EDITORIAL: Bumper championship weekend awaits

With the saga surrounding the Mayo senior football management for 2025 now at an end, attention will this weekend turn to on field activities, with some super games down for decision in the Senior, Intermediate and Junior championships right across the county.
Kevin McStay and his management team went through what seemed to be a completely unnecessary, lengthy season review, and it was only last weekend that we had confirmation they will be in situ for 2025.
The understanding countywide was that McStay was given a four-year term as manager. He had just completed year two of that four-year term, so it was hard to fathom why there was any doubt surrounding his future.
While exiting the championship to Derry was disappointing, the season on the whole showed that Mayo are still very much in the mix at the top tier of the inter-county scene and they will go into the 2025 season full of hope and aiming to make another serious attempt at All-Ireland glory.
Armagh’s All-Ireland success in 2024 will give a whole host of counties a renewed belief that they can follow in their footsteps but for now the attention is most definitely on the club scene right across the country, with a whole host of big games down for decision this weekend here in Mayo.

Tough to call
All four senior quarter-finals are very tough to call. Ballina Stephenities and Westport remain the outright favourites to claim the Paddy Moclair Cup but both have tricky quarter-finals to overcome at the weekend.
Last year’s winners Ballina should have enough in the locker to overcome a young, promising Castlebar Mitchels team, but Westport will most definitely have to bring their A game to overcome Breaffy, who have probably played the best football of the championship to date.
Garrymore will be looking to take advantage of the new rule that sees teams that finished top of their groups enjoy home advantage in the quarter-finals. They welcome Knockmore to south Mayo on Saturday evening, and there is sure to be an atmosphere to savour under the lights in Garrymore.
The last quarter-final in the senior grade sees a repeat of the 2012 final between Ballaghaderren and Ballintubber, and both sides will fancy their chances in what is bound to be a very tactical affair.
Four teams will also face off to try to secure their senior status for 2025. Charlestown and Belmullet are both seasoned senior teams and will be surprised to be in a relegation play-off. The losers will have a second chance against the losers of the other tie between Kilmeena and Mayo Gaels, but you can be sure all four teams involved in the relegation play-off will want to get the job done at the first time of asking.

Wide open
The Intermediate championship is absolutely wide open this year, and all eight teams left will be quietly fancying their chances of going all in the way in 2024.
The smart money will probably be on Crossmolina, Ballinrobe, Moy Davitts and Davitts gaining victory at the weekend, but The Neale, Ardarnee, Hollymount Carramore and Kiltane are all worthy opponents, and some high scoring games are expected. Islandeady and Kilmaine will be favoured to win the two Intermediate relegation play-offs against Lahardane and Kiltimagh, respectively.
The junior championship has been very entertaining thus far, and again there are four appetising quarter-finals down for decision over the weekend. Eastern Gaels, Ardagh, Kilcommon and Swinford will probably be slight favourites to overcome the respective challenges of Northern Gaels, Bonniconlon, Tourmakeady and Killala.
And then, of course, there’s the ladies’ football championship which has now reached the semi-finals stages in the Senior, Intermediate and Junior grades.
It will certainly be one the busiest GAA weekends of the year, and here in The Mayo News we are very much looking forward to bringing you reports from all the action on www.mayonews.ie after the games, as well as comprehensive coverage in our print edition next Tuesday, October 1.