Clare v Mayo Rd 3 Qualifier

Clare v Mayo Rd 3 Qualifier

Clare v Mayo Rd 3 Qualifier Cusack Park Ennis

The Mayo players and supporters are taking the scenic route back to Croke Park again this year. Clare are the next obstacle on that route for us this weekend. The Clare v Mayo Rd 3 qualifier throws in at 5pm in Cusack Park Ennis. As always we’d advise all supporters intending to travel on Saturday to leave early!

Tickets

Tickets will be available at all the usual outlets and online  (tickets have sold out online as of Thursday 6th). We’d advise to get your tickets early. Although its not expected to sell out, the ground is restricted to about 14,800. Most likely there will be a ticket van selling tickets on the day outside Cusack Park. Season ticket holders are reminded that you will not need to print your tickets for this match, you will need to bring your season ticket cards. The stand is unreserved seating but there is a very limited number of seats in it, certainly not enough to accommodate all the Mayo season ticket holders even.. Its also worth noting that anyone over 5′ 6″ might be a little uncomfortable as the legroom is a little *tight*!

Getting There

Most Mayo fans will be fairly familiar with Cusack park. Its handy enough to get to, just of the motorway. We’d advise leaving early though, we hear that there has been serious hold ups in Tuam in the past week. With the new bypass nearly completed, they are now tying in with the existing main road which is now causing major delay’s around Tuam.

Bus’s 

mayo supporters bus-mayo fans bus

(Pic: independent.ie)

We are waiting for confirmation on bus’s travelling to the match on Saturday. We will add them here as we get confirmation. If you know of any other match bus’s, let us know and we’ll add then to the list.

  • TMG Transport : Bus departing Swinford. Contact Michael Griffin 087 4458766

Parking

As most fans know, parking is fairly restricted around Cusack Park. We’d advise to be weary of where you park near the ground, as Gardai have on previous occasions issued parking tickets to match goers. There is a tesco and Aldi beside the pitch (pay & display) but from experience, there were stewards on the gates not allowing match goers parking. Clare County Council have kindly offered free parking at their office’s on Saturday for fans. https://twitter.com/ClareCoCo/status/882569611455205376

 

 

Clare county council offer free parking for Mayo fans

Clare Co Co offer free parking for Gaa fans.

Other car parks in Ennis (note: free €1.30 per hour 9.30 – 5.30 Sat)

  • Woodquay car park
  • Parnell St car park
  • Abby St car park
  • Cornmarket car park
  • Lower Market St car park

Bring The ColourBring The Noise

We can’t say this enough! There is nothing to beat the colour and atmosphere you’ll get with flags and banners and the Mayo Roar on championship day. There has been a huge increase in the amount of colour and flags at Mayo match’s in recent years which is brilliant to see. Don’t forget to bring your flags on Sunday and let’s TURN Cusack Park GREEN AND RED. There will be a large 60ft x 30ft flag display on the town end terrace by Mayo Independent Supporters Club, details here.

Mayo flags at Mayo v Derry in MacHale Park Castlebar

Mayo Independent Supporters Club flag at the Mayo v Derry rd 2 qualifier in MacHale Park.

David Gavin Emergency Fund Collection

This Saturday at Half Time during the Mayo v Clare game in Ennis, friends and family members will be holding a collection to continue the fight to find Gav and bring him home to where he belongs.

Please support!!!

David Gavin emergency fund collection

Pic: Breaffy GAA

Galway v Mayo 2017 Connacht Championship Semi Final

Galway v Mayo 2017 Connacht Championship Semi Final

Galway v Mayo 2017 Connacht Championship Semi Final

Mayo GAA crestGalway GAA crest

The countdown to the Galway v Mayo 2017 Connacht Championship semi final match in Salthill is on. The Mayo team for the match was named on Thursday morning here. The match is scheduled for throw in at 4 pm and keeping an eye on proceedings from the middle of the pitch will be referee Joe Mc Quillan. It has been a rather quiet and subdued built up to the match this week. If you haven’t already heard the Mayo News podcast, you really should, that will really get the blood pumping! Listen to the podcast here. Interestingly, this will be Andy Moran’s 150th appearance in the Green & Red Jersey for Mayo!

Galway v Mayo Preview

Our U-17’s will begin proceedings at the earlier time of 1.30 throw in, also against Galway. We need to get as big a crowd as possible in to support the u-17’s, get there early if you can! Earlier this morning Mayo and Galway have named their teams for the U17 Connacht Championship Semi Final on Sunday in Pearse Stadium at 1.30pm, a game which acts as a curtain-raiser to the big clash between the same two counties in the senior match. Both teams named here.

Mayo Association Galway Pre match get together

The Mayo Association in Galway will be holding a pre match get together on Saturday night in Wards Hotel in Salthill. Join up with fellow Mayo supporters from 9pm in Wards. You’d never know who might pop in! For more information visit their facebook page.

Ticketing Details

Pearse Stadium seating plan for season ticket holders

(Pic: ticketmaster.ie)

Pearse Stadium isn’t the biggest in the world, so if you haven’t got your hands on tickets yet, it might not be a bad plan to do so in advance. There is no stand tickets on sale (at time of writing),  but terrace tickets are still available on Tickets.ie, and in selected Centra and Supervalu outlets around the county. Tickets for the stand (if they become available will be €25, terrace €20 & juveniles €5. There will also be group pass’s available through your local club. All ticketing details are on the Connacht GAA website here. There may also be tickets available at the gate, but get there early.

Season Tickets: Reminder that season ticket holders will need to print out their tickets for this fixture from their online accounts. Your season ticket card will not be accepted at the turnstiles. Entry for season ticket holders is through stiles 47 to 62.

Mayo car green and red ford fiesta

If this is your car, leave early. Like, on Wednesday. (Pic: Balls.ie)

Getting There And Parking

Make no mistake about it, driving and parking on match day in Salthill is a bit of a dose. Here are some ways you can avoid the headaches of parking and tailbacks.

  • Arrive early and support our U-17’s. (See above.)
  • Road Race: There will be race taking place around Tuam on Sunday morning which could affect traffic. The “Brian McNamara Memorial race details are here. There will be plenty of Marshall’s on route as they are expecting a large volume of match traffic.
  • Traffic Management Plan: Galway GAA have implemented a comprehensive traffic management plan in conjunction with the Gardai as there is a large match attendance expected. Bus Eireann will operate an increase public transport service between Eyre Square and Salthill and GAA clubs are organising private buses also to the match. This will include priority to all traffic on the Threadneedle, Bishop O’Donnell Road, Seamus Quirke Road, Quincentenary Bridge, Headford Road and Bothar na Dtreabh as per attached map. Galway City Council will monitor our Traffic Control System and the Gardaí will direct traffic at all primary junction along this route. All Supporters and patrons are advised to use this route to and from the stadium and to avoid the city centre.
  • Use the Park and Ride services if available.
  • Car Parks: Coláiste Éinde on Threadneedle Road, St. Mary’s College on St. Mary’s Road, the Galway Technical Institute on Fr. Griffin Road,  are all within walking distance of Pearse Stadium. Various other public and private carparks are also available, throughout the city and are adjacent to the public bus services to Salthill.
  • Bus Eireann are running their regular City Sunday service, from outside the AIB Bank, Eyre Square, commencing at 10am. Passengers wishing to travel from the east side of the city can use the Bus Eireann regular 409 Parkmore service, which operates every 30 minutes on Sundays, from Parkmore via Dublin Road. It can be boarded at all bus stops along the Dublin Road, from the Castlegar Community Centre into Eyre Square, for connection to the Salthill buses.

Bring Your FlagsBring The Noise!

We can’t say this enough! There is nothing to beat the colour and atmosphere you’ll get with flags and banners and the Mayo Roar on championship day. There has been a huge increase in the amount of colour and flags at Mayo match’s in recent years. Don’t forget to bring your flags on Sunday and let’s TURN PEARSE Stadium GREEN AND RED. There will be a large 60ft x 30ft flag display on the terrace by Mayo Independent Supporters Club, details here. They will be gathering in the eastern terrace, (Rockbarton Road), directly behind the goal, join them if you can, with as many flags as possible!

Mayo Fans @ Mayo v Derry

 

2017 Allianz Prediction League Week 4

2017 Allianz Prediction League Week 4

2017 Allianz Prediction League Week 4 Results

allianz league prediction game

The 2017 Allianz Prediction League week 4 results table has now been updated. There are 92 competitors in this years Mayo Club 51 predictions mini league. If you have not already entered, its not too late. To enter our mini league just enter this code,  wynlvZyqaFxy If you have not registered for the Allianz Predictions league, details on how to do so are here. Here’s some other mini leagues if you’d like to join them. Your 1 set of predictions updates all the mini leagues you have entered automatically. Mayo GAA Blog mini league,  RqinmBMZKkpl 

Mayo Club 51 Leader board — Week : 4

Your position:
Rank Name Total W4 W3 W2 W1
1 Ian  McGarry
St. Brendans, Dublin
991 336 238 229 188
2 Diarmaid  Eagney
Ballyhaunis, Mayo
978 288 220 198 272
3 Declan  Gilroy
Crossmolina, Mayo
974 288 240 223 223
4 Fintan  Byrne
Ballyhaunis, Mayo
946 292 220 163 271
5 Niamh  Breheny
Westport, Mayo
946 285 248 254 159
6 Sean  Cunney
Loughrea, Galway
944 316 154 230 244
7 Alan  Prendergast
Mayo Gaels, Mayo
938 244 162 222 310
8 brendan  costello
Claremorris, Mayo
924 316 159 272 177
9 Declan  Rynne
Wellington GAA, New Zealand
920 290 210 228 192
10 Ciaran  OConnell
Charlestown Sarsfields, Mayo
918 317 210 175 216
11 Roger  Milla
Frankfurt Sarsfields, Europe
916 260 320 160 176
12 Donall  OFlatharta
Geraldine Morans, Dublin
908 284 209 230 185
13 Seamus  Gallagher
Achill, Mayo
902 233 211 227 231
14 Ciaran  Farrell
Charlestown Sarsfields, Mayo
901 293 237 177 194
15 Declan  Leonard
Aghamore, Mayo
900 267 237 186 210
16 PAUL  MCCAFFREY
Dromore, Tyrone
899 298 209 202 190
17 Mayo  Magic
Balla, Mayo
896 296 181 153 266
18 T  McG
Knocknagoshel, Kerry
895 320 209 171 195
19 Croi  nahEireann
St. Mary’s, Westmeath
888 265 254 156 213
20 Enda  McGearty
Garrymore, Mayo
881 321 137 183 240
21 Michael  Gallagher
Ballycroy, Mayo
876 268 238 181 189
22 Paul  Cunnane
Davitts, Mayo
873 317 234 145 177
23 Mairtin  Flannery
Ballycastle, Mayo
866 320 212 125 209
24 Caoimghin  McLoughlin
Swinford, Mayo
864 234 296 164 170
25 Jonathan  Walsh
Mayo Gaels, Mayo
858 216 207 250 185
26 Sean  McHugh
Achill, Mayo
856 261 209 201 185
27 Tom  Sweeney
Kiltane, Mayo
854 242 236 183 193
28 Paul  Biggins
Hollymount, Mayo
852 301 180 206 165
29 Chris  Jennings
Aghamore, Mayo
850 317 218 129 186
30 Damien  Keane
Claremorris, Mayo
847 271 202 181 193
31 MayoClub  FiftyOne
Ballyvary Hurling, Mayo
847 239 205 216 187
32 Seamus  Conroy
Breaffy, Mayo
837 252 210 149 226
33 Mac  Danger
Knockmore, Mayo
836 233 196 202 205
34 John  Maloney
Swinford, Mayo
832 272 202 122 236
35 Mick  Hunt
Charlestown Sarsfields, Mayo
831 262 227 147 195
36 Michael  Molloy
Swinford, Mayo
828 261 239 158 170
37 Rebecca  Ruane
Breaffy, Mayo
828 218 237 227 146
38 Tom  Brett
Balla, Mayo
826 236 205 158 227
39 SHANE  O’NEILL
Derrytresk, Tyrone
824 273 210 144 197
40 Joe  Gavin
Claremorris, Mayo
821 270 205 158 188
41 Emma  McDonagh
Kiltane, Mayo
821 205 209 134 273
42 Sean  Cafferkey
Achill, Mayo
818 285 157 176 200
43 AnneMarie  Flynn
Ardagh, Mayo
817 224 128 192 273
44 Ball  Hopper
Firies, Kerry
811 257 221 156 177
45 Dinny  Breen
Round Towers, Kildare
803 209 209 156 229
46 Breege  Kelly
Breaffy, Mayo
803 197 258 175 173
47 Cillian  Whelan
Castlebar Mitchels, Mayo
797 287 161 157 192
48 Tomas  Colleran
Ballaghaderreen, Mayo
794 260 155 185 194
49 John  Caulfield
Eire Og, Roscommon
794 242 155 228 169
50 Brian  Lavelle
Castlebar Mitchels, Mayo
789 262 264 124 139
51 Shane  Hegarty
St. Joseph’s/O’Connell Boys, Dublin
784 218 205 177 184
52 Mark  Togher
Castlebar Mitchels, Mayo
780 184 214 152 230
53 Mark  Hughes
Craughwell, Galway
774 228 178 139 229
54 Ronan  Gaughan
Kiltane, Mayo
773 231 135 171 236
55 Mike  Murray
Burrishoole, Mayo
769 263 215 211 80
56 Ben  Miles
Kiltimagh, Mayo
769 260 208 156 145
57 Seamus  Walsh
Austin Stacks, Kerry
769 251 212 107 199
58 Pebblesmeller  
Castlebar Mitchels, Mayo
764 269 185 148 162
59 Jason  McTigue
The Neale, Mayo
761 210 205 165 181
60 John  Kelly
Eastern Gaels, Mayo
759 291 156 202 110
61 Colm  Govin
Mayo Gaels, Mayo
759 290 131 177 161
62 kieran  cawley
Crossmolina, Mayo
758 245 207 157 149
63 Mick  Conlon
Wolfe Tones, Meath
750 263 206 162 119
64 Alan  Duggan
Knockmore, Mayo
749 235 205 149 160
65 Mark  McWalter
Balla, Mayo
745 174 208 130 233
66 Adrian  Moran
Shrule-Glencorrib, Mayo
743 205 177 171 190
67 Catriona  Mullahey
Mayo Gaels, Mayo
740 261 127 161 191
68 Stephen  Sweeney
Kiltane, Mayo
739 237 205 157 140
69 Mayo  Mick
Swinford, Mayo
738 191 210 153 184
70 Tony  Mac
Clann na Gael, Roscommon
737 244 149 149 195
71 Louis  G
Ballinteer St Johns, Dublin
736 181 187 163 205
72 Trevor  Naughton
Maynooth, Kildare
730 130 205 160 235
73 Mad  MayoMan
Swinford, Mayo
727 130 242 171 184
74 Neil  Masterson
Burrishoole, Mayo
718 214 156 129 219
75 Edmund  Fallon
Balla, Mayo
717 283 187 98 149
76 Garryowen  McMahon
Davitts, Mayo
710 249 108 177 176
77 Greg  Rogers
Salthill – Knocknacarra, Galway
699 268 159 175 97
78 pj  hughes
Crossmolina, Mayo
696 241 177 144 134
79 Jane  O’Connor
Westport, Mayo
692 174 242 175 101
80 Declan  Ruane
Breaffy, Mayo
686 232 155 162 137
81 Keith  Hennelly
The Neale, Mayo
682 130 205 171 176
82 Aidan  Ruane
Breaffy, Mayo
648 102 173 177 196
83 Paul  McNamara
Achill, Mayo
641 236 70 138 197
84 Mark  Cannon
Westport, Mayo
621 207 181 96 137
85 Diarmuid  Clarke
Charlestown Sarsfields, Mayo
619 130 103 171 215
86 Paul  Melvin
Bonniconlon, Mayo
596 130 103 171 192
87 Martin  McNamara
Achill, Mayo
580 263 123 80 114
88 Fergal  DeBurca
Cill Chomain, Mayo
576 130 103 171 172
89 max  Mcgonagle
Sean Mac Cumhaills, Ballybofey, Donegal
571 130 103 171 167
90 Niamh  Roche
Davitts, Mayo
511 130 103 86 192
91 Ciaran  Ruane
Breaffy, Mayo
418 54 136 85 143
92 Micheal  Braonain
Round Towers – Clondalkin, Dublin
404 130 103 171
Tralee, Here We Come!

Tralee, Here We Come!

We’re on the road again – Tralee, here we come!

Tralee here we come

Mayo car green and red ford fiesta

If this is your car and you haven’t left already … well, you’ll probably miss the game (Pic: Balls.ie)

It’s time to check those tyres and top up that engine oil, Tralee here we come! We’re back on the road again for our first road trip of the 2017 National Football league campaign following the Green & Red. After the disappointing loss against Monaghan last weekend, it’s time to dust ourselves off, pack up the car and get ready to head for Tralee. The last time we played Kerry in their back yard was in the 1st round of the 2015 campaign at Fitzgearld Stadium in Killarney, where we bet Kerry 2-11 to 0-10 in front of 8,123 spectators. The last time we played Kerry in Austin Stacks in Tralee was in the 7th round of the 2012 league campaign. We drew with Kerry that day 1-12 apiece. Can we do better this weekend?

Club ’51 will also be making the trip south to this stunning part of the country (don’t tell them we said that!) and will be aiming to claim a significant proportion of Austin Stack Park for the green and red. Anecdotally, it appears that the Mayo faithful are hitting the road in huge numbers this weekend, so if you’re looking for a place to lay your head, get on it ASAP otherwise you’ll be kipping in the back of the car.

 

Getting There

It’s a fair trek down to the Kingdom! It’s roughly 273Km from MacHale Park to Austin Stacks Park in Tralee, which takes about 4 hours.  We haven’t heard of any supporters buses travelling to the game as of yet apart from the usuals which are fully booked. Most people are making a weekend of it, some even travelling down to Tralee on Friday, so as to be well “refreshed” for the match on Saturday evening!

In typical Irish Mammy style we recommend leaving early (5am should do it) and please be careful on the roads folks, temperatures are set to drop during the weekend and the roads could be icy.

tralee here we come, machale park to tralee map

Parking

Please note that there is very limited parking around Austin Stack Park. Please respect the residences & businesses in the surrounding area. Kerry County Council have offered free parking in the Car Park adjacent to The Rose Hotel, Dan Spring Road, which is walking distance of the venue. Sound enough of them. 

Tickets

  • All patrons traveling to Austin Stack Park Tralee for the event are advised to arrive early as a large crowd is expected. Patrons are asked to obey the instructions of stewards & Gardai.
  • Admission is €15 and entry to the stand will be on a first come first served basis.
  • Tickets can be bought in advance in selected SuperValu and Centra outlets up til midnight tonight (Friday 10th) at a discount of 20%. Tickets can also be bought at full price on the day at the ticket vans positioned outside the ground.
  • Usual Concession for Students and OAPs applies. Under 16s go free!
  • Designated Gates will be in operation for Season Ticket holders – bring your card and get it scanned (make sure to keep an eye on the screen to ensure your card scans properly and check that your attendance has been updated after the game.
  • Stiles will open at 5pm and additional stiles will be open at both the John Mitchels and Horans end of the Ground.

 

Club ’51 Meet-Up

In what is now becoming a time-honoured, revered and legendary tradition, Club ’51 will be assembling before the game in a local hostelry to mingle, give out about the weather and unanimously agree that Mayo is just as nice a spot as Kerry, we just don’t need to go on about it all the time.

We’ll be congregating at Paddy Macs Bar at the Mall from early afternoon, as we have it on good authority that it’s a good spot to watch the sports and apparently there are some other games involving balls (odd-shaped ones) happening this weekend too.

For later in the night there are plenty of local hostelries in Tralee to choose from. We hear that Séan Ógs on High Street is a good spot for some traditional Irish music sessions. Baily’s Corner on Castle St is another well known sports bar in Tralee, and both of these are on the way out to the pitch from town.  Always looking out for ye, we are.

Bring The ColourBring The Noise

It might only be the second game in the League, but it marks the start of an another long road for this team, so let’s row in behind them and just like in Croke Park last September and October, be the 16th man again.

Bring a flag, claim the stand and make them wonder in Kerry if they took a wrong turn and ended up on MacHale Road.

And most of all stand tall and be proud of the green and red – our colours – and all they stand for as we look to the year ahead.

 

2016 Mayo GAA Convention

2016 Mayo GAA Convention

2016 Mayo GAA Convention Held in McWilliam Park Hotel

2016 mayo gaa conventionThe 2016 Mayo GAA convention was held in the McWilliam Park hotel in Claremorris on Sunday the 4th of December. One of the most notable points highlighted at convention was the cost of running Mayo GAA in 2016. A whopping €1.6 million was spent running all the Mayo GAA teams, nearly double the figure for 2015. It is also noted however that income from various sources increased 44% on last year. Mayo GAA’s income for 2016 stood at €3,076,988 and total expenditure was €2,989,659, recording a surplus of €87,329 for the year, downs slightly from last year’s €94,979.

The large increase in expenses for 2016 was very much to be expected, due to the huge success of our teams this year. The seniors reached the All Ireland final which had to go to a replay. Our U-21’s won the All Ireland down in Ennis last April. Our Junior team also reached an All Ireland but sadly lost. And our minor footballers reached an All Ireland quarter final. Our hurlers reached the Nicky Rackard cup final also and our U-21 hurlers contested the B hurling final. All in all, a pretty successful year for Mayo GAA which would be the envy of many a county!

Income

2015

2016

Commercial

218,033

478,141

Fundraising

600,086

840,179

GAA Grants

487,576

715,506

Expenditure

Travel

517,650

580,547

Catering

172,367

447,280

Sportsgear & Equipment

31,227

360,785

Medical Expenses

134,740

211,104

[pdf-embedder url=”https://mayoclub51.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016-Mayo-GAA-Convention-Reports-2016_1480941893.pdf”]

Mayo v Tipperary: A History

Mayo v Tipperary: A History

On Sunday, we will take part in our 6th successive All-Ireland Football Semi-Final. That is truly remarkable, especially when you consider the last season we didn’t make the last 4. That year was 2010 after we lost to Sligo and Longford within a couple of weeks to put an end to a pretty awful campaign. I don’t think anybody leaving Pearse Park that day believed 6 consecutive semi-finals was even remotely possible, but here we are.

This time, we are looking forward to a match-up with Tipperary. This is one of the rarest pairings in Championship history. In fact, we have only played them 3 times: 2002, 1922 and 1919. And while our history with them is a relatively small one, it is not to say it isn’t a remarkable one. With 2002 being a relatively recent encounter, it’s easy to remember what went down. For information on the 1919 and 1922 games I had to dust down the old research hat from my college days. I ventured to the Castlebar Library and delved into their fantastic microfilm collections of both the Mayo News and the Connaught Telegraph. To compliment this, I had another read of James Laffey’s absolutely fantastic The Road to ’51. The research that went into his work must have been immense and it resulted in a most wonderful story of Mayo football through the ages. I’d recommend it to not only Mayo fans, but historians and Irish history enthusiasts also. If you take anything from this post, let it be that you go and get a copy of this book.

20160815_102548

The last time we met Tipp was in the in the 2002 Championship. It was a 4th Round Qualifier and it took place in Cusack Park, Ennis. 2002 was the closest Tipp have come to a Munster title in many a year, bringing Cork to a replay after finishing level in Thurles. Cork ran out comfortable winners in the replay in Pairc Ui Caoimh, winning by a margin of 1-23 to 0-7. That condemned Tipp to a showdown with ourselves just 7 days later. We had just overcome the Rossies and Limerick in the qualifiers in Castlebar and Hyde Park respectively after Galway had knocked us out of Connacht. I didn’t make the journey to the Tipp game myself, for reasons that I can’t remember, but I do remember sitting in the living room at home listening to it on the radio with my brother. I can’t quite remember what station it was, but it wasn’t Mid West, because some madman was commentating. It was great craic listening to it and, fortunately, we ran out 0-21 to 1-14 winners. We went on to lose to Cork in the Quarter Final by 1-16 to 1-10, but, if memory serves, that was an even more comfortable win for the Rebels than the scoreline may suggest. There are some snaps of our game v Tipp here.

The team and scorers that day can be found on the excellent MayoGaaBlog results archive here.

P Burke; K Mortimer, D Heaney, P Coyne; N Connelly, A Roche, A Higgins; D Tiernan, D Brady (0-4); C McManamon (0-1), T Mortimer (0-2), J Gill (0-1, free); S Carolan (0-3), B Maloney (0-1), J Horan (0-5, three frees). Subs: J Nallen for Roche (inj 38 mins); C McDonald (0-4, two frees) for Gill (41 mins); M McNicholas for Tiernan (58 mins); R Connelly (64 mins) for K Mortimer S Fitzmaurice for McManamon (68 mins).

On the comments section on our Facebook page, Mike Gallagher shared this brilliant footage with us.

Mac

Picture: Inpho

You have to venture back another few years for our next nearest clash with the men from Munster. 80 years, in fact, where we took them in in the 1920 All-Ireland Football Semi-Final. If the maths don’t seem to quite add up there, it’s because they don’t. We played out our 1920 All-Ireland Semi-Final in May 1922. It wasn’t uncommon for the Championship to get backed up like that back in the day, and it’s easy to understand why considering the War of Independence was ongoing. Mayo won Connacht in 1920 after beating Sligo in the final by 2-3 to 1-4 in Castlerea in front of just 2,000 people. That game took place on 22nd August 1920, while Tipp’s journey through Munster was much more fragmented. They played Clare in a Quarter Final in June 1920. That game ended in a draw and the replay was played in the following August. The semi-final and final, against Waterford and Kerry respectively, took place in February and April 1922. Both Ulster and Leinster were played out by August 1920 where Cavan and Dublin emerged, and they took each other on in the All-Ireland Semi-Final in September 1920. Dublin had to wait until our Semi-Final Clash with Tipp in 1922.

Mayo lost the game by 1-5 to 1-0 in front of a Croke Park crowd of 13,000-14,0000 according to estimates published in the Connaught Telegraph on 13/05/1922. The Mayo News  (18/05/1922) put that estimate between 15,000 and 17,000. Either way, it was, at the time, a hell of a journey for Mayo and Tipp fans alike. The two papers published a near identical match report, in which they bemoaned Mayo’s incapability in front of goal throughout the game. There was only a single point scored in the second half, by Tipp, in a game that was marred by a number of stoppages and a strong breeze which blew towards the “Cloniffe goal”, where Hill ’16 stands today. That was all she wrote for our 1920 Championship campaign. Tipperary went on to win the Championship, beating Dublin in the final in their first meeting after the Bloody Sunday massacre on 21 November 1920. It was rumoured that Dublin were caught cold by a battle hardened Tipperary team, as Dublin were unhappy at the gap of 2 years between their semi-final and their final. And Tomas O’Se reckons Kerry have it hard waiting a few weeks. The cheek!

You only have to go back a couple more years to get to our next encounter but, of course, it’s not as straight forward as that! The year is 1919. The Championship is 1918. Again, it’s the semi-final stage. Tipp were Munster Champions for the first time since 1904 (eh, that is to say, the 1902 Munster Championship). My head hurts typing this, but alas I’ll truck on! We had beaten Galway in the Connacht Final at some stage in 1918, and we took on Tipp in mid-January 1919. It’s hard to fathom an All-Ireland Semi-Final in the depths of January, but these were strange times indeed, and it seemed that playing and finishing a Championship in that Championship’s year was incredibly rare! James Laffey mentions that the 1918 Championship was largely fragmented by the outbreak of a deadly flu in Ireland, the now infamous “Spanish Flu” epidemic that ravaged the country. Sadly, it claimed hundreds of victims in Mayo and more across the country.

The Connaught Telegraph (18/01/1919) reported that the game took place in front of “several thousand spectators”. The Mayo News estimated that the crowd was in and around the 4,000 mark. It was reported that both teams we understrength and that, while the football wasn’t the most attractive, the contest itself was a good one. We lost this one by a single, last-minute point. The final score 2-2 to 1-4 in Tipp’s favour. There’s no shame in a defeat like that, considering the County Board were actually uncertain as to whether they could field a team in the days leading up to the game.

But the drama didn’t end there! In the same issue of The Mayo News (18/01/1919), there was a strongly worded letter that was addressed to the editor of the Irish Independent.

Sir, – On behalf of the Mayo football team, I wish to protest against the partiality displayed by the referee towards Tipperary in Sunday’s match at Croke Park. It was evident from the start of the game that his sympathies were with Tipperary, as was shown time and again by the storm of protest from neutral spectators with regards to his decisions. I now wish to issue, through the medium of your columns, a challenge to Tipperary to meet Mayo again, at a time and place to be fixed by the Central Council for any charitable object to be decided by the Central Council, preferably for the dependants of the Irish interned prisoners. For a fair, honourable and impartial referee, may I suggest the name Mr. Dunphy, Abbeyleix.

P. KILDUFF

Secretary, Mayo County Board; G.A.A., Fleming’s Hotel, Gardiner’s Place, Dublin.

I’ll bet any money that that ref was from Meath.

It doesn’t look as if Tipp took the bait on this one, because we assume they knew they were wrong and were, frankly, just too scared to take us on in a replay that we would have inevitably won. Add that to Galway’s theft of our All-Ireland title in 1925, that brings our real tally to 5.

MayoNews Jan 18 1919

We were also due to play them in 1922 for the 1921 All-Ireland Championship Semi-Final, but we received a walk-over, as tensions were high during the Civil War. Mayo actually agreed to reschedule the fixture after Tipperary had withdrawn, but a few days before the new date, Tipp had to, once again, concede the fixture. In the leadup to that game, we claimed the Connacht title by beating Roscommon by 0-24 to 0-1 in the first round, Galway in the semi-final and overcoming the Rossies in the final. Go ahead, read that again. Yep, we beat Roscommon twice in Connacht that year, and nobody seems to really know why! We lost the All-Ireland Final well that year to Dublin on a scoreline of 1-9 to 0-2.

IMAGE0012

Pic: Taken from James Laffey’s Road to 51. As outlined in the original caption, it is unclear as to why we were wearing Green and White jersies, but I’d love to get my hands on one of these. The picture is just too faint to make out the crest design, too. But this is a great image of a Mayo team from a very turbulent time in Mayo, and Irish, history.

So that is the extent of our history with Tipperary in Championship football. Most of it was nestled in the period 1918 to 1922, which was, easily, modern Ireland’s most turbulent period, suffering a flu outbreak, a War of Independence and a bloody Civil War, which led to the scheduling maze that I outlined above.

In summary, our history with Tipperary in the Championship:

  • 1918 All-Ireland Semi-Final, played in January 1919. Lost 2-2 to 1-4
  • 1920 All-Ireland Semi-Final, played in May 1922. Lost 1-5 to 1-0
  • 1921 All-Ireland Semi-Final, scheduled to be played in April 1922. Mayo receive walkover
  • 2002 All-Ireland Football Championship Qualifiers, Round 4, played in December 2004. Won 0-21 to 1-14 (of course, this game was played on time, but it would have been mad if this really happened!)

 

So, it’s quite clear, we owe Tipp, big time, for that horrible injustice in 1919! That’s the real one that got away.  No prizes for guessing what match report will be stuck up in our dressing room wall this Sunday.

H’on lads!

MayoMark

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