Tooreen and Ballyhaunis ready to battle for Mayo hurling supremacy

It comes as no surprise to anyone that the 2025 Connacht Gold Mayo Senior Hurling Championship final will contested between neighbours Ballyhaunis and Tooreen, writes Aiden Henry.

For most of the past 30 years, these two sides have contested the majority of the Mayo finals for the right to win the T.J. Tyrell Cup. They are back in the decider again this year, and will play the final in the Ballyhaunis GAA grounds today (Sunday) at 3 p.m.

Judging on their recent form, we can expect another Titanic battle – just like we did in 2024 when extra time was needed to decide the outcome.

The intense rivalry between Tooreen and Ballyhaunis has few equals in Mayo sport over the 25 years. For most of this period, year in, year out they have produced breathtaking deciders with little to separate them at the close of play. We can expect more of the same when they go head-to-head today.

Tooreen, who have been to the fore in the last four final meetings, winning all of them. As a result, they will go into the 2025 final as the favourites to make it five-in-a-row. But Ballyhaunis will be hoping to put a halt to their gallop and will go into this final with a certain degree of confidence that they can, especially as they have home advantage. With all this in mind, we can expect another cracking final and one which should attract a huge attendance.

Taking a look at Tooreen first, it is hard to expand further on what has already been said about this great club's unrivalled exploits in Mayo hurling. They have been the kingpins in the county for a very long time, especially before their neighbours Ballyhaunis broke away near the turn of the century to offer them a more competitive landscape in the Mayo senior championship. Indeed, before Ballyhaunis won their first title in 2002, Tooreen had already claimed 25 Mayo senior titles. In all, they have won 34 Mayo senior titles and have been runners-up on 19 occasions – a truly remarkable statistic.

However, it is Tooreen’s recent exploits on the Connacht and All-Ireland intermediate stage that shows us what a magnificent team they are. In all, they have won five Connacht intermediate club titles. Should they beat Ballyhaunis next Sunday to make it five in-a-row in Mayo, they would then enter the Connacht championship looking to make it four wins in five attempts (the championship wasn't played in 2020 due to Covid-19).

Winning the Connacht title so regularly means they have built up a serious amount of experience and know what it takes to win big games. To put it in prospective, to win a Connacht title you have to beat the Roscommon champions in the quarterfinal, the London champions in the semi-final and the Galway intermediate champions in the final. This is no mean feat, and when you add in that they have also competed very well on the All-Ireland series, going very close to winning the title outright, one can see what a severe test Ballyhaunis have on their hands next Sunday.

But if we look in more detail at this great Tooreen success story, their biggest test has often come in the Mayo county final against Ballyhaunis. We have only to look back to last year when Tooreen needed extra-time before beating Ballyhaunis, and that final was in Adrian Freeman Park, Tooreen – their home patch. So Tooreen will be well aware that they will have to produce a top-class performance against Ballyhaunis if they are to maintain their recent dominance of the Mayo senior championship.

Ballyhaunis, for their part, have a fine record also. They only emerged on the Mayo hurling scene a couple of years before the turn of the century. Yet, since then they have won 13 Mayo titles and have been runners-up on 12 occasions. Having been runners-up in 1997, 1999 and 2000, they won their first title in 2002. For the following 18 years they won the title on 12 occasions, which included five in a row from 2008 to 2012. Their last victory came in 2020.

With this kind of record, it little wonder Tooreen always fear Ballyhaunis and treat them with the utmost of respect. And rightly so, as Ballyhaunis are a very good side who have also built up loads of experience. Ballyhaunis will not fear Tooreen, and will go into Sunday’s final full of confidence of making up for last year’s narrow defeat.

As to which side will come out on top today, is difficult to predict. We can be sure of one thing – there will be little between the sides on the scoreboard at the final whistle.

Tooreen will enter the game as favourites. They have been very impressive over the past four years and have represented the county in the Connacht and All-Ireland club championships brilliantly. However, as already mentioned, this Mayo final is a local derby, and anything can happen when two neighbouring clubs meet.

While many will expect Tooreen to prove too strong again, I have a feeling that Ballyhaunis have been working extremely hard this year in order to regain the T.J. Tyrell Cup. If they can produce their best form and make the most of their scoring opportunities, they can cause a surprise. Taking it that they will produce their best performance, I give them the nod to halt Tooreen’s great run.