GAA teams invade Mayo for O'Connor Cup weekend

THERE'S a great buzz on the Castlebar campus of GMIT Mayo as preparations continue for the biggest adult GAA competition ever to take place in the county this weekend.

The O’Connor Cup will bring 24 higher education ladies football teams to Mayo for a huge festival of football in the coming days.

The event takes place from tomorrow to Sunday (March 10 to 12), and is a massive undertaking for the local organising committee as, for the first time ever, all six colleges competitions will be hosted on the same weekend.

Nigel Jennings, the sports officer for GMIT, is very excited about the event and believes it will have a hugely positive impact on the sporting and business sectors throughout Mayo.

“It will be an amazing occasion,” he said, “and GMIT are honoured to host the tournament here in the county. It’s a bit of a challenge for us to logistically manage it but we are looking forward to it and are well able to rise to the challenge. It will be a celebration of ladies Gaelic football and all that’s good in female sport.

“The sporting benefits are huge. We’ll have some of the finest footballers in the country battling it out for six different trophies and the star quality on view will be something special. It’s very rare to get the chance to see such ability at close quarters, but that’s what will be on offer here over the next few days,” Nigel added.

“The financial benefits will also be a great boost to the county, with 24 teams and their entourages arriving for the weekend. The 12 semi-finals will be played in Bekan tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, and the six finals in Castlebar on Saturday and Sunday, and teams have already booked accommodation throughout the region.

“When the event was hosted in Tralee recently it was said to boost the local economy by about a quarter of a million euro and they had just nine games. We have 18 games and 24 teams, so the financial benefits will be even greater.”

GMIT Mayo are delighted to host the event and the fact that it will be the 30th year of higher education ladies football makes it even more special, according to Daniel Caldwell from the Castlebar campus.

“We’re so proud of the great developments here at the Castlebar campus and proud of everything that goes on here, but hosting the O’Connor Cup weekend is very prestigious,” he said. “It shows great faith in the college here and great faith in the people of Mayo.

“Make no mistake about it, this is a huge undertaking. But the college has shown over the years that it’s well capable of successfully hosting big inter-varsity events in Mayo and we’re really looking forward to a big weekend.

“However, we need the support of the people of Mayo. We want everyone to come out and enjoy the matches and make it a real festival of football. We would love to see a huge crowd in Elverys MacHale Park for the live televised finals on Sunday and we’re determined to show the nation that Mayo does indeed have the best supporters in the country,” Daniel added.

“The fact that we’ll have 720 of the finest footballers in the ladies game converging on Mayo for one weekend is very exciting. To win the O’Connor Cup or one of the other trophies is seen as one of the greatest honours in the game and nothing will be spared as these players go in search of glory. We’re honoured here in GMIT Mayo to host the event and we know that it will be a huge success.”