Senior Scór success for Achill and Mayo

There were joyous scenes in the TF Royal Hotel & Theatre, Castlebar on Saturday night when Mayo singer Leah McNamara from Achill was crowned the All-Ireland champion in Solo Singing at the All Ireland Final of Senior Scór.

The All Ireland Final of Senior Scór was held in The TF Royal Hotel & Theatre, Castlebar on Saturday last with competitors from all over Ireland converging on the Castlebar venue. Flying the flag for Mayo were Leah McNamara and Ethan McNea, both quite remarkably, representing the same club - CLG Acla (Achill GAA) - with Leah competing in Solo Singing while Ethan took to the stage in the Recitation/Storytelling.

Mayo have not had an All-Ireland winner of Senior Scór since 2018 but the home crowd were celebrating success when Leah McNamara was declared as Senior Scór Solo Singing champion for 2025!

READ: Mayo Ladies pushed all the way by Leitrim in Championship opener

It was an absolutely incredible achievement for a small club such as Achill to have two competitors in the finals and there were lots of celebrations on the island when Leah arrived home as an Ireland champion.

Competitors from all over Ireland converged on Castlebar for the Senior Scór finals to compete in the finals of Tráth na gCeist, Figure Dancing, Solo Singing, Recitation/Storytelling, Ballad Group, Novelty Act, Instrumental Music and Set Dancing competitions.

Though still quite young, both Leah and Ethan are seasoned campaigners on the Scór stage. Ethan made his first appearance in 2018 in the Instrumental Music section, an experience that saw him compete in an All Ireland Final in the Knocknarea Arena in Sligo. While Leah was also a member of the group on that day, this was by no means her first appearance in Scór. She first competed in Scór na bPáistí eleven years ago, at the tender age of nine while in third class in Dooagh NS.

Many Scór County Finals, Connacht Finals and some All Ireland Finals followed, but success and the ultimate prize eluded the Achill club. Finally, the barren spell came to an end in fine style in Castlebar. For the first time since the inception of Scór in 1969, Achill captured All Ireland honours.

While, despite a very strong performance on the day, it wasn’t to be for Ethan, following an emotive performance of the ballad ‘Pádraig Óg Mo Chroí’, in a competition where there wasn’t as much as a hair’s breadth between the standards of the four provincial competitors.

Joyous scenes followed the announcement. Leah’s win marks Mayo’s first All Ireland win in Senior Scór since 2018. It is an absolutely incredible achievement for a small club such as Achill to pull off an All Ireland win.

Full Results of Senior Scór: Tráth na gCeist, Millstreet GAA, Co Cork; Figure Dancing, Birr GAA, Co Offaly; Solo Singing, CLG Acla, Co Mayo; Recitation/Storytelling, St Joseph’s GAA, Co Westmeath; Ballad Group, Ballycomoyle GAA, Co Westmeath; Novelty Act, St Dominic’s GAA, Co Roscommon; Instrumental Music, Drumcliffe/Rosses Point GAA, Co Sligo; Set Dancing, Spa GAA, Co Kerry.