Month: September 2021

KERRY MANAGER PETER Keane has confirmed that David Clifford will be fit to play against Tyrone in Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final.

The Fossa prodigy missed the Kingdom’s win over Meath over the weekend due to a back injury, sparking fears about his availability for the last four clash. 

But speaking to Sky Sports after the Pairc Tailteann victory, Keane said: “It was just a knock in the back. He’ll be fine.”

Kerry didn’t miss their young star as Sean O’Shea dispatched 1-8 to help Kerry win their third win of the Super 8s stage. 

Ahead of their meeting with Tyrone, Keane says Kerry’s work-rate must improve if they’re to reach the final.

“I think our return needs to improve and our work rate needs to improve,” he said.

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“We were just a bit flat ourselves. We needed to rectify that and I think we did.

“It was going to be tough. They (Meath) had nothing to lose and they shot at us. We got off to a great start, we had a few goal-scoring opportunities we didn’t avail of. I suppose they punished us for that. We’re out the gate anyway.”

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IT’S SAFE TO say that anyone who saw it last night fell in love after watching the heart-warming ‘When Michael Met Davy’ documentary.

The RTÉ programme brilliantly followed the story of Late Late Toy Show star Michael O’Brien, who rose to Wexford hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald’s challenge of motivating his side before their National League meeting with Tipperary earlier this year.

Visually-impaired 11-year-old Michael did just that, rallying the troops with an inspirational speech ahead of the Slaneysiders’ comeback victory — and stealing the hearts of the nation in doing so.

“Dream big,” the Kerry native stressed in his speech. “Work and believe.”

A true inspiration. 

From laughter to tears, we enjoyed every second. And if you missed it, watch it ASAP.

"Lads, this is Michael"

When #MichaelMetDavy Bank Holiday Monday 6.30pm pic.twitter.com/dAU9wAmC8u

— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) August 4, 2019

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THE TIPPERARY LADIES Gaelic Football Association have called for “improved communications” between the Ladies Gaelic Football Association [LGFA] and the Camogie Association with another fixture clash on the horizon.

The Tipperary footballers and camogie team are both in action on Saturday 17 August, with Premier dual star Orla O’Dwyer forced to choose one or the other as things stand.

Shane Ronayne’s footballers are scheduled to face Sligo in the All-Ireland intermediate semi-final in Nowlan Park, while the camogie team take on Kilkenny in their All-Ireland senior semi-final in LIT Gaelic Grounds, Limerick.

The clash leaves O’Dwyer in a situation where she has to chose one All-Ireland semi-final over the other. The 20-year-old, who recently penned an AFLW deal with Brisbane Lions, has been at the centre of several dual debates and clashes as she balanced both codes over the past few years.

Last July, she played two inter-county games in four hours, while in August she had two in two days at opposite ends of the country.

On Saturday evening, O’Dwyer led the Tipperary charge, playing the full game and chipping in with 0-1 as the camógs beat Limerick at Semple Stadium, while the Boherlahan star again started — and scored 0-2 — on Sunday in the footballers’ win over Clare.

“I love the two of them so much,” she told The42 last January. “I love being able to play the two of them.

O’Dwyer following Saturday’s camogie quarter-final win over Limerick.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

“I think they both benefit each other. As in football, you have to be so fit for it. When I train with the football, I feel like I’m really fit for the camogie. Then, camogie makes me really strong which is good for the football as well.

“I wouldn’t be able to pick. I love the two of them, so I’m happy out.”

The statement, in full, from Tipperary LGFA regarding the clash on 17 August reads:

“Tipperary LGFA would like to appeal to the LGFA and Camogie Association to work together to avoid placing dual players such as Orla O’Dwyer in a situation where they have to choose between playing in her TG4 Intermediate All-Ireland Semi- final or her All-Ireland Camogie Semi-final as both games have been fixed for August 17^th next.

“This situation has occurred previously and is in direct contravention of the the current mantra ‘20×20 Women in Sport. If she can’t see it, she can’t be it‘ being proffered by both organisations.

“Tipperary LGFA highlighted this possibility to the LGFA on the 22nd January 2019 and feel that seven months notice is sufficient to request that this fixture be amended to allow Orla compete in both All Ireland semi-finals.

“Our intermediate management team are constantly liaising with our camogie counterparts and feel that better planning and communication has to exist for these problems to be alleviated.

“We are aware there are broadcasting issues but seven months notice is sufficient to be able to find a solution,” the statement continued. 

“We have been in contact with our Sligo counterparts who are open to discussing a change to the fixture date with a possibility of a curtain raiser to the Senior All-Ireland semi-finals in Croke Park being a winning outcome for all.”

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WE’RE REALLY HITTING the business end now.

Ladies football heavyweights Dublin and Cork are set for a mouth-watering All-Ireland semi-final in Croke Park on Sunday, 25 August.

Mick Bohan’s All-Ireland champions are seeking three in-a-row this year, and sealed their place in the last four with a 5-15 to 2-9 win over Kerry yesterday.

On Saturday, Cork powered on following an emphatic 7-18 to 3-4 win over Tyrone. Now, we await a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final — and many meetings of the arch-rivals over the past few years.

“I didn’t get involved in this to be not excited, I love those days,” Sky Blues boss Bohan said after his side’s win yesterday with attention now switched to the Rebels.

“We have set a real high standard for ourselves as a group. We look forward to reaching that one.

Cork were excellent on Saturday. They looked very, very slick. A huge scoreline so they are certainly the ones in the driving seat. That is the challenge.

In Division 1 of the league this year, Cork knocked then-champions Dublin off their perch after a semi-final replay and prevailed to beat Galway in the decider. 

They got their day in the sun again, gaining more revenge for last year’s All-Ireland final loss at Croke Park after also beating the Jackies in the round-robin stages.

This is different, however. This is championship.

After Cork won their decider meetings in 2014, 2015 and 2016, Dublin finally came up trumps against Mayo in 2017. And last year, they ultimately got Cork back for those three successive defeats. 

This year, though, with a different All-Ireland final pairing on the horizon, the battle of the big guns will be decided in the semi-final. (The other quarter-finals take place this weekend: Armagh v Mayo and Galway v Waterford).

“It is really important that we get ourselves to another level in the next three weeks,” Bohan added, with his captain and 2-5-scoring player-of-the-match Sinéad Aherne echoing the Clontarf clubman’s words.

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The @dublinladiesg captain is today's Laoch na hImeartha@LadiesFootball @20x20_ie #ProperFan #20X20 pic.twitter.com/hBbE4bho9M

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) August 5, 2019

“It’s a massive chunk of time to try and get things right,” the back-to-back All-Ireland winning captain and 2018 Player of the Year told TG4.

“There’s a lot that we need to go back to the drawing board on, and look to improve on. They’re [Cork] obviously a really strong team so we have a bit of homework to do on them. But we have a good bit of work to do on ourselves too.”

With the semi-finals set for Croke Park for the first time ever, Cork boss Ephie Fitzgerald revealed how his side were relishing their return there after Saturday’s victory.

Our girls like playing in Croke Park,” he said, with their opponents yet to be decided at the time. “It’s a big pitch and we are a year older now.

After their surprise one-point All-Ireland series group stage loss to Armagh last weekend, the Nemo Rangers man was pleased with his team’s response against the Red Hand.

“After last week’s performance it was a blessing in disguise in terms of us coming up here prepared,” Fitzgerald said. “We were overwhelming favourites as we were last week but when it comes to knockout football the girls are very, very good.

“To put up 7-18, the second half became a bit pedestrian because of the scores, but that is good. We created so many chances our movement was fantastic and we are absolutely thrilled to be in the semi-final.”

– With reporting from Daragh Small, and quotes from the LGFA  

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Updated Aug 6th 2019, 9:35 PM

TYRONE MANAGER MICKEY has hardened his stance on RTÉ’s coverage of Gaelic Games, dismissing the common refrain that games such as Mayo’s win over Donegal on Saturday should be free-to-air.

Asked about the issue, Harte responded, “Look, the GAA deal with who they want to deal with in terms of who they give the rights of their games to.

“I have to suggest that the introduction of Sky to the promotion and presentation of Gaelic games has helped what we’re looking at. There were no graphics much until Sky brought them in – did they not exist of the last 10 or 15 years? I think they did. I think that’s an advantage of them.

“We’re getting more insightful analysis, all sorts of diagrams and arrows and highlighting that didn’t happen before, so there’s something good in what’s going on there.

“Don’t just think that it’s all wrong. I never seen so many people so interested in people in homes and other places around the country that can’t see television. It seems strange that these people suddenly have such a grá for these kind of people.”

Harte also expressed his disgust at the disciplinary tightrope his nephew Peter finds himself in ahead of the Red Hands’ All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry on Sunday.

Tyrone’s Peter Harte.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Should the Errigal Ciaran player get a black card in this game, he could be facing a suspension for a possible All-Ireland final after he collected three black cards in games against Donegal, Longford and Cavan earlier this summer – with only the one against Longford rescinded on appeal.

“I didn’t think any of them merited what the black card was entertained for,” said Harte.

“Any of us looking at it could see if a player didn’t try to do anything else than try to commit that foul. If anybody could say that about the ones that affected Petey Harte, and many others that I saw this year as well, then I don’t think they are looking at it with the right eyes.

“That’s how it goes. The referee decides deliberate and he is infallible.”

He added, “Why was this brought in? It was brought in by a rant, over Sean Cavanagh. And that was a very clear and deliberate, intended pull down. And so, do any of the things that Petey Harte done, remotely resemble that?

“That they could be considered clumsy, deliberate, ill-timed, but in the context of it, why would he want to do that after ten minutes of the Donegal game?”

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Congratulations to Pat Lardner who has won the tickets for Saturday’s match. Enjoy the game!

THEY’VE QUICKLY BECOME the hottest ticket of the summer so far — and we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away for Saturday’s All-Ireland football semi-final between Dublin and Mayo.

Croke Park is set for its first full house of the summer after a mad scramble when tickets went on sale earlier this week, leaving many fans from both counties empty-handed and disappointed.

As an added bonus for readers who have supported us by joining The42 Membership, we’re giving away our tickets to one lucky member.

If you have already joined up as a member, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll be automatically entered into this draw — as well as next week’s draw for the All-Ireland hurling final prize — and we’ll contact the winner with the good news on Friday.

If you haven’t joined up as a member yet, don’t worry, there’s still time — join up by Friday and we’ll make sure your name is in the hat too.

For more info on The42 Membership and all of the great benefits you get, click here, or visit members.the42.ie to sign up.

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The PwC GAA/GPA Players of the Month for July, footballer Michael Murphy of Donegal, and hurler, Patrick Horgan of Cork.

Source: Seb Daly/SPORTSFILE

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DONEGAL CAPTAIN MICHAEL Murphy and Cork star forward Patrick Horgan landed the PWC GAA/GPA player of the month awards for July earlier today.

Although both sides are now out of their respective All-Ireland championships and these accolades come as little consolation, the pair really impressed last month.

Murphy was a vital driving force through Donegal’s Super 8s campaign, leading the way in their win over Meath and again, in their dramatic draw with Kerry at Croke Park. The Glenswilly man’s last-minute free-kick brought that one level — and brought his handsome contribution on the day to 1-7. Against the Royals, he chipped in with 0-3.

Source: PwCIreland/Twitter.

The curtain came down on Declan Bonner’s Ulster champions’ season after defeat to Mayo in Castlebar on Saturday evening, however.

Horgan also well and truly caught the eye in the month of July, his massive 3-10 in Cork’s All-Ireland quarter-final a huge talking point afterwards. The Rebels bowed out to Kilkenny that day, though, despite the Glen Rovers sharpshooter’s huge tally, of which 2-2 came from play.

The award comes as Horgan’s second of such for 2019, after he also collected the PwC GAA/GPA accolade for May.

Source: PwCIreland/Twitter.

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THE GLISTENING TROPHY in Michael Murphy’s hand is little consolation for the Donegal captain after his side’s All-Ireland SFC exit at the weekend. 

Donegal captain Michael Murphy.

Source: Seb Daly/SPORTSFILE

Four days after their season came crashing down in Castlebar, the Glenswilly man is in Dublin to collect a player of the month award for July. There’s only one trophy he wants, however, and that’s out of reach for another year, at least, now.

All things considered, he’s in upbeat form. But all he wants to do is rewind the clock to Saturday night, and right the wrongs. 

Disappointment is the overriding feeling in the aftermath of that four-point defeat to Mayo. And above all, disappointment in the fact that he and his side just didn’t perform.

It’s still very raw. 

“Not getting any better at it as the years go on,” Murphy, who turned 30 on Sunday, frowns, when he’s asked how he deals with it.

“I suppose you feel sorry for yourself for a few days anyway and then you start getting no sympathy so you start getting back into things. Ah, you just have to get up and get on with it.

“Listen, you’d be thinking about it every day and thinking about the way you performed as a team and individually. The game goes through your head on repeat, but you just have to get on with it, try and get back to club football as best as you can. Get out there and get your next game under your belt.”

The reflection is well and truly underway already. He knows from speaking with his team-mates, they’re all going over Saturday’s loss in their heads individually.

But it’s about coming back together, and getting through it as a team. They’ll meet up in the next week or two, and go through the year.

“Even though ultimately, it ended in failure, there have been a few positives,” he assures.

“We’ll briefly mention them but we’ll look then straight away at ways to improve in getting over the failures. Inevitably we’ve failed in the crucial games the last two years in-a-row against Tyrone and now against Mayo.

A dejected Murphy after the game with Fergal Boland and Aidan O’Shea.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

“We’ll put a plan in action to get back and at it again. We’ll get stuck into it.”

Of course, the year as a whole has to be reflected on in time, and we do that later in our conversation. But it’s very hard to shake Saturday night, and that final Super 8s hurdle they’ve fallen at the past two years. 

The bad days stay with you for longer.

“Obviously getting beat is a big disappointment,” he continues, “but getting beat when we didn’t perform to what we felt was our potential…

“We thought we had the level of consistency that was missing the previous year with our performances this year. To not have that level of consistency or keep that level going for the Mayo game was just the really, really disappointing thing.

“Even with the injuries that we had coming into the game, we still felt confident due to the fact that we had proven a level of consistency throughout the year. It’s gut-wrenching for everyone to finish in the way we did and to just not perform to the level that we could.”

After a win over Meath and a draw with Kerry at Croke Park, it all came down to a do-or-die clash out West.

And Murphy laments the fact that his side didn’t perform again and again. Too many mistakes, too many wides.

“The missed chances are a big one; myself included. There were four or five in the second half that you’d want to be ticking on, you would want to be hitting at least three or four of them anyway.

“Unfortunately in the second half of a championship game you can’t have that kind of statistic on your sheet. It’s what killed us in the end, we didn’t convert enough of them.

“We just didn’t perform individually and collectively and I keep going back to it, but that’s where it’s at.”

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“Credit is due to Mayo,” he adds. “You can say that we didn’t perform as a team but they brought a level of intensity and aggression and footballing ability that we didn’t match on the day so they need to get a lot of credit too.

Slotting a penalty against Mayo.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

“They put you to the pin of your collar, they play aggressive football and that’s something we try to play too but we didn’t do it for long enough against them.

“Ultimately, the execution of the chances, the wides that I had and the balls that didn’t go over the bar caught up to us. It’s an All Ireland quarter-final and you can’t be doing it.”

He’d love to be talking about locking horns with Dublin in an All-Ireland semi-final showdown on Saturday evening, but instead, Murphy finds himself prematurely reflecting on 2019 as a whole. 

Saturday night’s post-mortem might not be the most pleasant, but the 2012 All-Ireland-winning captain can take solace in the fact that this year as a whole was better than last. 

The Tír Chonaill men went back-to-back in Ulster, landed the Division 2 league title and earned promotion to the top flight; unearthing a huge amount of rising talent along the way.

“I keep coming back to that word consistency,” he says. “Last year maybe our form wasn’t at that level week in, week out, day in, day out.

“We thought this year coming off midway through the National League, through Ulster, through a good part of the Super 8’s, it was starting to get to a level that we needed to get to in order to get a certain amount of belief within the squad.

“That has been a positive all year apart from the big blotch that was the Mayo game.

“A lot of younger players are a year further down the line, we’ve even introduced one or two even younger players again; Oisin Gallen has been there, Odhran McFadden Ferry; it’s been really, really good to see them and make contributions in their first year. It’s phenomenal for them at that level. That has been a plus for us.

“When I go back and reflect for a wee bit, I do believe we are a small bit better improved. Unfortunately it is two big games at two big times of the year that we’ve lost two years in-a-row.

“That’ll be the target next year, to navigate your way through Ulster, or a back door, to get ourselves in a similar scenario and try and overcome that obstacle.”

With Patrick Horgan earlier today.

Source: Seb Daly/SPORTSFILE

While he stresses that his side didn’t buy into the hype that they were a prime candidate to challenge Jim Gavin’s all-conquering Dublin, Murphy feels it’s important that Declan Bonner’s men keep the bar high. 

And raise it higher, at that. Keep driving standards, and pushing on.

“It’s definitely what you have to do,” he agrees. “And you have to be realistic too in the goals that you set.

“Going back to that level of consistency that we were hitting throughout this year, there was a realistic target there of getting through to an All-Ireland semi, and God knows where else after that. I thought it was a realistic ambition after that.

“You have to set that again for next year, but there’s a hell of a lot of footballing ground to make before you get to those stages next year. It’s important to the team that we have there to set those bars and keep everybody hungry.”

Back to the drawing board it is, with a long winter ahead to rally the troops.

But as Murphy said, you just have to get on with it. With a few rounds of league to be played before club championship kicks in, that comes as a welcome distraction.

There’s not much time to lick the wounds, and that’s the best way to have it, he smiles.

PwC GAA/GPA Players of the Month for July, footballer Michael Murphy (Donegal), and hurler, Patrick Horgan (Cork), were at PwC offices in Dublin today to pick up their respective awards.

The players were joined by PwC’s Ronan Finn, Uachtarán Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, John Horan, and GPA Chief Executive, Paul Flynn.

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DONEGAL STAR MICHAEL Murphy is hopeful for continuity in the set-up after the curtain came down on their season last weekend.

Their 2019 All-Ireland SFC exit came after a four-point defeat to Mayo in Castlebar on Saturday evening. A massive talking point in the lead-up to that crunch Super 8s showdown was Stephen Rochford’s involvement in the Tír Chonaill set-up.

After resigning as Mayo boss last August, Donegal acted fast to snap up the Westerner as a coach this year. 

And Murphy is hopeful that ‘top-class’ Rochford will stay on. 

“We’d be very hopeful as a group of players, we definitely want him [to stay],” the captain said yesterday as he collected his PWC GAA/GPA player of the month award for July.

He’s been a brilliant addition along with Karl [Lacey] and Declan [Bonner] and Gary Boyle. He’s top-class. He’s responded well to the whole group and the group, by and large, have responded well to him too. 

“He just challenges everybody and pushed buttons. It comes from that outside type of thing which has been positive. We’d be hopeful, but we know the commitment is massive for him. You’d still want him involved next year without a doubt.”

“We believed we had, you know,” he added, when asked if he feels they made advances as a team since Rochford’s addition to the ticket. “Ultimately, the biggest game of the year for us, we didn’t show that. We need to wait around for another game to show it again.”

The 30-year-old feels he’ll have all, if not the vast majority of, his team-mates by his side when the time comes to go again. 

Of course, every year, there’s talk of more experienced players stepping away from a panel, but Murphy believes they’ll give it another shot.

Neil McGee (3) and Frank McGlynn (17) after Donegal’s Ulster final win over Cavan.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

“Everyone speaks about Frank [McGlynn] and Neil [McGee] as two of the older statesmen but they’re still relatively fresh,” he says.

“The two boys were disappointed to pick up the injuries that they picked up this year and not to be able to contribute to the same degree that they wanted at the Super 8 stage. I know that within the dressing room they are two huge figures.

They have younger souls at heart and are able to respond — they know the chat and the lingo with the younger lads. They’re still huge part of the whole thing.  I’d be hopeful that they’d be mad hungry to get back again next and give it another lash.

The Glenswilly ace spoke about next year’s targets and raising the bar yesterday, with a big part of that coming in Division 1 of the National Football League. 

It’ll definitely harden them up going forward, he agrees.

“That’s how you’d like to use Division 1, definitely. It’s been a couple of years now since we’ve played in it. 

“It’s a fairly youngish squad age-wise, which hasn’t played at that Division 1 level. Before, when we played Division 1, it was an ageing squad. You were trying to navigate the league, get the people up to the right fitness levels, get ready for championship, use the league like that more than try to perform.

“I think the standards in the league over the past two to three years have been right on the money and on a par sometimes with the championship.”

The future is definitely bright, and Murphy is already excited to go again. He’s keen to live in the now and enjoy his own football, but management is something that’s already on his radar. 

He’s taken a small step already — and a successful one at that — and it’s mentioned that Donegal great Eamon McGee recently told GAA.ie that Murphy will be “the next Jim McGuinness”.

Source: Seb Daly/SPORTSFILE

That brings a little giggle, and then he’s asked if inter-county management is something he’d see himself doing.

“I don’t know,” he responds. “I’ve been involved a small bit with the local IT for the last couple of years. I’ve enjoyed that.

It’s become a massive animal now, the whole managing and coaching side of things. They’re nearly two different roles now between managing and coaching. I’ve a few more years yet to figure out which one of them I might go down.

“I’ll leave it to Eamon at the moment. He’s doing a good job. Let him at it!”

After all, he did guide Letterkenny IT to a Trench Cup win earlier this year. Although it may feel like an age ago now after a long summer on the Donegal front, it brings a smile to his face as the memories come flooding back. 

“Aye, it was good fun,” Murphy grins. “It was a good group of lads.

“It brought you back to the underage type stuff again. It was a good feeling, there was good camaraderie with the boys. We played some good football. It’s a commitment alright but it’s a small commitment compared to the way inter-county is gone at the minute.

“It’s every bit as enjoyable.”

And while it gets lost a lot of the time, enjoyment really is the main thing.

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THE LAST TWO years have been a rollercoaster ride for the Mayo ladies. 

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Mayo have been on a whirlwind journey.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

From an All-Ireland senior final appearance in September 2017 to a mass player walkout and a row rumbling on last summer, the Green and Red have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows over the past 23 months or so.

Yet, here they find themselves in their second All-Ireland quarter-final in as many years — with a massive chance to progress this time around.

Peter Leahy’s side come into Saturday’s meeting with Armagh at Pearse Park in Longford [throw-in 1pm, live on TG4] off the back of a massive win over three in-a-row Ulster champions Donegal.

Mayo should be full of confidence after their 1-22 to 3-12 win, which saw them claim top spot in Group 4 and surprisingly knock Maxi Curran’s All-Ireland contenders out of the race for the Brendan Martin Cup.

It was a result that showed this rising Mayo side definitely mean business.

To understand the significance of it, however, and the importance of being back in an All-Ireland quarter-final, one must rewind the clock.

***

24 September 2017

Heartbreak for Frank Browne’s Mayo in Croke Park. On the fourth successive time of asking, Dublin finally delivered the All-Ireland title after a dramatic decider in front of 46,286 at HQ.

12 points separated the sides at the death, but it was late goals that saw the Sky Blues over the line. Mayo were contesting their first final since 2007 and bidding for their first title since 2003 and although it didn’t go their way, it was good to be back at the top table.

Niamh Kelly dejected after the 2017 All-Ireland final.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

In the weeks and months that followed, there were a few developments within the county. A certain Cora Staunton secured a move to the AFLW, leading her club Carnacon to All-Ireland glory before heading Down Under. 

Before heading off, she said time and time again that she was yet to make a decision on whether or not she’d be back in the Green and Red of Mayo for a remarkable 24th season.

Browne stepped down, and Leahy — who was drafted in as a coach mid-2017 took the reins as manager. 

28 January 2018

Mayo started their 2018 season on a winning note, with Leahy guiding his side to a 0-11 to 0-7 win over his native Westmeath. It was early days, of course, but the Kelly sisters — Niamh and Grace — led the charge, as they do to this day.

From there, they navigated their way through the group stages successfully and beat Cork on a scoreline of 1-20 to 3-12 in the semi-final. Sarah Rowe fronted the scoring that day — again, as she more often than not does to this day.

After ending the Rebels’ six in-a-row bid, Dublin stood in their way in the decider.

6 May 2018

Mick Bohan’s side came up trumps again, securing their first-ever Division 1 crown after a 12-point win. Again, the score difference was in double figures but it didn’t exactly reflect the game.

It was all about championship from there, a Connacht decider against Galway fast-approaching and the All-Ireland campaign thereafter. On 6 June, Leahy confirmed to The42 that 11-time All-Star Staunton was back in the set-up after an excellent debut season Down Under.

Cora Staunton.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Understandably, that was the whole talk ahead of the provincial decider.

24 June 2018

After being named on the bench, the Carnacon star was a late change to the starting team. Despite her 0-6 tally and Fiona Doherty’s goal, Galway were two-point winners in Castlebar as they sealed a sixth Connacht title in seven years.

Onto the All-Ireland series, Mayo were still walking tall.

10 July 2018

A day that sent shockwaves around ladies football circles.

“Mayo rocked by departure of 10 players including Staunton ahead of All-Ireland championship opener,” as the headline on The42 read.

It’s well-documented at this stage, the departed group — which increased to 12 players and two backroom team members — initially cited “player welfare issues” as the reason for their departure.

The row rumbled on through the summer; statement after statement and twist after turn, with things getting messy as it spilled onto the club scene.

Leahy, and the group that remained, were determined to do their talking on the pitch however.

14 July 2018

They did just that in Clones, putting a week of upheaval behind them as they recorded a thrilling 3-23 to 4-13 win over Cavan. Rowe and Grace Kelly shone, combining for 3-13 and the scenes and outpouring of emotion at the final whistle said it all.

No matter what had happened, this unit was marching on.

Having lost stalwarts like Fiona McHale and Sarah Tierney in the walkout, the younger members of the squad stood up and were counted. They’ve continued to do so to this day.

The scenes at full-time in Clones.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

The off-field controversy may have ultimately marred their 2018 campaign, but Mayo did everything they could to compete. A 3-11 to 1-8 loss was the outcome of their other group clash against Dublin, but that fantastic win over the Breffni saw them into an All-Ireland quarter-final.

12 August 2018

Galway were ruthless in their last eight battle, firing five goals as the curtain came down on Mayo’s season. All things considered, it went relatively well.

The fallout and controversy continued as autumn fell but a line was soon drawn under the saga.  Leahy was re-appointed as manager in early November, with an agreement made that he’ll remain in charge until 2021. 

3 February 2019

The order of the year: rebuild. And that started on a high with a 2-11 to 0-12 league win over Tipperary. Operating now without Rowe, who had headed to the AFLW herself, Mayo had unearthed a few gems through the winter and found a nice balance to go forward.

A league campaign of trialling and testing followed; one of the highlights when they rattled the Dubs at Croke Park, running them to two points.

They missed out on a semi-final spot but the positives that they took from the campaign were definitely plentiful. Rachel Kearns starred, and several other youngsters and first-time county players made a name for themselves. Things were looking good.

23 June 2019

A rip-roaring Connacht final in Castlebar saw Mayo and Galway finish level. Progress, for sure. Rowe had returned in the latter stages of the league and she was back pulling the strings in the forward line alongside the Kelly sisters, Kearns and Sinead Cafferky. 

Manager Peter Leahy.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

Again, they gave a top side a rattle; the Tribeswomen just off the back of a Division 1 league final loss to Cork. Slowly but surely, Mayo were showing that they were back. Or perhaps, had never gone away.

6 July 2019

Unfortunately, Leahy’s charges never hit the heights of the performance they delivered in the drawn game as Galway ran out 3-7 to 0-9 winners in the replay.

They could take solace in the fact that this had happened before, however. Many-a-time over the past few years, Mayo had lost in Connacht and emphatically bounced back for the All-Ireland stages.

The provincial losers were pitted into a fairly daunting Group 4 alongside red-hot Donegal and 2018 All-Ireland intermediate champions Tyrone, an ever-rising slick and youthful side.

13 July 2019

After the long lay-off between the league and provincial campaign, the games were coming thick and fast. And much like their men’s side, Mayo seemed to enjoy the week-on-week element and being on the road.

Their visit to Healy Park saw them emerge three-point winners over the Red Hand; Kearns (2-3), Grace Kelly (1-3) and Rowe (0-4) again dominating the score-sheet. It was a brilliant game of football but one perhaps, that Tyrone should have done better in after missing four goal chances in the second half. 

Mayo would definitely take the result though, drawing first blood in a difficult group.

The following week, Tyrone produced one of the shocks of the summer so far at Cusack Park, leaving things wide open as it all came down to Mayo-Donegal.

The Ulster champions had to win to to keep their All-Ireland dream alive.

27 July 2019

Standing tall: Mayo.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Not many would have predicted it, but Mayo recorded a massive win over Donegal, knocking the Tír Chonaill side out of the competition in the process.

It finished 1-22 to 3-12 at O’Connor Park in Tullamore and once again, the Mayo forwards sparkled on the big stage. The full-forward line of Rowe, Kearns and Grace Kelly combined for 1-20 in a real coming-of-age performance for the side.

If they hadn’t already, this result surely confirmed that Mayo are on their way back to the top.

***

Another huge test against Armagh ensues this weekend; with the Orchard county coming into this one off the back of a huge one-point group stage win over Cork.

Both sides will be looking to make a huge point this weekend, with a coveted Croke Park All-Ireland semi-final spot up for grabs.

One thing’s for sure though; no matter how the result goes, one just has to admire how this Mayo side have bounced back over the past 13 months. 

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