Three players who caught our eye in the Mayo U-21 A county final

MARK CUNNINGHAM

^{Mark Cunningham in possession during the 2024 Mayo U-21 Football Championship final Pic: Conor McKeown}

Topped an electric semi-final showing with an outstanding display in the final. He wasn’t the highest scorer but was involved in almost every Castlebar Mitchels attack.

He ran through the Westport backs at alarming speed and flew past blue jerseys with a surprising nonchalance at times. His play-making was also something to behold and led directly to three goals - including one he finished himself.

With the eyes of an eagle and the legs of a greyhound, this kid will be closely marked for many years to come for both Castlebar Celtic and the Mitchels.

JOHN MACMONAGLE

^{John MacMonagle of Castlebar Mitchels pictured with the Mayo U-21 A Championship trophy Pic: Conor McKeown}

A potential future Mayo captain.

In word and in deed, John MacMonagle leads by example and plays with his head and heart in equal measure.

Once again, little got past the ex-Mayo Minor as he commandeered a Mitchels defence that has gone mano a mano all year long.

On Sunday, that defence held Westport to six scores from play. It’s debatable how much of that was down to the way the blues set up defensively. But MacMonagle’s role in keeping them at bay cannot be discounted.

He followed up an impressive performance with a gracious, powerful and poignant post-match acceptance speech.

“It was so touching,” said Shane Cunningham after hearing his captain’s tribute to his late mother, Annemarie, and teammate, Matthew Mullahy. “It just sums up John Mac’s character. He’s our leader, he’s our captain and he’s just unbelievable.”

Exemplary stuff from an exemplary young man.

CONCHOBAR MULROY

^{Conchobar Mulroy gets a block away during the 2024 Mayo U-21 A Football Championship final Pic: Mayo GAA}

WE’VE singled out MacMonagle, now let’s have a word for Mulroy, who got through an inordinate amount of dog work before the ball got as far as his full back.

The centre-back tackled hard, turned over loads of ball and helped spoil many of the more serious Westport attacks. He even got forward at one stage to force a save out of Conor Meaney, arguably the best young goalkeeper in Mayo.

Mulroy’s another one to watch.