Mayo Football and Hurling - Discussion pages

[Farrandeelin]

Ray Dempsey has stepped down after 3 unsuccessful years as U-21 manager. Hopefully the next man in the job will get a Connacht title at the very least at the grade. Found out on WJ's blog.

[mrhardyannual]

Best of luck to Ray. He has given great time and committment at both Minor and U-21 level since his playing career ended.

[Farrandeelin]

This is taken from the Mayo website.

The countdown is firmly on for Mayo's opening game in the Connacht Football Championship. It has been a long wait since the team last played in a competitive match which was the Allianz Football League Final defeat to Cork in Croke Park on Sunday 29th April last. But all roads will lead to Elverys MacHale Park on Sunday 24th June and what a day it promises to be. If you want value for money then Castlebar will be the place to be. At 12.00p.m. the first of 3 games will take place where Sligo - V's - Leitrim in the Connacht Ladies Football Championship, following that the Mayo Minors open their Connacht Minor Football Championship campaign where Mayo - V's - Sligo throws-in at 1.30p.m. inbetween the Minor and Senior games at 2.55p.m. will be the official re-opening of Elverys MacHale Park where An Taoiseach Enda Kenny will be on hand to perform the proceedings. Finally the third of the days games will take place at 3.30p.m. in the Connacht GAA Senior Football Championship where Mayo - V's - Leitrim. Between 1.00p.m. - 2.00p.m. there will be a reception taking place for all our Cáirde Mhaigheo members along with Sponsors and invited guests. This promises to be a tremendous day out for all the family with plenty of activities available to keep the kids happy as well. More details will be available in the lead up to the games but remember: #nothingbeatsbeingthere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Farrandeelin]

Also from the Mayo GAA website.

Connacht GAA Football Championship 2012
Sunday 24th June 2012
Venue: Elvery's McHale Park, Castlebar

Intermediate Connacht Ladies Football Championship Semi-Final
Sligo - V's - Leitrim
Throw in: 12noon
Connacht Minor Football Championship Semi-Final
Mayo - V's - Sligo
Throw In: 1.30pm
Referee: P. Neilan(R)

Connacht Senior Football Championship Semi-Final
Mayo - V's - Leitrim
Throw In: 3.30pm
Referee: Martin Higgins (Fear Manach)

Ticket Prices:

Stand - €25, (Section 105- VIP's & Sponsors)
Sideline Seating - €20
Juveniles (U-16)  - €5
Students & OAP's Full price must be paid.
Family Tickets available for Stand: Adult full price & child €5
Group Tickets €30 (10 x Juvenile & 1 Adult) application from clubs directly to the Connacht GAA Council Office.
Refunds of €10 will be paid to OAP's and Students, (with current ID cards), for Stand & Sideline seating at Designated Stile only, (Turnstile #16, #17 & #48).
Groups: Entry at Turnstile #38. All children must be accompanied by Group Leader(s)

Tickets can be sourced from;

Connacht GAA Office
Address: Clare Street, Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo
Ph: (094) 9630335
Email: reception.connacht@gaa.ie
www.connachtgaa.ie

Mayo County Board
Address: MacHale Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
Email secretary.mayo@gaa.ie
Office number: 094-9543035
www.mayogaa.com

Leitrim County Board,
address: Pairc Sean MacDiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim.
email: secretary.leitrim@gaa.ie
phone: (071) 9620441

Sligo County Board
address: Sligo GAA Office, Aughamore Near, Carraroe, Sligo
email: administrator.sligo@gaa.ie
phone: 087-0524574(9am-5pm).

Tickets also available from clubs in the competing counties.

Tickets can also be sourced from www.tickets.ie and www.ticketmaster.ie

Tickets will also be on sale at selected Supervalu & Centra outlets in the competing counties, see www.connachtgaa.ie for details.

Mayo
Kavanagh SuperValu, Castlebar, Co Mayo
Moloney's SuperValu, Bunree, Ballina, Co Mayo
Cummins' SuperValu, Ballinrobe, Co Mayo
Sweeney's SuperValu, Achill Island, Co Mayo
O'Connor's SuperValu, Westport, Co Mayo
Duffy's SuperValu, Ballaghadereen,

Leitrim
Donohoe's SuperValu, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim

Sligo
Surlis' SuperValu, Tubbercurry, Co Sligo
Cosgrove's Centra, Maugheraboy, Co Sligo
Whiteside's Centra, Collooney, Co Sligo

[Farrandeelin]

The Connacht GAA Senior and U16 Puc Fada competitions will be hosted by the Tooreen Hurling Club on Monday 16th July at 7.30.

Mayo will represented in the Senior competition by Donall O'Brien (Ballyhaunis) and Kenny Feeney (Tooreen). In the U16 competition - representing Mayo will be Evan Summerville (Moytura) and Shane Fleming (Caiseal Gaels).

Keith Raymond (Sligo) will be looking to retain his Senior title - with the winner and runner-up from both Senior & U16 competitions going forward to represent Connacht at the All-Ireland Puc Fada Championships in the Cooley Mountains in Louth in August. For more information visit www.anpocfada.net

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Ticketing Details and Distribution

Connacht GAA Football Championship Finals 2012
Sunday 15th July
Venue: Hyde Park, Roscommon
Minor:
Roscommon - V - Mayo
12.00pm

Senior:
Mayo - V - Sligo
2pm

Ticket Prices:
Stand €30 - Reserved Seating with limited availability

Sideline Seating €25

Terrace €20

Juveniles (U-16) €5

Students & OAP's Full price must be paid. Refunds of €10 will be paid to OAP's &
Students, (with current ID cards), for Stand, Sideline seating and
Terrace at Designated Stile only, (Turnstile #6 and #18).

Family Tickets Available for Sideline & Stand (Limited) Adult full price & child €5

Group Tickets €30 for a group of 10 juveniles & 1 adult. (Available through the
Connacht GAA Council Office). Groups: Entry at Turnstile #8.
All children must be accompanied by Group Leader(s)

Clubs should submit their orders for tickets before 10.00pm on Sunday July 8th to ensure that that receive their requested allocation. Clubs should note that the number of stand tickets available will be limited. Tickets can be collected in Elverys MacHale Park at the following times

Mon July 9th 10.00am to 7.30pm
Tue July 10th 10.00am to 9.00pm
Wed July 11th 10.00am to 9.00pm

Cáirde Mhaigheo Season ticket holders will be able to collect their Stand tickets in
Elverys MacHale Park at the following times
Mon July 9th 10.00am to 7.30pm
Tue July 10th 10.00am to 9.00pm
Wed July 11th 10.00am to 9.00pm

Cáirde Mhaigheo season ticket holders will receive a €5.00 discount off the purchase price of their ticket. If any Cáirde Mhaigheo season ticket holder is unable to collect their ticket, they should contact the ticket office in Elverys MacHale Park on 094-9250487 with their credit card or laser card details and your ticket can be posted to your address. Please check with the office that the address on file is the correct address.

Tickets will be on sale to the general public in Elverys MacHale Park at the following times

Tue July 10th 10.00am to 9.00pm
Wed July 11th 10.00am to 9.00pm


Mayo County Board
Address: McHale Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
Opening Hours: Monday-Friday 9.30-5pm
Email secretary.mayo@gaa.ie
Office number: 094-9250487
www.mayogaa.com

[eachaidh]

Hi everyone,

Sorry to hijack the thread but please bear with me!

I have been made aware of a study that the University of Ulster are currently carrying out into defibrillators in the GAA. It's an all-Ireland study that is based on line.

As this is such an important and emotive subject for many of us Gaels I thought that I should try to get the word out so that as many of us as possible participate in order to make the results more reliable. The link is below and I would encourage everyone to take the 5 minutes and complete the form. The idea is to get a picture of where we are at as an organisation with the provision of this life saving equipment.

I should state that this is not my study and I am not involved in it other than that I know the people carrying it out. But on their behalf I would like to thank everyone who does fill it out in advance. Your help will be greatly appreciated and hopefully will help the GAA and all of our members. Getting this information may eventually even help to save lives.

Go raibh maith agat!

Link Below:

https://edu.surveygizmo.com/s3/971431/CRP-Defibrillators-Survey

[323232]

Hi folks here is a we 2 mins video we would like you to see.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03nOo-CDoRI&feature=share

[Farrandeelin]

moysider and Lar, here's the place for ye to iron out the changes you'd like to see next year! No point in clogging up the WHOLE lot of threads and I'm sick of reading the Donegal v Mayo All-Ireland thread at this stage.

What age is Conor O'Shea? What happened to Kirby, yes I know he went off to the States IIRC for the summer, but it's no surprise as he never got a chance in the league after his 4 goal salvo in the FBD game? Why did he not get a bit more game time in the league? I was impressed with Cathal Freeman when I saw him play, moysider reckoned he played in the FBD games in January, (I'll admit I don't go to them games) and he played well. I thought he was going to be our number 11 for a few years at least at one stage. For what it's worth, I think Brolly has hit a few home truths about Mayo football, I know we scored 0-19 against Dublin, and that was a culmination of 'breaking ranks' with our tactics all year imo rather than anything else. Maybe I'm too harsh on the lads but that's my opinion.

[bucko]

Getting Higgins further up the field and on the ball more often. He's been consistently one of our best players now for the 6-7 years, but while he got an all star nomination for this year I don't think he had as big an influence on matches as he is capable of. Shane McHale showed enough in the league to show he could play in the full back line and given Vaughan's dip in form vs last year, moving Higgins to the HB line would appear to be the logical move. Maybe playing AOS as CHF come third midfielder Gibbons or SOS paired with Moran could be a good move, get him running at defences a bit more than he did this year. Moran back, hopefully to where he was before the cruciate let go, and how best to utilise Feeney, who surprised me with the impact he had on games when he came on this year. It's small changes that are needed, not re-inventing the wheel!

[Farrandeelin]

The Mayo G.A.A. Senior Football Development Academy will be officially launched next Saturday 13th October at 8.00p.m. in Elverys MacHale Park. The academy will be officially launched by Mayo Senior Football Team Manager James Horan along with the 2011 Young Footballer of the Year and Mayo Senior Team Footballer Cillian O'Connor. This academy has been constructed to cater for the development of high potential players between the ages of 19 and 22 years of age. All are welcome to attend.

[Sam2011]

Just after seeing this article by Kieran Shannon on the Irish Examnier. Good article sums its all up really.
The lads now have the experience of being so close but yet so far which is not a nice feeling and one they will want to recitfy in 2013.

Dying with boots on a key lesson for future champions


It was surreal.

Last Sunday I stood on the field of Croke Park alongside the footballers of Mayo as Michael Murphy lifted the Sam Maguire and green and gold ribbons floated down from the heavens. Then after watching and waiting in silence as he made his speech, we made our way in unison towards the tunnel as the opening notes of Jimmy's Winning Matches struck up. I looked up to see the cup above Colm McFadden's head. I kept looking at it until it disappeared as we disappeared down the tunnel. What was once so near was now so far and gone, just like that.

We trooped into the dressing room. The last time we'd all been in there 50 minutes earlier, we were convinced we were going to win. Contrary to popular opinion, it was the second half, not the first half, in which we lost it. For a team that had been behind at half time in all but one of its Connacht championships this past two years, that had trailed Kerry by four points with just a couple of minutes left in both normal and extra time in the league semi-final, we felt we were in a great position, being only three down. Now, clearly, we weren't.

I suppose I'm supposed to say here it was like a death. And for a few minutes the complete and utter silence in that room would have suggested it sort of was. But then James Horan and Andy Moran spoke about how this team would drive on. And then you realise life goes on. David Clarke sets about untying his boot laces. Ger Cafferkey goes about being the first Mayo player to shower after losing this All-Ireland. A couple of our players politely oblige the equally pleasant drug testers. Life doesn't stop, life goes on and as James says, so will this team.

If anything the loss has made us closer. It will certainly make us stronger. It might appear an odd thing to say about Mayo, a county infamous for reaching and losing so many national finals, but this team hadn't enough experience of that 'so near so far' sensation.

Looking back, that was a big difference between Donegal and us. Both teams have had remarkably similar journeys over the past two seasons: from losing to Armagh and Longford in the 2010 first-round qualifiers; coming back from five points down just before half time in our respective 2011 provincial semi-finals; winning those provincial finals, before recording epic All-Ireland quarter-final wins over Kildare and Cork respectively. But in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final Mayo only troubled Kerry for 45 minutes. Donegal tested Dublin for the full 70. They felt they left an All-Ireland behind them last year. Mayo couldn't say that the way they can now.

Back in February in one of my talks to the panel in my role as their sport psychologist, I addressed the nature of that defeat to Kerry. For all the progress they'd made in 2011, they hadn't yet become what we call a proper championship team. A couple of minutes before that game entered injury time, Mayo had trailed by five points. They allowed Kerry to extend their lead to nine. They didn't yet appreciate that even when victory is beyond you, you're still playing for something.

It had irked some of our players that they were only ranked sixth in the country at the end of the year, behind Kildare who had beaten no heavyweight like Mayo had beaten Cork, but as I pointed out to the players, there was no way that Kildare team would have allowed anyone beat them by nine points.

If you lose, you die with your boots on. Mayo hadn't in 2011. They hadn't been close enough to have that vital 'so near so far' experience that all champions must go through. Now I believe they have.

There are, what I term, professional Mayo supporters who don't accept there was something different about this Mayo effort, who seem to think only Mayo lose big games. Every team does.

The Cork footballers lost in '07 and '09 before winning in 2010. Dublin nearly had to lose to Cork in that semi-final in 2010 to win it all in 2011. It took Munster rugby six years to get their hands on their big cup. Each time they'd try again, fail again, fail better, knowing you only fail when you don't get back up.

Donegal are rightly the champions. It is the greatest All-Ireland ever won. To win it from the preliminary round in Ulster? To beat five other Division 1 teams along the way? Jimmy had to win a hell of a lot of big matches to get his hands on that big cup.

Jimmy Horan and his team will win more matches too, though. Even though we haven't yet emerged back out of that tunnel, we still see that cup.

[Farrandeelin]

Following a very productive meeting last night with the Mayo Senior Football Manager, it has been unanimously decided to recommend to the Coiste Banistí of Mayo G.A.A. that James Horan be given a 2-year extension to his 3-year term contract. This recommendation will go before next Monday nights County Board Meeting.
Despite UNCONFIRMED and UNWARRANTED reports earlier this week, the Mayo Senior Football Team Manager and Mayo County Board have always had and will continue to have a very good working relationship. Mayo County Board along with the Mayo Senior Football Management are committed to ensuring that the Mayo Senior Footballers receive the best available resources and facilities in order to help them fulfil their full potential.

The Mayo Senior Team under the management of James Horan have made tremendous progress in the last 2 years. Mayo County Board are delighted to have a manager of the calibre that is James Horan and remain extremely confident that this team will realise their ultimate goal in the very near future.

So that's all settled then.

[moysider]

Following a very productive meeting last night with the Mayo Senior Football Manager, it has been unanimously decided to recommend to the Coiste Banistí of Mayo G.A.A. that James Horan be given a 2-year extension to his 3-year term contract. This recommendation will go before next Monday nights County Board Meeting.
Despite UNCONFIRMED and UNWARRANTED reports earlier this week, the Mayo Senior Football Team Manager and Mayo County Board have always had and will continue to have a very good working relationship. Mayo County Board along with the Mayo Senior Football Management are committed to ensuring that the Mayo Senior Footballers receive the best available resources and facilities in order to help them fulfil their full potential.

The Mayo Senior Team under the management of James Horan have made tremendous progress in the last 2 years. Mayo County Board are delighted to have a manager of the calibre that is James Horan and remain extremely confident that this team will realise their ultimate goal in the very near future.

So that's all settled then.

Good. Everybody s happy.

[Farrandeelin]

The second paragraph stands out as something childish though.

[moysider]

The second paragraph stands out as something childish though.

I was being cynical of course. This arrangement suits everybody of course - or at least it appears to.

It s a run- of-the-mill statement. Things will be grand until things are not grand. Johnno got an extension even when things were far from grand.

Horan must have got some assurances as regards Board s ambition to actually try and win things, instead of being more like a Mafia numbers racket.  They issue a statement so brilliant in that it is worthless - or as Deelin puts it - childish.

Horan- rightly- should not/will not open his mouth. There s nothing to say, or see here.