Mayo ladies to mix old and new as new season beckons

IT’S no longer just ‘the girls in Australia’.

It’s the girls in Dublin, the girls in Galway, the girls in Limerick, and, most importantly, the girls in Mayo, who, for perfectly good reasons, no doubt, have opted not to play for Mayo this year.

The Mayo management would, no doubt, rather speak about the women who are playing for Mayo rather than the ones who aren’t. The media, likewise, can only fill so many column inches and so much airtime about players who aren’t playing.

But it simply cannot be ignored when you consider that, of the fifteen Mayo players who started the 2023 All-Ireland semi-final, just four are still playing inter-county football.

Of those who turned down inter-county football this year, Fiona McHale is the only one who you’d consider to be ‘retiring age.’

A senior intercounty debutant at 16, McHale gave a tremendous service to Mayo. The Carnacon woman departs the stage without an All-Ireland senior intercounty medal but owes her county absolutely nothing.

More bewildering is the indefinite departure of several players in their prime.

Some, like Westport’s Aoife Staunton and Sorcha McCarney, saw limited game time with Mayo and may have pulled out accordingly.

That cannot be said for the two most high-profile absentees; Lisa and Sinéad Cafferky.

Between them, the Kilmovee snipers hit 2-7 from play for Mayo in last year’s championship. Mayo scored 2-31 in total across the three games.

Lisa, being the one who operated closest to the goal, was their saviour more than once in 2024.

Her two goals steered the green and red to a one-point league win over Galway in Ballinasloe last January. The following week, she spared Mayo from annihilation by kicking 2-7 in a chastening seven-point loss to Dublin.

OPT OUTS

HER absence leaves a gaping void to be filled as Liam McHale’s women face a challenging away trip to the same opposition in Parnell Park this weekend.

Before we take a closer look at the league campaign itself, let’s go through some of the other absentees, starting with Laura Brennan, who leaves a 5’11” gap between the uprights.

Éilis Ronayne, an All-Star nominee in 2023, is also unavailable. Another jersey to be filled in a Mayo defence that has proven suspect against the Emma Duggans and Carla Rowes of this world.

Nominated for an All-Star alongside Ronayne was Louisburgh's Ciara Needham, who has opted out of intercounty football along with her twin sister Tara, who got plenty of starts for the Mayo seniors.

Former All-Star Shauna Howley and Sarah Mulvihill, despite enjoying stellar seasons for Knockmore, have still not returned to the Mayo fold.

Indeed, with such a high turnover of high-profile players and so many untested intercounty neophytes, Saturday’s joust with the Jackies will be the first of four challenging tussles with the top teams in the land.

Also in Division 1 are All-Ireland champions Kerry who, despite losing the legendary Louise Ní Muircheartaigh, are still formidable foes.

Then there’s Armagh, who’ve beaten Mayo in all of their last three encounters.

Emma Duggan almost beat Mayo on her own when Meath came to The Dome in 2024, and could well do so again unless watched extremely closely.

Mayo should have enough, however, to defeat Waterford and newly-promoted Kildare and Tyrone and secure their top-tier status.

NEW AND OLD

A word now for the women who are still playing for Mayo.

Mayo’s defensive mainstays of Saoirse Lally, Nicola O’Malley, Ciara Durkan, Kathryn Sullivan and Danielle Caldwell are all back in the saddle for 2025.

So too are Aoife Geraghty and Erin Murray, two young, physical, hardy, all-action, no-nonsense, midfielders who are unlikely to face a battle for their jerseys.

Fionnuala McLaughlin has opted out from the panel on a short-term basis, which will put more pressure on Burrishoole’s dead-ball specialist Maria Cannon.

By our count, there will be at least five starting jerseys up for grabs when the championship rolls around.

All the more reason to keep an eye on some of the new additions.

Ciara Whyte, the sole survivor from the Mayo side that contested the 2017 All-Ireland senior final, can operate anywhere in the middle eight and is a huge addition to the squad.

Kayla Doherty and Bree Hession, two stars of an excellent Mayo Minor team, are highly likely to get a run in the forwards.

Other new Mayo players who caught our eye during the Ladies club championship include, Suzanne Tuohy (Castlebar Mitchels), Clodagh Keane (Knockmore) and Riona Jordan (Balla).

However they, like many of the other new additions, are untested and unproven at senior intercounty level.

A fascinating but testing league campaign lies in store for an ever-changing Mayo ladies team, who will be captained by Danielle Caldwell from Castlebar. 

FIXTURE

LIDL LADIES NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 1 ROUND 1

DUBLIN V MAYO

SATURDAY, JANUARY 25

PARNELL PARK AT 2PM