Top class championship action to commence in Mayo this weekend
The Mayo GAA senior and intermediate football championships will kick off this weekend, while the junior campaign will get into top gear after commencing last week.
In the Connacht Gold Senior Football Championship, Ballina Stephenites will be aiming for the three-in-a-row as they lead the charge to bag the Moclair Cup.
Castlebar Mitchels were the last club to win three in successive years (2015-2017) when they defeated Breaffy, Knockmore and Ballintubber respectively.
Now under a new manager in Kevin Filan, Mitchels haven’t appeared in a final since that hat trick of titles, while Knockmore and Ballintubber have both won back-to-back titles in the meantime, while Westport of course won their first ever senior crown in 2022, Ballina then taking over following the appointment of Niall Heffernan.
The Stephenites ended a 15-year drought in 2023 when Heffernan brought the club to their 37th title, and they retained it last year. They are now seeking a 39th senior title.
Can they do the three-in-a-row? They are the bookies' favourites and if the league form is anything to go by – it is the only indicator we have to go by – they can expect the usual suspects to put up a stern challenge.
The main challengers include the Division 1 champions, Breaffy, Division 2 winners Ballaghaderreen, the 2022 champions, Westport, along with Knockmore and Ballintubber, and let us not forget the arrival of Crossmolina, who are back at senior level after being crowned All-Ireland intermediate champions last year and recently reached the Mayo league Division 1 final.
However, it won’t be until the group stages are complete that the picture becomes clearer as to which teams have a realistic chance of winning the championship, and similar to the inter-county championship, teams who can best adopt to the new rules, particularly in relation to the two-pointer, could profit the most.
If anything, the Egan Jewellers Intermediate Football Championship has been the most exciting championship in Mayo in recent times, with numerous top-class games from the group stages right up to the finals.
This recent pattern is set to continue this year as most of the 16 teams involved will go into the championship with title aspirations.
The job of picking the team that will eventually replace Crossmolina Deel Rovers as kingpins is practically impossible. However, the teams at the top end of the betting are the likes of Davitts, Parke/Keelogues/Crimlin, Ballinrobe, Kilmeena, Castlebar Mitchels B, Moy Davitts, Ardnaree and Kiltane.
They are among the sides from which the eventual winners will come from, most likely. Having said that, it would not be fair to write off any of the other teams as contenders.
As a result, all teams – especially those who will have home advantage in round one – will be hoping to get their campaign off to a flying start.
With that in mind, most of the games down for decision this coming weekend in round one should be very close and highly competitive.
The action in both the senior and intermediate championships starts this evening. Full fixture details and match ticket information can be found on the Mayo GAA website.