Fawning over Mayo

[Syferus]

The dirtiest and most cynical team this decade and still couldn't win the big one, even being so far ahead in certain games.

I know a guy from Mayo, big into GAA and all sports, but supports the Galway Hurlers and Sligo Rovers,  wont support the Mayo footballers, says overhyped and the fans are akin to the Leinster rugby fans, he says he's know time for them.

Again, why are these see-through troll accounts left un-moderated?

[Crete Boom]

The dirtiest and most cynical team this decade and still couldn't win the big one, even being so far ahead in certain games.

I know a guy from Mayo, big into GAA and all sports, but supports the Galway Hurlers and Sligo Rovers,  wont support the Mayo footballers, says overhyped and the fans are akin to the Leinster rugby fans, he says he's know time for them.

I know a guy from Dublin a big Dubs fan & Hill 16 man, big into soccer and he was telling me that Ireland should vote to leave the EU and rejoin the commonwealth cause Dubs are British anyway and Liverpool would be his soccer team more than any Irish team but sure we know Dublin fans are all Brit loving soccer people anyway akin to Brexit national front supporters so I don't why we even let them play football or hurling?

[Maroon Manc]

Am I the only person thinks that, assuming the Mayo Club Championship will be in full slow / League resolved early. This could be the first break that a lot of these guys get for maybe 3/4 years?

They might not be done just yet....

Obviously logistical issues will mean they meander along in the league as they seem to normally do, but they suffered badly with injury this year, nobody bar Dublin could have coped. There might be more left in the tank after a bit of time off.

Fairly sure there's no senior championship in Mayo for the next 2 months.

You could argue that but I think its unlikely, look at the ages of Clarke, Higgins, Cafferkey, Barrett, Boyle, SOS & Moran and that a few of them are based in Dublin too doesn't help. Parsons' injury will likely rule him out of next year too and given his age and how bad an injury there's always the chance he might not return.  I think Mayo have to be careful, all those players could hang on another year but if didn't work out well you're looking at a panel where 12 out of their best 20 players could be 30+.

Its a difficult one though as there could be a whole host of retirements and there's no guarantees that the next generation are good enough, I do think they have to take that chance though.

[Crete Boom]

Am I the only person thinks that, assuming the Mayo Club Championship will be in full slow / League resolved early. This could be the first break that a lot of these guys get for maybe 3/4 years?

They might not be done just yet....

Obviously logistical issues will mean they meander along in the league as they seem to normally do, but they suffered badly with injury this year, nobody bar Dublin could have coped. There might be more left in the tank after a bit of time off.

Fairly sure there's no senior championship in Mayo for the next 2 months.

You could argue that but I think its unlikely, look at the ages of Clarke, Higgins, Cafferkey, Barrett, Boyle, SOS & Moran and that a few of them are based in Dublin too doesn't help. Parsons' injury will likely rule him out of next year too and given his age and how bad an injury there's always the chance he might not return.  I think Mayo have to be careful, all those players could hang on another year but if didn't work out well you're looking at a panel where 12 out of their best 20 players could be 30+.

Its a difficult one though as there could be a whole host of retirements and there's no guarantees that the next generation are good enough, I do think they have to take that chance though.

Yep alot of planning to ensure it is a transition period of a year or two not a 10 year fallow period!! Clarke is working in Tubbercurry, Higgins works in Castlebar, Cafferkey in Galway, Boyle in Clifden and Moran is in Ballaghadreen so it would be a case of if they have the drive or health to keep going for another year. Seamus , Chris Barrett and Jason Doc are all in Dublin so work might come into to play if they want to keep going for another year?
Either way I think we will see a couple of lads gone through retirement or injury and that might be over the next couple of years so whoever is in charge will have to start throwing in the likes of Reape, Akram , Hall, Carr Loftus etc... in next years league and leave the older lads till the championship starts.

[TheGreatest]

The dirtiest and most cynical team this decade and still couldn't win the big one, even being so far ahead in certain games.

I know a guy from Mayo, big into GAA and all sports, but supports the Galway Hurlers and Sligo Rovers,  wont support the Mayo footballers, says overhyped and the fans are akin to the Leinster rugby fans, he says he's know time for them.

I know a guy from Dublin a big Dubs fan & Hill 16 man, big into soccer and he was telling me that Ireland should vote to leave the EU and rejoin the commonwealth cause Dubs are British anyway and Liverpool would be his soccer team more than any Irish team but sure we know Dublin fans are all Brit loving soccer people anyway akin to Brexit national front supporters so I don't why we even let them play football or hurling?

Cant argue with you there, loads of west brits in Dublin, and Ireland, nearly getting out of control now.

Just surprised to hear that from a Mayo man,  that is all I pointed it out.

I am Unfamiliar with Trolling, I am just stating fact.  A lot of talk on these boards on Dublin, Kerry and Tyrone (especially all things Tyrone) can the peoples champions not be discussed also, its a relevant topic in my opinion, there is an awe about Mayo, but it is confused with Entertainment. Not because they are a good team (in my opinion very lucky in a lot of games).

I wonder if Mayo had won 3 or 4 all Irelands this decade would things be different, Kerry, Tyrone got it, Dublin getting it now.

[Crete Boom]

The dirtiest and most cynical team this decade and still couldn't win the big one, even being so far ahead in certain games.

I know a guy from Mayo, big into GAA and all sports, but supports the Galway Hurlers and Sligo Rovers,  wont support the Mayo footballers, says overhyped and the fans are akin to the Leinster rugby fans, he says he's know time for them.

I know a guy from Dublin a big Dubs fan & Hill 16 man, big into soccer and he was telling me that Ireland should vote to leave the EU and rejoin the commonwealth cause Dubs are British anyway and Liverpool would be his soccer team more than any Irish team but sure we know Dublin fans are all Brit loving soccer people anyway akin to Brexit national front supporters so I don't why we even let them play football or hurling?

Cant argue with you there, loads of west brits in Dublin, and Ireland, nearly getting out of control now.

Just surprised to hear that from a Mayo man,  that is all I pointed it out.

I am Unfamiliar with Trolling, I am just stating fact.  A lot of talk on these boards on Dublin, Kerry and Tyrone (especially all things Tyrone) can the peoples champions not be discussed also, its a relevant topic in my opinion, there is an awe about Mayo, but it is confused with Entertainment. Not because they are a good team (in my opinion very lucky in a lot of games).

I wonder if Mayo had won 3 or 4 all Irelands this decade would things be different, Kerry, Tyrone got it, Dublin getting it now.

I know another guy who knows you cause he works in the financial game like youreself and is also unfamialir with trolling who told me all you talk about is Mayo and your admiration of all things Mayo!! You are allowed to discuss the man you know who is represenative of the truth or more important your truth so why can't we disuss the men I know who know who provide me with my truth and plus I have provided two concrete sources to your single undisputed  source so I think that puts alot my more substance of the facts from the men I know which are the real facts which to you are heresay which is the same as your facts because they are heresay which in fact is both truth and heresay!! Case Closed

[SLIGONIAN]

Eamonn Sweeney got in on the act yesterday. A tad OTT I feel.

Eamonn Sweeney

July 2 2018 5:00 PM


The two-goal start handed to Donegal in the 2012 All-Ireland final, the defensive mix-up which gave Bernard Brogan his first goal in the 2013 decider, the five-point lead with five minutes left lost in the 2014 semi against Kerry, the two own goals in the drawn 2016 meeting with Dublin, the decision to replace All-Star goalkeeper David Clarke for the replay, the red card for Donal Vaughan just when it looked like they'd have an extra man for the closing 20 minutes of last year's final.

No team ever amassed quite as many might-have-been moments as Mayo. Their story is one of turning points which turned the wrong way. Hope and history never quite rhymed. Lady Luck always left with someone else.

A momentous era ended in Newbridge on Saturday night. It began on July 31, 2011 when an unfancied Mayo side, who'd only defeated London by a single point in their opening Connacht Championship match, beat reigning All-Ireland champions Cork 1-13 to 2-6 in a Croke Park quarter-final. Kerry disposed of them easily enough next time out but Mayo, under manager James Horan, seemed a team on the way up. The following year they once more upset the reigning champs, beating Dublin by three points in a tremendous semi-final. Yet this was Donegal and Jim McGuinness's year. Cynics suggested Mayo had merely made life easier for the new champions by clearing a better side out of the way.

Mayo demanded respect in 2013. For the third year in a row they deposed the title-holders, beating Donegal by 16 points in the quarter-final. The final could have gone either way but it went Dublin's by a point. Yet it looked like Mayo's time would surely come soon.


They were perhaps never better than in the 2014 semi-final against Kerry. Mayo played the second half with 14 men after Lee Keegan was sent off just before the break but looked to have won the game before Kieran Donaghy came on.

The moment when the big man superbly fielded a high ball before slipping it to James O'Donoghue who stuck it into the net felt like a significant turning point. Mayo lost the replay after extra-time, their disappointment exacerbated by a sense of injustice. There were some dubious refereeing decisions and the game had been played in Kingdom-friendly Limerick because Croke Park was hosting an American Football match.

The resignation of Horan afterwards seemed to confirm the feeling that this Mayo side, like their predecessors who'd lost the 1996 and 1997 and 2004 and 2006 finals, would fade away in the face of sustained disappointment.

Yet they were back in the semis the following year, under the joint management of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes, and led Dublin going into the final quarter before being undone by a devastating three-goal burst.

A players' putsch saw Stephen Rochford take over as manager for 2016 but a first Connacht Championship defeat to Galway in eight years and a halting progress through the qualifiers suggested a team in decline. Few predicted anything other than comprehensive defeat for them in the final against Dublin.

Instead Mayo would have won the drawn game but for own goals from Kevin McLoughlin and Colm Boyle which kept the floundering Dubs in the contest. The unfortunate nature of both scores made you wonder if somebody up there didn't like Mayo.

In the replay, the misfortune was self-inflicted. Rochford's decision to replace Clarke with Rob Hennelly may well be the worst miscalculation in All-Ireland football final history. A botched kick-out by the replacement led to Lee Keegan, the best player in football that year, getting a black card. A Hennelly fumble gave Dublin a penalty converted by Diarmuid Connolly which proved vital as Mayo lost a second final in four years by a single point.

By now Mayo's attempts to finally land the All-Ireland had become Irish sport's great epic quest. Their 2017 championship campaign was extraordinary. Another defeat by Galway led to an odyssey which saw them play seven games, two of which went to extra-time, before encountering Dublin once more in the final.

When an inspired Mayo led by two points with six minutes left, the grail seemed within their grasp. Instead Dublin prevailed by one point for a third time. Cillian O'Connor's free to put Mayo ahead in injury-time came back off the post, Dean Rock's similar effort for Dublin sailed over.

The Mayo story had come to seem like the saddest GAA story ever told. Yet the memories are not all of what might have been.

There's also Kevin McLoughlin's rocket against Cork that announced the team's arrival, David Clarke pulling off a point-blank save from Bernard Brogan, Aidan O'Shea soaring high and finishing with aplomb against Donegal, Cillian O'Connor landing a last-ditch equaliser against the Dubs, Lee Keegan galloping through the Dublin defence and lashing a shot past Stephen Cluxton, Keith Higgins hunting down and foiling Paul Geaney with the game in the balance, Chris Barrett's herculean blocks, intercepts and dispossessions in last year's final and the whole of Andy Moran's incredible 2017.

Saturday's game ended with Moran firing a shot narrowly over. Last year he produced probably the greatest veteran season in GAA history. This year he fought to the bitter end. He deserved better and so did his team-mates. A popular cliché tells us that no-one remembers the runners-up. But everyone will remember this Mayo side.

They'll be remembered when some teams which did win the Sam Maguire are forgotten outside their own county.

Mayo's big fault may have been that sometimes they cared a little too much and tried a little too hard. A touch more sang-froid at key moments might have worked wonders. But their flaws only made this big-hearted team all the more engaging. There was something emotionally involving about almost every one of their games.

Mayo 2011-2018 were a team unlike any other. They were everyone's favourite other side. They were Ireland's team.

God, we'll miss them.

Can't believe a Sligoman would be fawning over Mayo to that extent. Everyone's favourite other side my hole.

+1 this talk is BS anyway, there not as finished as people are making out, and when they do decline I wont miss them.

[Syferus]

Eamonn Sweeney got in on the act yesterday. A tad OTT I feel.

Eamonn Sweeney

July 2 2018 5:00 PM


The two-goal start handed to Donegal in the 2012 All-Ireland final, the defensive mix-up which gave Bernard Brogan his first goal in the 2013 decider, the five-point lead with five minutes left lost in the 2014 semi against Kerry, the two own goals in the drawn 2016 meeting with Dublin, the decision to replace All-Star goalkeeper David Clarke for the replay, the red card for Donal Vaughan just when it looked like they'd have an extra man for the closing 20 minutes of last year's final.

No team ever amassed quite as many might-have-been moments as Mayo. Their story is one of turning points which turned the wrong way. Hope and history never quite rhymed. Lady Luck always left with someone else.

A momentous era ended in Newbridge on Saturday night. It began on July 31, 2011 when an unfancied Mayo side, who'd only defeated London by a single point in their opening Connacht Championship match, beat reigning All-Ireland champions Cork 1-13 to 2-6 in a Croke Park quarter-final. Kerry disposed of them easily enough next time out but Mayo, under manager James Horan, seemed a team on the way up. The following year they once more upset the reigning champs, beating Dublin by three points in a tremendous semi-final. Yet this was Donegal and Jim McGuinness's year. Cynics suggested Mayo had merely made life easier for the new champions by clearing a better side out of the way.

Mayo demanded respect in 2013. For the third year in a row they deposed the title-holders, beating Donegal by 16 points in the quarter-final. The final could have gone either way but it went Dublin's by a point. Yet it looked like Mayo's time would surely come soon.


They were perhaps never better than in the 2014 semi-final against Kerry. Mayo played the second half with 14 men after Lee Keegan was sent off just before the break but looked to have won the game before Kieran Donaghy came on.

The moment when the big man superbly fielded a high ball before slipping it to James O'Donoghue who stuck it into the net felt like a significant turning point. Mayo lost the replay after extra-time, their disappointment exacerbated by a sense of injustice. There were some dubious refereeing decisions and the game had been played in Kingdom-friendly Limerick because Croke Park was hosting an American Football match.

The resignation of Horan afterwards seemed to confirm the feeling that this Mayo side, like their predecessors who'd lost the 1996 and 1997 and 2004 and 2006 finals, would fade away in the face of sustained disappointment.

Yet they were back in the semis the following year, under the joint management of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes, and led Dublin going into the final quarter before being undone by a devastating three-goal burst.

A players' putsch saw Stephen Rochford take over as manager for 2016 but a first Connacht Championship defeat to Galway in eight years and a halting progress through the qualifiers suggested a team in decline. Few predicted anything other than comprehensive defeat for them in the final against Dublin.

Instead Mayo would have won the drawn game but for own goals from Kevin McLoughlin and Colm Boyle which kept the floundering Dubs in the contest. The unfortunate nature of both scores made you wonder if somebody up there didn't like Mayo.

In the replay, the misfortune was self-inflicted. Rochford's decision to replace Clarke with Rob Hennelly may well be the worst miscalculation in All-Ireland football final history. A botched kick-out by the replacement led to Lee Keegan, the best player in football that year, getting a black card. A Hennelly fumble gave Dublin a penalty converted by Diarmuid Connolly which proved vital as Mayo lost a second final in four years by a single point.

By now Mayo's attempts to finally land the All-Ireland had become Irish sport's great epic quest. Their 2017 championship campaign was extraordinary. Another defeat by Galway led to an odyssey which saw them play seven games, two of which went to extra-time, before encountering Dublin once more in the final.

When an inspired Mayo led by two points with six minutes left, the grail seemed within their grasp. Instead Dublin prevailed by one point for a third time. Cillian O'Connor's free to put Mayo ahead in injury-time came back off the post, Dean Rock's similar effort for Dublin sailed over.

The Mayo story had come to seem like the saddest GAA story ever told. Yet the memories are not all of what might have been.

There's also Kevin McLoughlin's rocket against Cork that announced the team's arrival, David Clarke pulling off a point-blank save from Bernard Brogan, Aidan O'Shea soaring high and finishing with aplomb against Donegal, Cillian O'Connor landing a last-ditch equaliser against the Dubs, Lee Keegan galloping through the Dublin defence and lashing a shot past Stephen Cluxton, Keith Higgins hunting down and foiling Paul Geaney with the game in the balance, Chris Barrett's herculean blocks, intercepts and dispossessions in last year's final and the whole of Andy Moran's incredible 2017.

Saturday's game ended with Moran firing a shot narrowly over. Last year he produced probably the greatest veteran season in GAA history. This year he fought to the bitter end. He deserved better and so did his team-mates. A popular cliché tells us that no-one remembers the runners-up. But everyone will remember this Mayo side.

They'll be remembered when some teams which did win the Sam Maguire are forgotten outside their own county.

Mayo's big fault may have been that sometimes they cared a little too much and tried a little too hard. A touch more sang-froid at key moments might have worked wonders. But their flaws only made this big-hearted team all the more engaging. There was something emotionally involving about almost every one of their games.

Mayo 2011-2018 were a team unlike any other. They were everyone's favourite other side. They were Ireland's team.

God, we'll miss them.

Can't believe a Sligoman would be fawning over Mayo to that extent. Everyone's favourite other side my hole.

+1 this talk is BS anyway, there not as finished as people are making out, and when they do decline I wont miss them.

Sligonian, we just saw them being well beaten by a team who got hammered by Carlow this summer, the decline has very much happened.

[weareros]

Eamonn Sweeney got in on the act yesterday. A tad OTT I feel.

Eamonn Sweeney

July 2 2018 5:00 PM


The two-goal start handed to Donegal in the 2012 All-Ireland final, the defensive mix-up which gave Bernard Brogan his first goal in the 2013 decider, the five-point lead with five minutes left lost in the 2014 semi against Kerry, the two own goals in the drawn 2016 meeting with Dublin, the decision to replace All-Star goalkeeper David Clarke for the replay, the red card for Donal Vaughan just when it looked like they'd have an extra man for the closing 20 minutes of last year's final.

No team ever amassed quite as many might-have-been moments as Mayo. Their story is one of turning points which turned the wrong way. Hope and history never quite rhymed. Lady Luck always left with someone else.

A momentous era ended in Newbridge on Saturday night. It began on July 31, 2011 when an unfancied Mayo side, who'd only defeated London by a single point in their opening Connacht Championship match, beat reigning All-Ireland champions Cork 1-13 to 2-6 in a Croke Park quarter-final. Kerry disposed of them easily enough next time out but Mayo, under manager James Horan, seemed a team on the way up. The following year they once more upset the reigning champs, beating Dublin by three points in a tremendous semi-final. Yet this was Donegal and Jim McGuinness's year. Cynics suggested Mayo had merely made life easier for the new champions by clearing a better side out of the way.

Mayo demanded respect in 2013. For the third year in a row they deposed the title-holders, beating Donegal by 16 points in the quarter-final. The final could have gone either way but it went Dublin's by a point. Yet it looked like Mayo's time would surely come soon.


They were perhaps never better than in the 2014 semi-final against Kerry. Mayo played the second half with 14 men after Lee Keegan was sent off just before the break but looked to have won the game before Kieran Donaghy came on.

The moment when the big man superbly fielded a high ball before slipping it to James O'Donoghue who stuck it into the net felt like a significant turning point. Mayo lost the replay after extra-time, their disappointment exacerbated by a sense of injustice. There were some dubious refereeing decisions and the game had been played in Kingdom-friendly Limerick because Croke Park was hosting an American Football match.

The resignation of Horan afterwards seemed to confirm the feeling that this Mayo side, like their predecessors who'd lost the 1996 and 1997 and 2004 and 2006 finals, would fade away in the face of sustained disappointment.

Yet they were back in the semis the following year, under the joint management of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes, and led Dublin going into the final quarter before being undone by a devastating three-goal burst.

A players' putsch saw Stephen Rochford take over as manager for 2016 but a first Connacht Championship defeat to Galway in eight years and a halting progress through the qualifiers suggested a team in decline. Few predicted anything other than comprehensive defeat for them in the final against Dublin.

Instead Mayo would have won the drawn game but for own goals from Kevin McLoughlin and Colm Boyle which kept the floundering Dubs in the contest. The unfortunate nature of both scores made you wonder if somebody up there didn't like Mayo.

In the replay, the misfortune was self-inflicted. Rochford's decision to replace Clarke with Rob Hennelly may well be the worst miscalculation in All-Ireland football final history. A botched kick-out by the replacement led to Lee Keegan, the best player in football that year, getting a black card. A Hennelly fumble gave Dublin a penalty converted by Diarmuid Connolly which proved vital as Mayo lost a second final in four years by a single point.

By now Mayo's attempts to finally land the All-Ireland had become Irish sport's great epic quest. Their 2017 championship campaign was extraordinary. Another defeat by Galway led to an odyssey which saw them play seven games, two of which went to extra-time, before encountering Dublin once more in the final.

When an inspired Mayo led by two points with six minutes left, the grail seemed within their grasp. Instead Dublin prevailed by one point for a third time. Cillian O'Connor's free to put Mayo ahead in injury-time came back off the post, Dean Rock's similar effort for Dublin sailed over.

The Mayo story had come to seem like the saddest GAA story ever told. Yet the memories are not all of what might have been.

There's also Kevin McLoughlin's rocket against Cork that announced the team's arrival, David Clarke pulling off a point-blank save from Bernard Brogan, Aidan O'Shea soaring high and finishing with aplomb against Donegal, Cillian O'Connor landing a last-ditch equaliser against the Dubs, Lee Keegan galloping through the Dublin defence and lashing a shot past Stephen Cluxton, Keith Higgins hunting down and foiling Paul Geaney with the game in the balance, Chris Barrett's herculean blocks, intercepts and dispossessions in last year's final and the whole of Andy Moran's incredible 2017.

Saturday's game ended with Moran firing a shot narrowly over. Last year he produced probably the greatest veteran season in GAA history. This year he fought to the bitter end. He deserved better and so did his team-mates. A popular cliché tells us that no-one remembers the runners-up. But everyone will remember this Mayo side.

They'll be remembered when some teams which did win the Sam Maguire are forgotten outside their own county.

Mayo's big fault may have been that sometimes they cared a little too much and tried a little too hard. A touch more sang-froid at key moments might have worked wonders. But their flaws only made this big-hearted team all the more engaging. There was something emotionally involving about almost every one of their games.

Mayo 2011-2018 were a team unlike any other. They were everyone's favourite other side. They were Ireland's team.

God, we'll miss them.

Can't believe a Sligoman would be fawning over Mayo to that extent. Everyone's favourite other side my hole.

+1 this talk is BS anyway, there not as finished as people are making out, and when they do decline I wont miss them.

Sligonian, we just saw them being well beaten by a team who got hammered by Carlow this summer, the decline has very much happened.

And how long did it take them to recover from the 2010 defeat to Div 4 Longford or nearly get knocked out by London in 2011. Took them only a couple of months to knock out Cork, the reigning All-Ireland champions. The word "nucleus" has been overused since Saturday but they still have a very solid core between the ages of 23 and 28.

[Cunny Funt]

Eamonn Sweeney got in on the act yesterday. A tad OTT I feel.

Eamonn Sweeney

July 2 2018 5:00 PM


The two-goal start handed to Donegal in the 2012 All-Ireland final, the defensive mix-up which gave Bernard Brogan his first goal in the 2013 decider, the five-point lead with five minutes left lost in the 2014 semi against Kerry, the two own goals in the drawn 2016 meeting with Dublin, the decision to replace All-Star goalkeeper David Clarke for the replay, the red card for Donal Vaughan just when it looked like they'd have an extra man for the closing 20 minutes of last year's final.

No team ever amassed quite as many might-have-been moments as Mayo. Their story is one of turning points which turned the wrong way. Hope and history never quite rhymed. Lady Luck always left with someone else.

A momentous era ended in Newbridge on Saturday night. It began on July 31, 2011 when an unfancied Mayo side, who'd only defeated London by a single point in their opening Connacht Championship match, beat reigning All-Ireland champions Cork 1-13 to 2-6 in a Croke Park quarter-final. Kerry disposed of them easily enough next time out but Mayo, under manager James Horan, seemed a team on the way up. The following year they once more upset the reigning champs, beating Dublin by three points in a tremendous semi-final. Yet this was Donegal and Jim McGuinness's year. Cynics suggested Mayo had merely made life easier for the new champions by clearing a better side out of the way.

Mayo demanded respect in 2013. For the third year in a row they deposed the title-holders, beating Donegal by 16 points in the quarter-final. The final could have gone either way but it went Dublin's by a point. Yet it looked like Mayo's time would surely come soon.


They were perhaps never better than in the 2014 semi-final against Kerry. Mayo played the second half with 14 men after Lee Keegan was sent off just before the break but looked to have won the game before Kieran Donaghy came on.

The moment when the big man superbly fielded a high ball before slipping it to James O'Donoghue who stuck it into the net felt like a significant turning point. Mayo lost the replay after extra-time, their disappointment exacerbated by a sense of injustice. There were some dubious refereeing decisions and the game had been played in Kingdom-friendly Limerick because Croke Park was hosting an American Football match.

The resignation of Horan afterwards seemed to confirm the feeling that this Mayo side, like their predecessors who'd lost the 1996 and 1997 and 2004 and 2006 finals, would fade away in the face of sustained disappointment.

Yet they were back in the semis the following year, under the joint management of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes, and led Dublin going into the final quarter before being undone by a devastating three-goal burst.

A players' putsch saw Stephen Rochford take over as manager for 2016 but a first Connacht Championship defeat to Galway in eight years and a halting progress through the qualifiers suggested a team in decline. Few predicted anything other than comprehensive defeat for them in the final against Dublin.

Instead Mayo would have won the drawn game but for own goals from Kevin McLoughlin and Colm Boyle which kept the floundering Dubs in the contest. The unfortunate nature of both scores made you wonder if somebody up there didn't like Mayo.

In the replay, the misfortune was self-inflicted. Rochford's decision to replace Clarke with Rob Hennelly may well be the worst miscalculation in All-Ireland football final history. A botched kick-out by the replacement led to Lee Keegan, the best player in football that year, getting a black card. A Hennelly fumble gave Dublin a penalty converted by Diarmuid Connolly which proved vital as Mayo lost a second final in four years by a single point.

By now Mayo's attempts to finally land the All-Ireland had become Irish sport's great epic quest. Their 2017 championship campaign was extraordinary. Another defeat by Galway led to an odyssey which saw them play seven games, two of which went to extra-time, before encountering Dublin once more in the final.

When an inspired Mayo led by two points with six minutes left, the grail seemed within their grasp. Instead Dublin prevailed by one point for a third time. Cillian O'Connor's free to put Mayo ahead in injury-time came back off the post, Dean Rock's similar effort for Dublin sailed over.

The Mayo story had come to seem like the saddest GAA story ever told. Yet the memories are not all of what might have been.

There's also Kevin McLoughlin's rocket against Cork that announced the team's arrival, David Clarke pulling off a point-blank save from Bernard Brogan, Aidan O'Shea soaring high and finishing with aplomb against Donegal, Cillian O'Connor landing a last-ditch equaliser against the Dubs, Lee Keegan galloping through the Dublin defence and lashing a shot past Stephen Cluxton, Keith Higgins hunting down and foiling Paul Geaney with the game in the balance, Chris Barrett's herculean blocks, intercepts and dispossessions in last year's final and the whole of Andy Moran's incredible 2017.

Saturday's game ended with Moran firing a shot narrowly over. Last year he produced probably the greatest veteran season in GAA history. This year he fought to the bitter end. He deserved better and so did his team-mates. A popular cliché tells us that no-one remembers the runners-up. But everyone will remember this Mayo side.

They'll be remembered when some teams which did win the Sam Maguire are forgotten outside their own county.

Mayo's big fault may have been that sometimes they cared a little too much and tried a little too hard. A touch more sang-froid at key moments might have worked wonders. But their flaws only made this big-hearted team all the more engaging. There was something emotionally involving about almost every one of their games.

Mayo 2011-2018 were a team unlike any other. They were everyone's favourite other side. They were Ireland's team.

God, we'll miss them.

Can't believe a Sligoman would be fawning over Mayo to that extent. Everyone's favourite other side my hole.

+1 this talk is BS anyway, there not as finished as people are making out, and when they do decline I wont miss them.

Sligonian, we just saw them being well beaten by a team who got hammered by Carlow this summer, the decline has very much happened.

And how long did it take them to recover from the 2010 defeat to Div 4 Longford or nearly get knocked out by London in 2011. Took them only a couple of months to knock out Cork, the reigning All-Ireland champions. The word “nucleus” has been overused since Saturday but they still have a very solid core between the ages of 23 and 28.

The core of the team is a bit older than that. Goalkeeper,Full back,center half back,first choice midfielders and main scoring forward from play are all in their 30s now. 2010 and 2011 Mayo sides were young developing teams in comparison 

[Syferus]

Eamonn Sweeney got in on the act yesterday. A tad OTT I feel.

Eamonn Sweeney

July 2 2018 5:00 PM


The two-goal start handed to Donegal in the 2012 All-Ireland final, the defensive mix-up which gave Bernard Brogan his first goal in the 2013 decider, the five-point lead with five minutes left lost in the 2014 semi against Kerry, the two own goals in the drawn 2016 meeting with Dublin, the decision to replace All-Star goalkeeper David Clarke for the replay, the red card for Donal Vaughan just when it looked like they'd have an extra man for the closing 20 minutes of last year's final.

No team ever amassed quite as many might-have-been moments as Mayo. Their story is one of turning points which turned the wrong way. Hope and history never quite rhymed. Lady Luck always left with someone else.

A momentous era ended in Newbridge on Saturday night. It began on July 31, 2011 when an unfancied Mayo side, who'd only defeated London by a single point in their opening Connacht Championship match, beat reigning All-Ireland champions Cork 1-13 to 2-6 in a Croke Park quarter-final. Kerry disposed of them easily enough next time out but Mayo, under manager James Horan, seemed a team on the way up. The following year they once more upset the reigning champs, beating Dublin by three points in a tremendous semi-final. Yet this was Donegal and Jim McGuinness's year. Cynics suggested Mayo had merely made life easier for the new champions by clearing a better side out of the way.

Mayo demanded respect in 2013. For the third year in a row they deposed the title-holders, beating Donegal by 16 points in the quarter-final. The final could have gone either way but it went Dublin's by a point. Yet it looked like Mayo's time would surely come soon.


They were perhaps never better than in the 2014 semi-final against Kerry. Mayo played the second half with 14 men after Lee Keegan was sent off just before the break but looked to have won the game before Kieran Donaghy came on.

The moment when the big man superbly fielded a high ball before slipping it to James O'Donoghue who stuck it into the net felt like a significant turning point. Mayo lost the replay after extra-time, their disappointment exacerbated by a sense of injustice. There were some dubious refereeing decisions and the game had been played in Kingdom-friendly Limerick because Croke Park was hosting an American Football match.

The resignation of Horan afterwards seemed to confirm the feeling that this Mayo side, like their predecessors who'd lost the 1996 and 1997 and 2004 and 2006 finals, would fade away in the face of sustained disappointment.

Yet they were back in the semis the following year, under the joint management of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes, and led Dublin going into the final quarter before being undone by a devastating three-goal burst.

A players' putsch saw Stephen Rochford take over as manager for 2016 but a first Connacht Championship defeat to Galway in eight years and a halting progress through the qualifiers suggested a team in decline. Few predicted anything other than comprehensive defeat for them in the final against Dublin.

Instead Mayo would have won the drawn game but for own goals from Kevin McLoughlin and Colm Boyle which kept the floundering Dubs in the contest. The unfortunate nature of both scores made you wonder if somebody up there didn't like Mayo.

In the replay, the misfortune was self-inflicted. Rochford's decision to replace Clarke with Rob Hennelly may well be the worst miscalculation in All-Ireland football final history. A botched kick-out by the replacement led to Lee Keegan, the best player in football that year, getting a black card. A Hennelly fumble gave Dublin a penalty converted by Diarmuid Connolly which proved vital as Mayo lost a second final in four years by a single point.

By now Mayo's attempts to finally land the All-Ireland had become Irish sport's great epic quest. Their 2017 championship campaign was extraordinary. Another defeat by Galway led to an odyssey which saw them play seven games, two of which went to extra-time, before encountering Dublin once more in the final.

When an inspired Mayo led by two points with six minutes left, the grail seemed within their grasp. Instead Dublin prevailed by one point for a third time. Cillian O'Connor's free to put Mayo ahead in injury-time came back off the post, Dean Rock's similar effort for Dublin sailed over.

The Mayo story had come to seem like the saddest GAA story ever told. Yet the memories are not all of what might have been.

There's also Kevin McLoughlin's rocket against Cork that announced the team's arrival, David Clarke pulling off a point-blank save from Bernard Brogan, Aidan O'Shea soaring high and finishing with aplomb against Donegal, Cillian O'Connor landing a last-ditch equaliser against the Dubs, Lee Keegan galloping through the Dublin defence and lashing a shot past Stephen Cluxton, Keith Higgins hunting down and foiling Paul Geaney with the game in the balance, Chris Barrett's herculean blocks, intercepts and dispossessions in last year's final and the whole of Andy Moran's incredible 2017.

Saturday's game ended with Moran firing a shot narrowly over. Last year he produced probably the greatest veteran season in GAA history. This year he fought to the bitter end. He deserved better and so did his team-mates. A popular cliché tells us that no-one remembers the runners-up. But everyone will remember this Mayo side.

They'll be remembered when some teams which did win the Sam Maguire are forgotten outside their own county.

Mayo's big fault may have been that sometimes they cared a little too much and tried a little too hard. A touch more sang-froid at key moments might have worked wonders. But their flaws only made this big-hearted team all the more engaging. There was something emotionally involving about almost every one of their games.

Mayo 2011-2018 were a team unlike any other. They were everyone's favourite other side. They were Ireland's team.

God, we'll miss them.

Can't believe a Sligoman would be fawning over Mayo to that extent. Everyone's favourite other side my hole.

+1 this talk is BS anyway, there not as finished as people are making out, and when they do decline I wont miss them.

Sligonian, we just saw them being well beaten by a team who got hammered by Carlow this summer, the decline has very much happened.

And how long did it take them to recover from the 2010 defeat to Div 4 Longford or nearly get knocked out by London in 2011. Took them only a couple of months to knock out Cork, the reigning All-Ireland champions. The word "nucleus" has been overused since Saturday but they still have a very solid core between the ages of 23 and 28.

If you think replacing Clarke, Higgins, Boyle, SOS, Parsons (will he ever play again?), Moran, Caffreky will happen overnight then you're codding yourself. The likes of Barrett, Vaughan, maybe even Doherty and McLoughlin's, best days are behind them too even if they continue. Indeed many of those players were both there for that loss to Longford and the beating of AI finalists the next year; they didn't really retrofit the squad to make that leap. This time the core of team is old, in some positions very old. There's a reason Rochford showed no faith in other players. Mayo will not be AI contenders next season.

[seafoid]

Mayo have the "end of a great team" problem without having won Sam. The best players play again and again because young lads can't be as good as them and when the team breaks up there are no replacements.  Happened recently to Man Utd, Barcelona, Spain and Kilkenny.
You cannot plug in a few under 21s and rev the machine again.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2018/0627/973716-brennan-galway-remind-me-of-kilkenny-in-their-pomp/
"The worry is that Kilkenny are at a different stage. I had a lot of these guys at U21 last year, and they are really talented and well able to hurl, but you have to have the complete package. Two or three years of strength and conditioning is requisite now for anyone."

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

Possible 2019 Mayo team?
--------------------Hennelly

O'Donoghue----S Cunniffe?------Harrison

Akram------------Keegan---------P Durcan

-----------Coen----------AO'S

McLoughlin-------DO'C----------Hanley

Loftus-----------CO'C----------Doherty

Subs to include - SO'S, Regan, Hall, J Durcan, Drake and whoever else of the old guard that can go again. Defence is the area they need to refresh most though.
They won't be gone too far away next year regardless.

[Farrandeelin]

Agree with Syf on this one. We won't be all Ireland contenders for a few years at least. We weren't contenders this year imo. It was an 'as far as we can go' year for me. And the end has come this year. But, as weareros said we have NY next year. Our relatively unfancied u20s are in an all Ireland semi. Whatever happens there, happens. I'm not expecting an all Ireland with Kerry in their pomp  at this level, but in terms of Connacht we might nab one or two now and again in the near future.

[Mayo4Sam14]

Possible 2019 Mayo team?
--------------------Hennelly

O'Donoghue----Harrison------Barrett
Akram------------Keegan---------P Durcan

-----------Vaughan----------DO'C

McLoughlin-------AOS----------Durcan

Loftus-----------CO'C----------Doherty

Subs to include - SO'S, Regan, Hall, Hanley, Drake, Boland, Douglas and whoever else of the old guard that can go again. Defence is the area they need to refresh most though.
They won't be gone too far away next year regardless.

Swap AOS and DOC for a start, AOS hasn't the engine for it.