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Frightening indeed the over-run on the cost of this. To think that Eur10,000 a week is needed to pay the interest only on the debt. That sort of money isnt available around Mayo GAA at the moment. And to think that we were all asked to dig deep over the past decade as things were tight. If things were tight why in the hell was so much borrowed.
The only way out of this that I can see is to split the McHale Park project away from the day to day runnings of the county board. All the bad debt and problems to be seperated away from the county board and a proper McHale Park management committee put in place. This way the committees sole job is to make it viable and pay back its debts. Concerts, shows, fairs, weddings and festivals will have to be looked at to get money flowing in. A full time CEO or Marketing person will be needed for this. Seperate to that will be the county GAA board which deals solely with GAA teams, games, coaching and the day-to-day running of the GAA in Mayo. Mayo GAA needs professional direction over the next few years or else this problem could escalate into clubs folding due to defaulting on their Eur15,000 affiliations at the start of the year. Its a serious crisis alright.

It's not not the best squad we could pick, not by a country mile, but then picking the best squad might make the game a little one sided. Offaly would be a good hurling county, Antrim would also be good enough. Laois, Carlow and Westmeath are a wee bit behind Antrim. The rest wouldn't play in the higher tier of the championship.
As for a player getting recognition, who knows? maybe if he plays well enough. But I doubt he would get much recognition as no-one pays any attention to this game, which is unfortunate.

Ireland used to try and pick their best panel of players from the top tier up until about 10 years ago. However, from talking to an officer who was involved with the team at the time, the top lads had little regard for it and constantly pulled out the day before the games, which made it a nightmare for the management.
About seven years ago, it was suggested that players from the Ring/Rackard counties would be instead chosen for these competitions, and from that the Irish organisers and management could felt that the lower tier lads had more enthusiasm to wear the Irish jersey and were easier to organise. Albeit, they werent at the same level as the McCarthy Cup lads, but took pride in getting the call up. This system has remained in place since, but players from teams from the lower echelons of the McCarthy Cup came on board each year. Westmeath, Carlow, Laois and Antrim are all McCarthy Cup counties remember, so for a lad from the lower tiers to play in this is some achievement. Also, a few very top tier players are thrown in to help the scoring side of things. Eoin Kelly and Michael Rice are there this year to drive things on up front. Im looking forward to this game, as I think its a bit like celebrity deathmatch - as little is known about either sidesides.

From what Ive heard, James Kilcullen transferred to a club in London last year. He didnt declare for his home county on the transfer form. Therefore he was eligible to play for London but wasnt eligible to play for Mayo. He didnt transfer back to Ballagh', but played an FBD game for Mayo and someone realised he was illegal. The penalty is loss of the game, 48 week ban for the player, and a similar suspension for the officers.

However, there was no mallice intended and hopefully it will be passed off as a clerical error.

A hurling ignoramous lads so apologies.

However was their a Connaught club semi final last week that ended 10-15 to 5-30? It was on the radio during the week about it, but can't find anything online about it!

No, the only Connacht Hurling semi-final played yet was the Intermediate semi. It finished 3-13 to 2-13 to Ballyhuanis (Mayo over Four Roads (Ross). The Junior semi final between Western Gaels (Sligo) and St Marys (Leitrim) hasnt been played yet due to a hearing in relation to players. There is no senior semi final....

Twitter saying that the League Final replay finished Mitchels 1-9 Stephenites 0-1.

Is that correct? Did Stephenites score only 0-1!

Who are you following on Twitter to get that update?

'mayosports'

Where is Stephenite? He deserves some slagging for that scoreline (assuming it is correct).

Lads, this is the Michael Walsh Cup Secondary League final. Ballina did well to even field a team in this thing, considering that they have been out of the championship for over two months....

Ballyhaunis 3-13 Four Roads 2-13

AIB CLUB INTERMEDIATE HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP
Extra Time in all games

Semi-Final           Sunday 24th October at 2.00 pm - Change of Date
Ballyhaunis v Four Roads                           Venue: Athleague

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CONNACHT CLUB U16 HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP

Semi-Final           Saturday 23rd October at 3.30 pm
Tooreen v Padraig Pearses (R)                  Venue: Tooreen

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But the game-breaker for me in the whole process (and something that I think is a really great story for any journalist who goes after it) was the fact that John Maughan pulled out shortly after the selection committee was announced. Why that happened is still unknown, but only two men — John Maughan and James Waldron — can answer the question.

Jesus, I'd speculate that Kevin knows exactly what went on. Knives are out for Waldron now I'd say

No need for knives Stephenite. His 5 years are up at the end of the year....

From the Mayo GAA mailing list:

TJ Tyrell Senior Hurling Championship - Sun 10/10/2010 
Tooreen v Ballyhaunis 15:00 Venue: Ballyhaunis
Ref: Charlie Collins. Line: Ciaran Byrne & Sean Granahan.

Massive interest in the hurling final!

Ballyhaunis v Tooreen is on this Sunday I believe. Haven't a clue where or when or anything.

The GAA people in the know in Mayo will know exactly when its on.... Look at the local papers... Come along on Sunday and watch the battle unfold....
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HURLING: The memory of Adrian Freeman will be in the minds of everyone associated with Tooreen club on county final day.

Champions and challengers to serve up another classic

Preview

THE intense rivalry between Ballyhaunis and Tooreen has few equals in Mayo sport over the past decade. And there will be no lack of passion when these two teams meet in the Mayo senior hurling final in Ballyhaunis on Sunday (3pm). The game looks set to attract a big attendance with good interest from the neighbouring parts of West Roscommon sure to add further to the crowd.

Ballyhaunis enter the game as favourites. They have been impressive in the campaign to date, defeating Tooreen en route, and also brushing aside the challenge of Castlebar in the semi-final.
They have been the dominant team of the past decade, winning six county titles during that period. It is an impressive record by any standards.
But this time they face the Tooreen challenge without dual inter-county player Keith Higgins who broke a collarbone some weeks ago. His loss cannot be overstated as he has been at the very heart of this team for some years. His silken skills will be sorely missed on this occasion. (There has been some speculation in recent days that Keith may yet play some part in Sunday's game but it could be a major gamble to risk further injury).
Still, Ballyhaunis have established a solid panel and experience is one thing they do not lack going into the final. Even without Keith, they still managed to reach the final of the Ratoath Sevens, defeating teams from the top counties down south en route. It was an achievement that raised many eyebrows.
The 'blending' process has gone well for Ballyhaunis who have drafted in a number of young players throughout the campaign. Kieran Kiely, Kieran McDermott, Damien Keadin, Luke Cribbin and Jason Swords have adapted well to the move up in ranks and are eagerly looking forward to the big day.
The addition of Donal O'Brien from Silvermines in Tipperary, a member of the teaching staff at Ballyhaunis Primary School, has been a major boost to the team too. O'Brien has hurled well in all his games since donning the Ballyhaunis jersey.
Derek McConn will captain Ballyhaunis as they go for the three-in-a-row. Pierse Higgins has been a vital cog in this team over the past decade and his reassuring presence and guidance will be required more than ever on Sunday. Adding further to the bank of experience will be such players as Tadhg Buckley, Niall Murphy, Christy McCrudden, Paul McConn, goalie Micheal Walsh, Hughie McKermitt and Paul Lynch. They are also boosted by the return of Peter Healy and Brian "Deano" Hunt after injury.
On the downside, that great servant of the club, Derek Walsh, has retired through injury, while Fergal Lyons and Liam 'Bomber' Lyons are both out with injuries. Fergal Walsh and Austin Lyons are away working in London.
The team manager this year is John Paul Coen and his mentors are Dave McConn, John Joe Hoban and Pete Higgins.
"We have prepared as well as we can. The training is done and we are looking forward to Sunday and getting on with it and hopefully coming through with a win. We have a good bond and understanding and want to go forward all the time," says John Paul.
Meanwhile, down Tooreen way, managers Tony Henry and Dom Greally, with a helping hand from Pat Ganley, are putting the final touches to their preparations to bring the TJ Tyrell Cup back to the village.
No one can be in any doubt as to the dominant factor in Tooreen hurling this year .... the tragic death of star player Adrian Freeman in a road accident in Australia. "Twink" was such an integral part of the team.
Dom Greally says the memory of Adrian will be uppermost in the minds of everyone associated with the club on county final day.
"Adrian was a jewel of a player. He was such a favourite with all the panel. We never had to deal with anything of this nature before in the club history.
"It will be an emotional day for all the club but especially for his parents Seamus and Ita, his sister Louise, and brother Cathal who has been playing so well for us since his return from injury. The word "Twink" has been emblazoned on the neck collar of all our jerseys in tribute to Adrian."
Tooreen, who will be without the services of Stephen Coyne, Stephen Leneghan, Justin Freyne and James Hunt (all in Australia), once again have a young side on duty. They were pushed all the way by Westport in the semi-final and the teams were level with just five minutes to play. All their scores on the day came from Cathal Freeman and Kenny Feeney. They are all too well aware that they need a greater spread of scorers if they are to dethrone the champions on Sunday.
Adrian Hession has had a good season as Tooreen goalie. Shane Morley, Greg Henry and Michael Morley hurled superbly against Westport with Paul Hunt, Sean Ganley and Dougie Mitchell all prominent in an impressive Tooreen defence.
Changes can be expected at midfield for Sunday's showdown. The return of Cathal Freeman is a big boost to the team and he excelled in the semi-final. Kenny Feeney was also in top form while Alan Freeman and Michael Martin were prominent too. Others like Brian Delaney, Martin Devaney, Michael Cunnane and Joey Ganley are all ready and willing to pursue the Tooreen cause.
"It is going to take a huge effort from our lads. Ballyhaunis have been the dominant team of the decade and that doesn't happen without hard work and talent to match. We have trained hard and the lads have put in a huge effort. There's a lot of support for the lads out there this year and we are hoping that they can do the business and bring the cup back to Tooreen on Sunday evening," says Dom.

I wonder will John O'Mahoney go on this trip? It would be a great junket to finish off his tenure with Mayo. Most of the players who are going were dropped throughout the summer, so it could be a bit awkward for him. If he doesnt go, who will be calling the shots from the line.... Gallagher? Tommy Lyons (The Ballina version)? Martin Carney? And if they dont go who will do the shouting? It could be left to the board officers to the honours in the dressing-room.......

Can anyone post up the Mayo Panel for the FB final....

Eastern Gaels & Kilmovee Shamrocks?

Eastern Gaels, Kilmovee Shamrocks, Carramore, Ballycroy, Kilfian, Moygownagh, Ardagh, Ballycastle, Lacken, Lahardane, Bonniconlon, Ardnaree, Parke, Islandeady, Balla, Mayo Gaels & Achill.

Does anyone know when trials are on and who is invited to them? Who is manager this season?

Castlebar v Knockmore
Ballintubber v Shrule Glencorrib

Burrishoole v Kiltimagh
Belmullet v Tourmakeady

Thanks. Could be a Ballintubber/Castlebar final, similar tot he U21 final. In intermediate, it looks like a Burrishoole/Tourmak final, but will be close...