Mayo U-16s seek to banish the ghosts of yesteryear in All-Ireland final

IT'S hard to believe that the Mayo Ladies have dined at the top table of intercounty football for the past 28 years, but only contested one All-Ireland ‘A’ final in all that time.

That was back in 1996, when Waterford got the better of a Mayo team with stars who are today regarded among the greatest ever to wear the green and red jersey.

Cora Staunton, Martha O’Malley, Michelle McGing, Claire Egan and Helena Lohan enjoyed stellar intercounty careers after that loss to the Déise.

However, since then, Mayo have enjoyed remarkably little top-tier All-Ireland underage success.

From 1996 to 2000, a Cora Staunton-inspired Minor team were runners-up four times in a row. In 2003, a minor team coached by Staunton again fell short in the decider.

Their U-14s have won the A/Platinum title twice in seven final attempts leaving Mayo with just four All-Ireland underage titles in half a century of football; two U-14 titles (1994 and 2023), a Minor (1987) and one U-16 (1976).

Getting to their first U-16 All-Ireland final since 1996 has been tough. Winning it will be even tougher.

Their road to provincial glory was almost bump-free until the Connacht final, when Galway tested the girls in green and red to their absolute limit before they ran away with it in extra-time.

Their semi-final victory over Kerry was equally impressive - and far less nerve-jangling.

On Saturday, Mayo will need to beat Cavan the reigning All-Ireland ‘A’ champions to bridge a gap that has stretched incredulously far for a county that has been so competitive for so long at senior level.

Cavan and Mayo are already well acquainted. Last year, the Breffni girls ended Mayo’s season in an All-Ireland semi-final before beating Cork in a replayed decider.

Earlier this year, the Ulster champions beat them in a challenge match away from the bright lights – but only by a slim margin.

_{Mayo U-16 manager Francis Regan gives a team talk after a training session (Pic: The Mayo News)}

“They had a strong U-14 team last year. They're going to be good,” Mayo U-16 manager, Francis Regan, told The Mayo News.

“They have a strong squad. We saw the day we played up there they are big and strong physical girls, they are strong runners and are very well defensively set up and they have one or two very decent forwards. It’s not going to be easy, but we have enough to get us over the line.”

Cavan may be the reigning champions, but they're almost a completely new team in 2024, with few survivors from their glorious 2023 campaign.

However, a seven-point Ulster final win over Down and an eight-point All-Ireland semi-final victory over Dublin, suggests they're still every bit as dangerous.

Mayo, on the other hand, boast five survivors from the team that started last year’s 1-10 to 3-10 All-Ireland semi-final defeat to the Breffni girls.

Team captain Emma Higgins, Cliona Cullen, Aoife Meaney, Kate Byrne and Sarah Dempsey are still key players for Mayo, and will no doubt would like to savour the sweet taste of revenge on Saturday.

They will be joined by All-Ireland ‘Platinum’ winning U-14s like Síofra McGuinness, Emma Stagg, Isabella Basquille and Katie Hughes, who would love the chance to carry an All-Ireland title across the Mayo border again.

Far from being a weakness, Mayo’s squad depth is exactly the kind of problem every manager wants.

It was never more visible than during the Connacht final, where Aoibheann McNamara and Doireann Guilfoyle’s fresh legs made a major impact as a game for the ages went into extra time.

They will be needed if this one goes down to the wire.

FIXTURE

LGFA ALL-IRELAND U-16 A FINAL

MAYO V CAVAN

SATURDAY, JULY 13, DUGGAN PARK, BALLINASLOE AT 2PM