Author: Jane

The Ruddy Report – 25/11/00

Hacky Cup Final Bunnacurry 10-7 Currane 4-1
On a very chilly afternoon in Keel, Bunnacurry NS took on Currane NS in the final of the Hacky Cup.The first half was a closely fought affair with attacks at both ends, and some excellent defending by Currane kept them in touch at about three points down at half time.The beginning of the second half saw the larger and more proficient Bunnacurry team putting the squeeze on. Despite valiant defending by Currane, a flurry of goals and points put the result beyond doubt.Currane did not lose heart and came back strongly in the last quarter with some good scores. Had it not been for the quality of the Bunnacurry keeper the score would have been somewhat closer.
It was a very entertaining game and a credit to both teams who should be proud of themselves.

Crossmolina Champions Again
AIB Connaght Club Football Championship Final
Crossmolina 1-10
Corofin 0-5
Crossmolina made history last Sunday by becoming the first Mayo side to win two Connaght Titles back to back, outclassing the 1998 All Ireland Champions all over the pitch. The game began with both sides wanting to stamp their authority on the match, which is exactly what they did. Derek Reilly of Corofin broke his Collar Bone after just 30 seconds of the game, then Crossmolina’s ace forward Kieran McDonald followed him with a rib injury. But the loss did not halt Crossmolina’s stride, Liam Moffat replacing McDonald in the forward line.Crossmolina dominated midfield and took their chances although it was not until the 11th minute that they registered their first point of the game scored by Johnny Leonard. Corofin struggled to find their feet with Deel Rovers defence showing no flaws. Micheal Moyles was excellent in the forward line creating a lot of chances and after seventeen minutes he created a chance for Liam Moffat who fisted the ball into the back of the net to register the only goal of the game. Peader Gardiner was also excellent in the forwards.Corofin lifted themselves for a while due to the shock of the goal. Alan O’Donavan scored Corofins first point from a free kick but Moyles and Gardiner Stretched the gap to 5 points. Before half time Corofin clawed back a point courtesy of Micheal Donnellan to leave the gap at half time at 4 points.Corofin’s hopes of changing the game around in the second half were dashed by Moyles and McGuinness who at this stage had the game wrapped up. After 42 minutes Crossmolina lead by 8 points. Johnny Leonard and Damian Mulligan knotched up a few more points for Deel Rovers and Paul McGuinness put the icing on the cake three minutes from the end with the last score of the game. Crossmolina now face Ulster Champions Bellaghy in the All Ireland Semi- Final but they must improve on their shooting tally which was very high.
Crossmolina:
B. Heffernan, S. Rochford, T .Nallen, C. Reilly, P. McAndrew, D. Mulligan (0-1), F. Costello, J. Nallen, M. Moyles (0-3), T. Loftus, K McDonald, P. Gardiner (0-2), P. Mcguinness (0-2), E. Lavelle, J. Leonard (0-2)
Subs: L Moffat (1-0) for McDonald, G Walsh for Loftus, D O’Donnel for Reilly, P Whittaker for Rochford.

All Ireland U-21 Hurling Championship Final
West-Meath 0-11
Mayo 0-4
Mayo were outclassed by West-Meath last Sunday at Hyde Park, Roscommon. They struggled to break down the West-Meath defence and forwards Derek McDonnell, Ger McDonnell, James Hogan and Paul Broderick didn’t get a chance at goal.Mayo didn’t get their bearings in midfield at all, changing the line up before half-time to bring in Stephen Broderick, but while he made an impact for a time,t West Meath soon marked him out of it.Mayo defence played well with Paddy Barrett, Pat Freyne and Seamus McGlynn all making big impacts. Aaron Farrell caused his marker so much trouble his marker was substituted.Mayo had the wind in their favour in the first half but West-Meath still led by 5 points at half time. In the first ten minutes in the second half Mayo went to 7 points down but held West-Meath to a single goal for the rest of the game.Mayo should feel proud for getting this far and it’s a view of the future of Mayo Hurling.

Allianz National Football League Preview
Mayo travel to O’Moore Park in Portlaosie this Sunday to play Laois. Mayo, who had an excellent game a fortnight ago, may have the Crossmolina Connaght Champions in their panel this weekend with Moyles and Nallen expected to travel with the team. Kieran McDonald will be missing though due to an injury he picked up last Sunday which, although it is not supposed to be serious, means he will be rested as a precaution. No changes are expected to be made to the team which defeated Fermanagh, with Loftus and McNicholas expected to retain their places in the team. Laois on the other hand have had a poor star to the competition, losing their opening games to Cavan and Derry. Laois are under new management and are still experimenting with their squad. My prediction for the match is a Mayo win and if they play as well as they did against Fermanagh I can’t see them having a problem.

GAA Briefs

  • Kilmeena defeated Balla by 3 points to win the County U-17 Football League Final.
  • Ballahadereen defeated Castlebar by 5 points to win the County U-15 Football League Final.
  • Carnacon defeated The Neale by 1 point in the Mayo Ladies U-16 Football Championship Final.
  • Garrymore defeated Crossmolina in the Mayo Ladies Junior Football League Semi Final.
  • Rice College, Westport defeated St Brendans, Belmullet in the Connaght Colleges first year Football League.

 

The Ruddy Report – 18/11/00

Allianz National Football League Division 1B
Mayo 0-12 Fermanagh 2-2

At Brewster Park last Sunday, in front of 3000 spectators, Mayo produced one of their finest displays in recent memory. The trip to the United States has obviously rejuvenated the team. Mayo were very sharp and their defence was disciplined. Colm McManaman and David Brady ran the show in midfield, winning almost everything while Marty McNicholas of Breaffy had a great debut scoring three points in the first half. Noel Connelly scored two points running from the middle of the field to do so, James Gill, David McDonagh and Trevor Mortimer all scored points and Ronan Loftus was absolutely brillant with his free takings. They played inspired football at times. Fermanagh were not the same team which had an impressive run in last years Ulster Football Championship, they just could not stop Mayo.
It took Fermanagh, a team with an outstanding forward line, 50 minutes to register a score from play. At half-time Fermanagh were holding on by a goal then Rory Gallagher scored from the penalty spot after a controversial decision by the referee.
In the second half Mayo started strong again with scores from Ronan Loftus and Marty McNicholas widening the gap to 8 points. Fermanagh tried to respond and when they got their first point from play a cheer went up from the home supporters, as they still could not believe what was happening to their team. Fermanagh scored another point courtesy of Rory Gallagher and a goal came from substitute Martin McGrath, but it was not enough. Mayo defended well and got vital scores in the last 10 minutes. Stephen Carolan scored a superb point from the right wing and to put a darker shadow on the game for Fermanagh, Shane King was dismissed after receiving a second bookable offence minutes from the final whistle.
Mayo still have a problem with their wides, notching up a tally of 16. But the impressive displays from Ray and Noel Connelly, Colm McManaman, David Brady, Marty McNicholas and David McDonagh evened things out. The scorers for Mayo were: N. Connelly(0-2), J. Gill(0-1),D. McDonagh(0-1), M. McNicholas(0-4), T. Mortimer(0-1), R. Loftus(0-2), S. Carolan(0-1).
Avid readers will note that I correctly predicted this result. I also predicted a Corofin win in the Connaght Club Championships Semi Finals, Check out the GAA Briefs to see if I got 2/2.

AIB Connaght Club Football Championship Final Preview
Crossmolina of Mayo will take on Corofin of Galway this Sunday at St Tiernans Park, Crossmolina in the AIB Connaght Club Football Championship Final. It’s the game everybody wanted to see but no one thought it would happen. The Galway Board were fined because of the delay of the Connaght Club Semi Final, which was postponed for a few weeks because of the Galway County Final being delayed due to the Galway Team reaching the All Ireland Final. But while the County board were struggling to enter a team into the competition Crossmolina were beating Kilbride and Bunninadden.
This will be Crossmolina’s toughest task since they met Na Fianna in the All Ireland Semi Final last year. Corofin, who won the All Ireland Title in 1998, have very good players such as Donnelan, Conlisk and O’Donavan. They have defeated Mountbellew/Moylough, Kilanin and Aughavas of Leitrim in successive weeks. They were reported to be tired and jaded in last weekend’s clash against Aughavas so it is likely that it was a light training session Corofin were doing this week.
Corofin will be missing their county centre half Jason Killeen through injury. Crossmolina will be missing players as well with Gerard O’Malley in the Lebanon, Stephen Rochford is expected to slot into the left half back position. Elsewhere there are no changes expected.
Crossmolina will find it tough against players such as Martin McNamara, Ray and Brian Silke, John and James Lardner and midfielders Kieran Fitzgerald and Aiden Donnellan will cause problems. Nevertheless I think Crossmolina will more than match them so I predict a Crossmolina win!!!

All Ireland U21B Hurling Championship Final
This Saturday at Hyde Park, Roscommon, Mayo take on Westmeath in the Final of the All Ireland U21B Hurling Championship. The final was scheduled for October 30th but was postponed due to Hyde Park not being playable. Things have changed since then, the quality of playing fields has deteriorated due to winter setting in – it’s not exactly the time of year to be presenting silverware. Mayo got to the final by defeating Armagh in the Semi-final on September 16th. Westmeath reached the final via Kerry which took a replay to decide the winner, that game was played on the August Bank Holiday Weekend. Westmeath are going into the final as favourites situated in Division 2 of the National Hurling League and with Mayo only in Division 3. But the Mayo team are still very optimistic. The Mayo team will be: Tomas Duffy, Seamus Glynn, Declan Cafferkey, Kevin Healy, Patrick Freyne, Paddy Barret, Paul McConn, Ciaran Conroy(captain), John Duffy, Andrew Howard, Sean Ganley, Gerard McDonnell, Martin Devaney and Stephen Broderick.

GAA News Brief

  • Cashman selected as new Cork Hurling Manager.
  • Paidi O’Se voted Football Manager of the Month.
  • Four Roads of Roscommon defeated Toreen of Mayo by 4 points in the AIB Connaght Hurling Championship Semi Final.
  • Rice College, Westport defeated Ballyhaunis C.S. in the Connaght Colleges Senior ‘B’ Football League.
  • Davitts defeated Kilmeena by 1 point in the Mayo Minor ‘B’ Football Championship Final Replay.
  • Mayo Ladies present ‘The Saw Doctors’ Thursday November 23rd in the Travellers Friend, Castlebar at 8pm, Tickets £8 and all proceeds go to Mayo Ladies Holiday Fund.
  • Mayo have to travel to London in the first round of the Connaght Championship next Summer. The winners will play Sligo in the Semi-final.
  • Galway face Leitrim in the first round of the Connaght Championship next summer. The winners will play Roscommon or New York in the Semi Final.

 

The Ruddy Report – 11/11/00


Achill Ladies GAA News
Cancellation and Postponements
At Griffin Community Park last Sunday only one game took place. The Currane and Achill Sound match was cancelled the evening before due to Achill Sound’s inability to field a team. But Bunnacurry/Cashel and Kildawnet/Saula met at 12 pm. The rain began to worsen as the teams took to the field, both teams only fielding 8 players per team. A tough task lay ahead with them also playing full size pitch. During the first the half conditions began to worsen and at half time the match was postponed.

AIB Connaght Club Football Championship Semi-final
Crossmolina 1-12 Bunninadden 1-6
Crossmolina Deel Rovers are through to the AIB Connaght Club Football
Championship Final again. But they will have to improve on Sunday’s display if they are to become the first Mayo team to win this competition back-to-back. Bunninadden started the game with the wind in their favour and started the better of the two teams, at one stage they were leading by 4 points due to a blunder by Damien Mulligan which allowed Padraig Doohan in to score a goal. Bunninadden were winning by 1-4 to 0-5 at this stage, but a goal by Kieran McDonald just before half time narrowed the gap to 1 point. All six Crossmolina attackers were very much involved in the game but special mention must go to McGuinnes, McDonald, Gardiner and Enda Lavelle as they played exceptionally well. The defence made a lot of blunders however, Francis Costello, Damian Mulligan and Tom Nallen all had passes intercepted. The playing conditions did not help though, causing a lot of the blunders.
In the second half, Crossmolina began to get the edge on their opponents, with McDonald and Moyles scoring crucial points. However, Bunninadden did scare the local fans as they came close to scoring a goal on more than one occasion. Man of the Match went to Bunninadden Goalkeeper Michael Finn. He pulled off some great saves in the first half to keep his side in front. In the end Crossmolina won by six points and Bunninadden went away proud after a impressive display in their first ever match in this competition.
Scorers for Crossmolina were; Francis Costello (0-1), Gereard O’Malley (0-1), Micheal Moyles (0-2), Kieran McDonald (1-2), Peader Gardiner (0-2), Paul McGuinness (0-4).
Crossmolina are to meet either Galway’s Corofin or Leitrim’s Aughavas in the final on November 19th.
My prediction: A Corofin win (Aughavas and Corofin match). If Corofin win, the final will be held in Crossmolina. If Aughavas win, the final will be held in Carrick-on-Shannon.
I will have all the news on the Club Championship here on “The Ruddy Report”.

Ladies National Football League Division One
Mayo 0-9 Tyrone 1-6
Mayo ladies travelled to Carrickmore in north Tyrone to play Tyrone last Sunday in their opening game of the season. Mayo went to Tyrone with an understrength side, players such as Cora Staunton, Maria Staunton, Niamh Lally and Orla Casby missing through injury. However, Louisbourghs’ Clare Egan played exceptionally well in midfield with the help of Assumpta Bohan, Yvonne Byrne and Niamh NíShé who played superbly in the difficult conditions. At half time the sides were level at (0-5) each. Scores for Mayo in the first half came from Diane O’Hora and Martha O’Malley.
Score’s from substitute Sabrina Bailey, Diane O’Hora and Martha O’Malley put Mayo into a strong position in the second half, they lead by three point’s going into the final quarter with the scores at (0-9) to (0-6). In injury time Tyrone scored a valuable goal to share the points.
Mayo’s next game in the National League is against Monaghan in Monaghan on November 19th.

Crisis for Mayo Football Selectors
Once again success for a Mayo club in the Connaght Club Championships is to cause selection problems for the Mayo Selectors. It is likely that Pat Holmes (Mayo football Manager) will have to select his team for the National League clash on Sunday against Fermanagh without the Crossmolina players.
The Mayo and Connaght Champions will be appearing in their second successive Connaght Club final on November 19th. This is causing difficulty for Pat Holmes as he faces a difficult away trip to Fermanagh on Sunday. Holmes is to meet the Crossmolina manager this week to discuss if his players are available for selection for the Allianz National Football League match in Irvinestown, but it is highly unlikely seemingly with the club championship two weeks away.
This it is not the first time this has happened to Mayo Selectors with the recent success of Mayo Clubs in All Ireland Competition.
But why should Crossmolina release their players? They were defeated last year by Na Fianna of Dublin in the all Ireland semi-final, but this time they would like to go one step further. With All Ireland Champions Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh knocked out, the door is left open with Crossmolina, Na Fianna and Cork’s Nemo Rangers favourites to lift the Andy Merrigan Cup.
Prediction: Mayo and Fermanagh, tough one this with Mayo having a very young and inexperienced side, but I have heard a lot about the morale in the team so I am going to stick my neck out and say a Mayo win.

GAA News In Brief

  • Jimmy Barry Murphy step’s down as Cork Hurling manager.
  • Bellaghy win the Ulster Club football Championship.
  • Knockmore U-17’s win Mayo County title.
  • Castlebar Mitchels and Charlestown to contest U-15 League County Final.
  • Balinrobe’s Sinead Costello was announced as Mayo Ladies Captain for the coming season.
  • Sacred Heart, Westport defeated Scoil Muire, Tourmakeady in the Connaght Colleges Ladies Senior Football Championship round 3.
  • In the Guinness Hurling Writers Awards, Kilkenny hurling stars DJ Carey and Noel Hickey stole the show. DJ Carey won hurling player of the year and Noel Hickey won Young Hurler of the year.
  • Connaght Club Hurling Championship: Tooreen of Mayo take on Four Roads of Roscommon this Sunday in the provincial Semi-final. The winners will play Galway’s All Ireland Champions Athenry in the Final.
  • Liam McHale is reported to be making himself available for selection for the Mayo Senior football Team. Liam who is 35, retired last season.
  • Abbot’s of Sligo defeated Allergan of Westport to win the Connaght Football Inter Firm’s Title.

 

 

The Ruddy Report – 04/11/00


The Sheila Joyce Cup
On the 29th of October at Griffin Community Park, Currane, a lot of interesting football took place.
At 2.30pm the final of the Sheila Joyce cup took place. This is an annual tournament, organised by Michael Joyce in memory of his late wife Sheila.
The boys and girls of Currane National School were split into teams. They competed against each other until the best two teams met in the final to decide the winner.
All credit to the children who played so well given the difficult weather conditions. A wet and windy Griffin Park attracted a lot of spectators, which shows that this annual contest is very popular among locals.
On the day Mairead Moran’s team won. In her speech she thanked everyone for coming to watch and her team for playing so well. She also thanked their opponents for giving them such a good match.

Over 30’s versus under 30’s.
After the Sheila Joyce Cup an unusual event took place. The match would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the efforts of Eamon Joyce and Sean Dever and everyone who helped them organise it in a matter of weeks. Originally the match was to be a clash between over 30’s and under 30’s but was changed to over 25’s v. under 25’s due to the uneven teams.
Michael T. Gallagher had the pleasure and honour of refereeing the match.
Just before throw in the weather took a turn for the worse, it began to rain heavily.and many spectators took refuge in their cars.
A large cheer went up from all corners of the field when Eamon Joyce ran onto the field. The over 25’s began the match with the wind in their favour and took advantage of it scoring a lot of points early on. The under 25’s battled to keep Eamon Joyce’s team in check but the over 25’s were just too strong in the first half and were winning by about 7 points at half time.
In the second half, the under 25’s started with a mini revival, coming to within 2 points of their elders. But a great goal at the very last minute by Andrew Patten sealed it for the over 25’s.
There were great performances by both teams, scores for the over 25’s came from; John Joe McNamera, Sean Gallagher, Noel Grealis, James McNamera, Andrew Patten, Eamon Joyce and Michael Cattigan. Other players who played well were; Paul McGinty, Andrew and Michael Dever, Tommy and Michael Madden and Kieran McGurk.
Scorers for the under 25’s were; Adrian Ryder, Peadar Cawley, Thomas Ruddy, Barry Dever, Declan O’Malley, Dennis Patten and John Dara O’Malley. There were great performances also from; Ronan O’Malley, Donnchadh O’Malley, Sean Dever, Thomas Joyce, Michael Joyce and John Ruddy.
The organisers and the players would like to thank all who came to support the teams, especially in such poor conditions, we hope you enjoyed yourselves. We hope for this to become an annual event, there is even talk of a trophy being introduced. Stay tuned for more information on this development. Please accept my apologies if I have omitted any names.

The over 25s team
The under 25s team

Achill GAA News – Ladies
In the semi-finals of the local ladies competition, Currane play Achill Sound and Kildownet/Sáile play Cashel/Bunnacurry on Sunday 5th November at Griffin Community Park, Currane. The first game starts at 12 noon.
When Currane and Achill Sound last met, Currane were run away winners . I believe whoever wins this one will win the overall competition as these are the two best teams. Achill Sound are very confident but they went into the last game against Currane very sure of themselves and were defeated.

My Prediction: Two very competitive games with Currane coming out as eventual winners once again.

GAA news – Mayo senior football
The Allianz National Football League 2000-2001 has started, although the Mayo Football team missed last week’s games due to the FBD Connaught League Final. Mayo travelled to Gaelic Park in Manhattan to play New York.
Mayo won 0-13 to New York’s 0-9. The Mayo team were to fly to Chicago on Tuesday (31st October) to play a local selection and are due to return home on the following Tuesday (7th November).
Mayo begin their National League campaign against Fermanagh. The fact that Fermanagh lost their opening match to Sligo and that they are being coached by former Mayo manager John Maughan is certain to add spice to the occasion. Mayo won’t want to lose this one!
Also in our group (Division 1B) are Derry, Fermanagh Laois, Meath, Clare, Sligo and Cavan. It is a tough division. The panel this year is an unfamiliar one compared to past seasons. There are a lot of new players in the squad including players who have been on the fringes and players coming through the youth teams.
Mayo will be aiming to survive in this group and hopefully challenge for the play-off’s. They are trying to rebuild their squad for the future and hope that the national league will bring some new talent into the picture.
This looks promising as in the last five years the Mayo Minors have dominated Connaught although our under 21 team has let us down (one provincial title in five years). The recently appointed Mayo U21 manager Paul McStay said recently “I attended a challenge match in Hawkfield on the outskirts of Newbridge town and the headquarters of Kildare senior, junior, U21, minor and U16 teams. They had three full lit pitches, two warm up pitches, dressing rooms as big as the local town halls complete with treatment tables and medicos on site”.
Mayo are at the moment trailing Kildare in facilities. We are a big county with a big population and most of us wish we were up amongst the best in Ireland, i.e. Meath, Derry, Cork and Galway. But we just have to wait and hope.
Stay tuned for more info on Mayo’s progression in the National league.

AIB Connaught Club Football Championship – semi-final
Crossmolina are Mayo’s representatives in this year’s Connaught Club Football Championship after retaining their county championship. This Sunday Crossmolina welcome Sligo champions Bunninadden to St Tiernan’s Park.
The Bookmakers have Crossmolina as favourites but Crossmolina have still to actually win the game. The Sligo side made history by winning their first Sligo county title last month. Crossmolina are not expected to make any changes from the team, which defeated Kilbride a fortnight ago. There are no injuries but Pat McAndrew who missed the last game due to a cold is back in contention for a starting place. Crossmolina will name their starting line up on the 1st of November.
Crossmolina are looking good, they have two very good midfielders and Kieran McDonald has been playing well lately, the inside forwards are also very impressive.
Bunninadden are going into the game after already reaching the pinnacle of the club’s history and a good performance from them will be expected, anything else is a bonus.

My prediction: Crossmolina are not lacking in preparation and should qualify for another provincial final.
Throw in at St Tiernan’s Park at 2.30pm on Sunday (5th November).

Senior Ladies Football Challenge
All Star selection 5-6
Mayo 1-2

The weather spoiled the game yet again on Sunday last (29th October) at Claremorris. The referee was considering calling off the match but, due to the large crowd that had already gathered, the players convinced the ref. to go ahead with it.
The referee decided to play a 20 minute aside match which resulted in a flattering win for the All Stars. Mayo had fielded a depleted side – Cora Staunton was missing due to a broken jaw picked up whilst playing for Athlone IT. Scores for the All Stars came from; A. Crotty (Waterford), A. McNally (Dublin), F. Blessington (Longford), M. Downey (Down), E. Gormley (Tyrone), O. Colreavy (Dublin) and for Mayo: M. Heffernan, C. Heffernan, M. Corcoran.