called in or left out. Management has to start somewhere and the majority of the panel from last year plus one or two who were injured will of course be front and centre. Impossible to bring in a huge number of newbies and try and assess them all equally and fairly. Pretty sure they’ll get round to looking at anyone who seems to have what it takes.

33. The reality is that there are not that many county standard players in the county- we all know that doing it for your club is no guarantee of doing it for your county.

    Horan tried out loads of players to be fair to him.

    For the best part of 10 years our forwards picked themselves- Moran, the 2 O’Connors. McLoughlin, Doherty and AOS.

    That’s the problems with the expectations surrounding McStay- he does not have a magic wand and he only has a certain amount of players available to pick from.

    Mullin will be a huge loss and there is no direct replacement for him.

34. Lets get one thing clear, Aidan O’Shea isnt a forward hes a midfielder. He finds it very hard score when playing as a forward for Mayo.

35. Seamus O’Donnell (Ballaghaderreen), and Dan O’Neill (Castlebar), were the two Mayo players on the Louth team of ’57, JP.

    I have a memory (probably false!) of being put in the cup in Ballagh, probably late ’57 or early ’58.

36. Looks like McStay is staying with a running style game like Horan based on them new players.Only one foward on that list aswell.

37. Shame that Fergal Boland and Darren Coen have left/not selected the panel. I thought they were both useful forwards but never given a lot of game time! Do we have 2 better replacement?

    Will the u17 final be streamed this evening?

38. Agreed Sean Burke. Obviously people should do what’s best for themselves and you would always wish someone the best, but people can be very blasé about losing our national sports top players. The longevity and popularity of our games rely on keeping the best here to play them. There was talk years ago that Clifford had been approached by Aussie Rules (don’t know how true it was in the end). But imagine if he’d left? The singularly most popular footballer to play the game in years. And people would have just waved him off probably and doffed the cap. Insane.

    Personal courtesies aside, it’s not good for the games that great young talent are being encouraged to leave, and worse that people aren’t really fighting to keep them. I, for one, really hope Oisin stays.

39. I am amazed at some of the comments on here in relation to Osion Mullen. The young man and his family have been through a very tragic and traumatic event. He desrves time to grieve heal and reflect on life . That may lead to changing life priorities.. He deserves privacy and time to do that. There should be no commentary about it on here or anywhere else.. He should be just supported and wished well whether he decides to take a year out, go to Australia or play for Mayo.
    I know people will be disappointed if he goes but Osion doesn’t need any pressure expectation guilt etc influencing his decision.
    We all want Mayo to win AL but sometimes the obsession and even toxicity that goes with it is not good.

40. 100 agree, Lahanman. Not the time for these comments.

41. 100% agree with above.

42. Good luck to him if he goes, great for Mayo if he stays. He comes across as lovely young fella so hope whichever path he chooses goes well for him.

    We will have to wait for the pre Christmas challenge game(s) being muted to see what sort of panel players Management are looking at.

43. Any update on Under 17 game..

44. Blond64 – castlebar got goal in first minute and have been relatively comfortably ahead since then. 1-8 to 6 now

45. Fairly easy win for Castlebar it seems
    Full Time score
    Castlebar Mitchels 3-09
    Claremorris GAA Club 0-08

46. I am delighted for Mitchells U17 players, management and parents on winning of the county final tonight. I have no doubt the last few weeks have been tough for them. It seems strange that the full forward G. Filan wasnt on the county team. He has been excellent.

47. What’s the sceal with colm Moran and eogan mcgloughlin, are they available for selection for tomorrow ?

48. https://www.maighcuilinn.com/over-the-line-connacht-club-championship-special/
    Connacht club preview with Moycullen on Over the Line show with Galway Bay FM

49. Well done Castlebar, hard luck to a gallant Claremorris. Good luck Oisin in whatever you choice.

50. Big challenge for Westport in the second half to come back.. they could get a bit of a tanking unfortunately.

51. Moycullen has led Westport on a merry dance. Dessie Conneely causing all type of problems and struggling with the directness of the Moycullen who are without one of their best players in Peter Cooke.

    Westport had the opportunity to score a goal themselves before half time then only to concede one moments later.

52. Id like to express my deepest sympathy on the blog to John (Willie Joe) and Louis Gunnigan and the Gunnigan family on the death of John Snr may he rest in peace

53. Wesport missing a lot of chances but not near the standard of Moycullem. Very few Westport players forcing their way on to County team on that display, some of them may be playing themselves off county panel

54. Condolences to all the Gunnigan family at this sad time.

55. Condolences Louis and John.

56. That’s a fair hiding for Westport. Great year for them all the same.

57. Condolences to John and the Gunnigan family at this sad time. Beannacht De lena anamh dilis. Brón ar an mbás!

58. My sympathies to John and all the Gunnigan family on John Snr’ passing.

59. Condolences to John and Louis.

60. Condolences to John and Louis. May he rest in peace

61. Westport conceded more goals today then they did in the whole mayo championship, moycullen are a serious outfit to be fair.

62. Learning experience for Westport, they played well but inexperience cost them dearly, 5 shots kicked into Moycullen goalies hands?, 7 kickouts straight to Moycullen player? Shooting was not good, but Westport will learn from that game, they are a young team & they will improve more for next year.

63. My condolences to the Gunnigan family on the death of John Snr. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis

64. My condolences to the Gunnigan family on the passing of John snr,
    May he rest in peace.

65. My Condolences to the extended Gunnigan family on the death of John Senior.I remember him acting in plays in Ballyhaunis.

66. Crazy decision to go on a stag party to UK a week before Connacht Championship.

67. Yes

68. My sympathies to the Gunnigan family on their loss. RIP

69. My condolences to the Gunnigan family on your loss.

70. If I’m correct Mayo clubs have done nothing in Connacht SFC since Ballina in 2007…other than Castlebar in 2014 and 2016. That’s very dissatisfied and a sober reminder to those who think there’s plenty of players for McStay to pick from next year..particularly forwards of which nobody stood out in this year’s championship.

    Disappointing to see the standard of our clubs fall so badly these last 15 years.

    Condolences to the Gunnigan family.

71. Any word on the under 20 panel yet

72. Mayo club football is very overated by Local media in this County , League football and Divisonal cup competitions not taking serious enough in the County, League football particuarly bad since Covid hit.Mark Ronaldson has written in the Western people how Club football fixtures and competitions are much better planned and organised in Galway.

73. Spotlight – read on twitter this is the first time in Connacht that Galway clubs have won 5 in a row v mayo in senior

74. I’m sorry but these are just excuses that don’t wash , the body language of some of them players was just so underwhelming today and all too familiar , it’s like some players in mayo are cocky and no reason to be . Compare that to the opposition when they were shooting for points gave it everything in their leg power , I mean wtf is this all about this lathergic horse shite that mayo footballers go on with , it would almost sicken ya dropping shots short into the keeper hands .that’s nothing to do with ability it’s either bad coaching or seriously bad attitude to develop composure. This isn’t just Westport , this is a mayo thing .

75. Deepest condolences to the Gunnigan family on their loss. As ever, such news puts discussion on football in context.

76. Reality check for Mayo football today and anyone getting overly excited about our prospects in 2023 and beyond. The McStay management ticket appointment has been an excellent one, but probably a generation of players too late to deliver the ultimate success. Galway football looks destined to leave us in the dust trails for the next few years at least with excellently coached & developed attacking footballers who instinctively know where the posts are. Agree with other posters that our attacking options are not looking that great right now based on this years club championship.

77. Condolences to Willie Joe and family

78. I think today was a combination of Moycullen simply being a far better team and Westport subconsciously settling for the county title for their lot this year.

79. Sincere condolences to the Gunnigan family on their loss. RIP

80. – Sean Kelly was shouting to his team to give it to Dessie in the first half and Dessie delivered with some fine long range points.
    – Moycullen had Westport well beaten at mid field with Eoghan McL making no impact when subbed in for O’Malley.
    – Therefore Westport had much less possession then they have been used too and they wasted a lot of it, shots in goalies hands, at least three off upright, two good goal chances missed early in second half etc.
    – No doubt that Moycullen were the much better team today with Eoin Kelly I thought having a great game.
    – Sure Westport did not help themselves by a bit of celebrating after making history two weeks ago and a stag night last weekend.
    – They will have learned very valuable lessons today…
    – I heard one Moycullen supporter shouting to another ‘see you in Croke Park’. They have a few more matches to play before they can get there.!! That over confidence may come home to roost.
    – Overall very disappointed at the margin of defeat, should have been 6 or 7 points closer.
    – Finally condolences to the Gunnigan family on your loss. We all need to remember that WJ and family have much more important matters to deal with for now

81. I don’t see it with Brickenden I have to say.
    I thought he was very poor when i saw him in the league final against Kerry and he was miles off Dessie Conneely today and as far as I could see had to be moved off him. I said last week that Tom Clarke was no frills hardworking player, may have done him a bit of a disservice, thought he was excellent today.

    Deepest sympathies to the Gunnigan family on their loss.

82. Thanks all for the kind words of condolence, they’re much appreciated by me and the family. Football obviously isn’t uppermost in our minds right now but Louis and I were remarking earlier today that, but for Dad, we most likely wouldn’t have caught the football bug the way we did so he’s at least partly responsible for the existence of this place! We mourn his loss hugely and miss him greatly but we’re thankful that he went rapidly and very peacefully on Friday night. Take care all.

83. Condolences to Willie Joe and family on their sad loss.

84. The “see you in croke park” stuff was in jest no doubt, the all Ireland series is some craic when your own club is involved though, everyone gets rightly carried away!

    They are no strangers to croke park however, they’re actually one of the first all Ireland winners at intermediate. Two players from that day saw game time today

    I assume no club has won at both intermediate and senior, so we could potentially be on for a bit of history. Lot of ball to be played yet and it’ll only get tougher from here… Yes the Roscommon winners are invariably tougher than the mayo ones these years

    Dunno about 6/7 pts closer.. if anything I’d say Moycullen are actually very annoyed they conceded some of the scores they did.

    Finally RIP to your father WJ, best wishes to you and your family

85. Willie Joe,joe, we have all been being there,take care and we all know that you are in a bad place at the moment,we sympathise with you

86. Condolences to you WJ and family

87. Condolences to you Willie Joe at this sad time.

88. The club championship in Mayo is overhyped beyond belief, as are any players who show even a glimpse of positive form but you’re ‘negative’ etc if you dare say anything critical. Like earlier in the championship when some, including myself, were lambasted for calling our the low scoring and overall average attacking play especially in the senior championship. How many ‘bad wides’ did Westport kick today? Far too many. And the co final was poor fare too.

    I listen to most of the Mayo News podcasts; the sentiment and language in recent months describing fringe players on those ‘who should Kevin McStay be bringing into the panel’ pieces is just so over the top. You’d swear these guys were superstars – have a listen back if you’ve not tuned in. Ok, I’m sure some of these lads are good and potentially very good, but surely these kind of discussions cannot be doing any good mentally for players assuming most listen or are at the very least informed of what’s being said. Its just total over-hype! I don’t get it. It wouldn’t happen in Kerry or Galway. Like for instance talking about a Westport player being nicknamed ‘glue’ and having it embroidered on a training top and then saying it should be upgraded to superglue. Mental stuff. The westport defence might be better nicknamed ‘porous’ instead after today. Gosh, the team were brutally exposed today. Doesn’t say much for Ballina and others who couldn’t beat them.

    Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love Mayo and Mayo football but living in Galway for many many years enables you to compare and contrast. While I do love the passion in Mayo for the county, the colours and our teams (Galway simply doesn’t match Mayo on those fronts) but it needs to be balanced and there has been far too much hyping up for as long as I can remember. That doesn’t mean you don’t support the teams. Do and fervently but let’s genuinely try to put an end to talking up.players who are utterly unproven and calling lads ‘legends’ when they’ve won f%ck all.

    Dessie Connelly tore Westport apart today. He’ll get a few token lines in the Galway media and only the most obsessed Galway supporters may discuss his performance. Thats about it. If he was from Mayo he’d have half pages in papers, blogs full of praise, podcasts drooling over him, people telling him he’s a legend. I don’t want us to temper our enthusiasm and passion but it’d be great in Mayo, if we could just box a bit more clever.

    Another example was last year and the minors. Omg but the amount of hype over those young lads was sensational. Its no wonder they imploded in the final. Built up to be absolute stars. It’s completely counter productive folks. The media in Mayo needs to cool the jets!

89. I have never been fully sure about your background Willie Joe but I put the pieces together there with the surname being on MWR there a few hours ago. Mayo has a curiosity of very local surnames. My regards to your entire family and community. Go ndéana Dia trócaire ar a ainm.

90. Condolences to you Willie Joe and your family on the passing of John Snr.

91. First time poster.
    Condolences to WJ and the Gunnigan family on their loss.

92. My sincere condolences to John and all the Gunnigan family on your sad loss. May a lifetime of memories help yea through the coming days and weeks.

93. Very sorry to hear your sad news, WJ. Condolences to you, Louis, and to your mum and family Take care of yourselves.

94. Thanks everyone for the kind words. Dad was born in 1932 and as such, was in this world for all three of Mayo’s All Irelands. Like the rest of us, he was frustrated that we didn’t see a few to add to that 3 in the last few years. The first time he crossed the Shannon was as an 18 year old on his way to the 1951 All-Ireland final. As John said earlier, he lit the torch for us by bringing us as small kids to games in the 1960s when we watched in awe at those we considered to be giants of men in green and red. One of my abiding memories of him is him throwing me up in the air with joy after we beat Galway in 1967.

95. Condolences to you and your family WJ.

96. Condolences to Willie Joe, Louis and family, May your Dad RIP.

97. Heartfelt condolences to all the Gunnigan family. May he Rest In Peace.

98. Lovely words Louis.

99. Belated condolences WJ, may your Dad rest in peace.

100. J. May your Dad rest in peace. You will remember him with great fondness and love . Treasure the memories.

101. Some good points there Mayonaze. Galway’s non-hyping of players is a help to the county. There’s more competition in Galway with big time hurling, Connacht rugby, soccer, Galway Races, all competing for media attention, so the footballers are just one of many shows, rather than the only show.

     I think McStay’s involvement outside the county in management and punditry should be helpful here in bringing perspective to the assessment of where we are. Certainly yesterday demonstrated all the failings of Mayo football:

     failure to score when the game is competitive
     shocking attempts dropping into the ‘keepers hands
     45s sailing wide of the posts
     ‘keeper feeding the opposition on the kick out
     laboured build up

     Senior management have lots to work on.

102. Condolences to WJ, Louis and all of the Gunnigan family. RIP

103. My deepest condolences to you both John & Louis and your family. May your Dad rest in peace

104. I think Mayonaze makes some very good points above. The club championship in Mayo is overhyped by some, yes there are good players there, but the idea that it’s full of players ready to make the step up to senior inter county is a myth. A Mayo club has not won a Connacht Club title since 2015. It’s a further 10 years since Ballina won the All Ireland. There is a huge gulf between players who are ‘good’ at club level and those who are ‘good’ at inter county level. Dessie Connelly had a great game yesterday, he has done that for several years for Moycullen, but as of now has not been able to break into the Galway team on a regular basis. If a Mayo player scored 10 points from play in the Connacht Club Championship we’d be lining him up for an All Star. Hype around players in Galway is kept low key, we’re the opposite in Mayo. In my view, we’d be better tuning the talk down around players, current or future, give them time to grow and develop. They don’t need extra pressure from fans / media.

105. Sincere sympathy to you all on your father’s passing. He was proud of you all, and rightly so. Ar deis de go raibh a nanam.

106. Sincere condolences John and Louis.

107. Condolences John, Louis and all of your family. That part of your Dad’s legacy that we see here is very rich.

108. John & Louis, be assured you are in the thoughts of the wider Mayo GAA family at the sad news of your Dad’s passing.
     Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

109. Condolences willie joe

110. Condolences John to you and your family on the passing of your father. May he rest in peace.

111. Condolences to John and Louis. I enjoyed reading your memories there Louis.
     A lot of our lives are signposted in Gaelic football memories.

112. Thinking of your dad, WJ and Louis and all your family. Sad time for you all but also a time to be grateful for the great things and times. Rest in peace and rise in glory! Maigheo Abú

113. Personally I think it’ll take Mayo about 5 to 7 years to get a good tough,hard, accurate, physical team together because there is no real quality players coming through at all, fair enough you have Keegan, McLoughlin, Dooghue, Durkin, Cillian O Connor will struggle now that he’s 30+ going into championship dogged football. Under 17s. Under 20s needs to be coached properly, no fancy Dan’s, no showing off with big swelled heads which is rife in Mayo football, time to cut out all the Shite & really develope a strong unit of 30 good genuine tough very skillful Mayo GAA footballers, I suppose I will dream on another 5 or 6 decades?

114. @Left boot, I’ll have a fancy dan with skill above an honest worker anyday

115. Condolences to WJ,Louis and the extended Gunnigan family. RIP.

116. Congratulations to Matty Flanagan on getting added to the U17 backroom team as goalkeeper coach. Bittersweet though when you realize that this time 5 years ago he had just completed four years in a row as the u21 goalie and was coming off of an All Ireland U21 title, after winning MOTM in the Connacht Final and impressing throughout.
     Can’t believe he never got a proper chance as our senior goalie

117. Sorry to hear the sad news.My condolences to all the Gunnigan family.

118. Sorry to hear your father passed Willie Joe. May he rest in peace.

119. Very sorry to hear this news John and Louis. I hope you and your family are holding up. May he rest in peace.

120. My sincere condolences to you and your family on the sad loss of your Father.
     May he rest in peace.

121. Wouldnt be to worried about Dessie Conneally doing so well yesterday, we have seen Eoin Finnerty do really well for Mountbellew last year, Martin Farragher and Michael Lundy for Corofin the years before but never produced the goods for Galway Seniors.It was more to do with the way Westport set up yesterday and were so off the pace of the game .He was kept quite when Keegan marked him for a short period.Westport left 2 back with no sweeper, it was dream for an inside forward, Regan got nothing like the supply Dessie got yesterday, any good inside forward would clean up with the way Moycullen are playing at the moment.When it came down to it Galway fowards only had 2 scorers from play in the All Ireland final, the majority of there scores from Shane Walsh and Johnny Heaneys goal.

122. Condolences to all the family, a loss is always tuff

123. Condolence to John, Louis and your extended families.
     May your Dad John, Rest in Peace.

124. I would like to add my condolences to the Gunnigan family on the passing of your Dad.

125. Sorry to hear of the passing of your Dad. My sincerest condolences to the Gunnigan family

126. Sincere condolences to the Gunnigan family on the passing of your Father. May he rest in peace.

127. I’m not sure which is worse the over-hyping of all things Mayo or how little it takes to believe we’re shite and at rock-bottom. Sure we can get a bit carried away by lads showing some potential that may or may not come to fruition but jeez people that is what sport is about. It lifts you from the humdrum everyday stuff and the depressing daily news on RTE. It makes you look forward to Spring and a new season, and long may it continue. If you think it’s wrong for Castlebar fans to be excited about Sean Morahan and Ethan Gibbons or Ballyhaunis people to be proud of Jack Coyne. The same goes for fans of all the clubs and rightly so. These people getting enjoyment out of seeing local lads and girls doing well has absolutely zero effect on the fortunes of the Mayo senior team. As has been said our clubs haven’t achieved the ultimate success for a while but maybe credit should be given to the likes of Corofin who were unusually successful and let’s stop finding sticks to beat ourselves with.

128. Sorry for your loss Willie Joe , thinking of you and your family.

129. Condolences to John, Louis and all the Gunnigan family on the loss of your Dad.
     I loved your memory from 1967 Louis, the first time I remember beating Galway in championship football. Victories over them were scarce back then and that one was particularly sweet as it dethroned the 3 in a row team.
     I think a lot of us got our great love of Mayo football from our Dads and they are great memories to have when our Dads are no longer with us. RIP

130. Sending strength to John, Louis and all the Gunnigan family, and heartfelt thanks to your Dad for being the inspiration behind this wonderful Mayo mecca!

131. I would like to add my condolences to the Gunnigan family on the passing of their father, may he rest in peace.

132. I would like to offer my sincere condolences to you and your family on the sad loss of your Dad .
     May he rest in peace

133. Sincere sympathy to all of the Gunnigan family! Rest in peace John!

134. Sorry for your loss Willie joe and louis

135. Sorry for your troubles WJ and to all who are bereaved by the loss of your dad. Ar dheis dé go raibh a anam dilis.

136. Willie Joe,
     Condolences to you and your family.

137. Deepest Condolences to you John and the extended Gunnigan Family.

138. Very good article on the state of Mayo club football in the Western People this week by Mark Higgins and another one with Mark Ronalson comparing Mayo and Galway club championships.

139. Condolences to the Gunningan family, sorry for your loss guys.

140. Do you have a link Donniver, or is it just in print?

141. Condolences to you John, Louis and the rest of the Gunnigan family. May your father’s soul Rest in Peace.

142. Heartfelt sympathy to you Willie Joe and your family and to all your extended families on the sad passing of your Dad. May he Rest in Peace.

143. Condolences to you John, Louis and all the Gunnigan family. May your dads soul Rest in Peace.
     He left all of us who follows the red and green with a great legacy.
     Loved the memory of 1967 in Pearce Stadium when we beat a great Galwat team. I was there and was stunned.

144. Condolences WJ and family. May your Dad RIP.

145. Michael Murphy gone – one of the greats!

     Thought he might do another year or two yet, but I’m sure he took a lot of time to consider it. Absolutely loved watching him play, made the game look effortless at times.

     The number of active intercounty players born in the 80s is dwindling by the day 🙂

146. @Ciaran
     Couldn’t agree more. One of the all time greats in my book. Michael Murphy walks into any team in any era.
     A Rolls Royce of a player.

147. My sincere condolences to John, Louis and all the Gunnigan family on John Snr’s passing.

148. Legend is a word used to easily by pundits and fans frequently. Micheal Murphy legend without a doubt When the next team of a millineum is done he’ll be on it.

149. Condolences to you are your family John at this sad time. May your dad rest in peace.

150. Condolences to WJ and all the Gunnigan family on the passing of your dad. May he rest in peace.

151. Big shout out to Cora Staunton inducted along with teammate Alicia Eva as their club the Giants first AFLW life members. This lady is a genuine Mayo GAA icon, a legend by any standards. Hopefully we will see much more of her on the field and on tv as a pundit.

152. Murphy was a delightful footballer to watch in full flow , hard to ever replace his likes no more than ourselves if keegan retires and Mullen goes to OZ .

153. Michael Murphy is the one player in the last 10 years i would have loved to have in a Mayo Jersey.
     To think it might have happened….Father from Bonniconlon…..who ever made the decision to move that man to Donegal should be banned from Mayo for life!!!.
     Still all the best to him and the Donedal dans that will miss him.

154. Congratulations to Cora – our very own legend

155. Cora Staunton and Lee Keegan the greateat Mayo footballers since 51 bar none. Im not looking forward to Keegan retiring

156. Deepest sympathy to John and Louis and all the Gunnigan family on the death of John Gunnigan Snr. May he rest in peace.

157. Big rumour doing the rounds that one of our greats is retiring, i hope that its just that, a rumour. Fingers crossed

158. Heard that too. @Paddyjoejohntom.
     This place will go into meltdown if confirmed

159. @Paddyjoejohntom – Hopefully not true the thoughts of potentially losing him and Oisin (to AFL) is a disaster. Let`s not speculate though and see what comes of these whispers.

160. They all have to go at some time. Don’t know who ye are talking about but they will always be heroes in my eyes. I am 70 and following Mayo all my life.
     More greats will follow their inspiration. The sacrifices those guys make for Mayo, humbles me.
     A lot have families now and priorities change.
     You can never relive the development and joy your young kids give you.

161. A lot of hot air being written here on the blog re Westport and the state of club football in Mayo V Galway club football. I wouldn’t subscribe to the negativity. Take last Sunday, even though Westport were well beaten on the day, they created Twenty Seven chance’s (as some of ye are saying, All Ireland winners in waiting)as opposed to Moycullen’s Twenty Four. Yes Moycullen took there chance’s, but on another day a team will punish them and convert a greater percent of those chance’s.
     So I for one don’t rate Moycullen as highly as some of ye, and I can’t see them going to an All Ireland final.
     Maybe not even past Strokestown on Saturday

162. I am just reading over all the messages of condolences now. I want to echo the thanks of my brothers John and Louis. I had no idea how much all these messages hold you up until it was our own turn to mourn the loss of our dear Dad. Thanks again to everyone.

163. Ger Mc.

     Respectfully your arguments in favour of westports performance there sum up a lot of whats wrong with mayo football, ie fans pointing to missed chances as a sign of good performance and bad luck, scoring is a skill, the most fundamental skill in the game.

     In my opinion there is nothing virtuous about missing chances, the culture in mayo seems to be accepting of missed chances and poor attacking play and its been going on for years now

164. One thing I have noticed in nearly all Mayo teams over the last 18 months or so is the lack of an attacking plan. Every team – club and county- seem obsessed with holding onto the ball with safe hand passes going nowhere. This is so easy to defend against. We are so short of attacking movement and plans. Watching the Meath and Westmeath clubs on tv at moment- very enjoyable game with both teams moving the ball forward at pace and good movement on and off the ball.
     Let’s hope new management team recognise this and at least put some forward plan in place. Sterile football is probably a good name for what we are at compared to the top county and club teams.

165. My sincere condolences to all of the Gunnigan family on the loss of your dad.
     May he rest in peace.