Mayo Intermediate Championship draw: The toughest race of all

This time last year, the first line of one of Mayo’s great sporting odysseys was penned when Crossmolina set off in chase of glory.

Months later their heroic and glorious tale that climaxed on an emotional day in Croke Park.

We’ll never see anything like it again. But what we will see in 2025 is yet another enthralling intermediate county championship, where the gap between also-rans and champions has never been tighter, where favourites fall to the underdog and predictions are as foolhardy and unreliable as the June weather forecast.

WATCH: 2025 Mayo Intermediate Football Championship draw reaction

Group 1

Ballinrobe, Ardnaree, Castlebar Mitchels B, Lahardane 

Ballinrobe look primed to top this group.

Despite missing some key names, the south Mayo men ran Crossmolina closer in the county semi-final than most teams the Deelsiders met en route to All-Ireland glory.

For that reason, Ballinrobe can rightly be considered favourites to go all the way.

Peter Ford brought them to a new level. This year, Eoin Hughes from The Neale, with the assistance of ex-Galway footballer Ciaran Fitzgerald and local lads Conor Keane and Ruari Keane, takes charge of a Ballinrobe team brimming with youth and talent.

Castlebar Mitchels B are, yet again, an unknown quantity but will pack considerable fire if new manager Eamonn ‘Benjy’ Smith can blood some of the raw, rambunctious Minor team he guided to an ‘A’ title last year.  

Ardnaree are no slouches either, having qualified from an extremely tough group in 2024 before meeting their match in Ballinrobe in the quarter-finals.

Now in his third year as manager, how much further Eddie Conroy can bring Lahardane will be interesting to see.

The Nephin men upset the odds last year to take a point from Moy Davitts before dodging relegation by beating Islandeady.

The battle for second place in this group will be an almighty one.

Group 2

Kilmeena, The Neale, Burrishoole, Cill Chomáin

Kilmeena are back in intermediate football.

Senior football was a step too far and came a year too soon for a young Kilmeena side that have lost quite a few players since their All-Ireland-winning glory days of 2022.

Now managed by Damien Egan, Kilmeena are well fit to escape this group and challenge for a trophy they brought back to the Church of Myna in 2023.

Their meeting with Burrishoole promises to be an absolute cracker. Besides it being a local derby, it’ll also feature players like Caolach Halligan, Adam Rehill and Jack Carney, who could kick two-pointers for fun on a windy day.

The Neale are spearheaded by two of the most dangerous forwards in Mayo: Tommy Conroy and Tommy Lydon.

The south Mayo men reached the county quarter-finals last year but will need more depth from 1 to 8 to go any further in 2025.

Then there’s Cill Chomáin. That they even field a hugely competitive team on the edge of the Atlantic continues to defy the laws of economics and demographics. But even with county-title winning manager Nigel Reape re-installed, a supreme club forward in Justin Healy, and a group of men who continue to do the impossible, the Gaeltacht side will need to find another gear to survive this bear pit of a championship.

Whoever wins between Burrishoole and Kilmeena could well top the group. But then again, the two Tommys can win a game on their own at this level.

WATCH: Mayo News reaction to Junior Football Championship draw

Group 3

Davitts, Kiltane, Parke/Keelogues/Crimlin, Islandeady

It’s time for Parke to deliver.

Fancied to at least make the final last year, the Ray Dempsey-coached team came third in a group after Kiltane delivered a championship lesson by the banks of the Owenmore.

Now managed by former players Martin Keaveney and Tom Walsh and coached by Knockmore’s John Brogan, Parke have produced a fine crop of new players in recent years and have what it takes to make the semi-finals.

Almost through sheer force of will alone, Kiltane snatched a third-round draw against Ballinrobe to get out of the group before being dismissed by Davitts in Ballindine.

Kiltane are understood to still be without a manager, but their young, thin panel still defied all expectations to reach the last eight in 2024, and will be an unknown quantity against this time.

Davitts are still Davitts, and they are a force to be reckoned with.

With Colm Boyle still playing like a 26-year-old and Dylan Gallagher playing out of his skin at full-forward, the border boys reached last year’s semi-finals before losing to Moy Davitts in the Land League Derby.

Local man Liam Nyland is at the helm again with the help of ex-Davitts player and former Westport manager Martin Connolly.

John Kelly’s Islandeady, meanwhile, are still led by veterans like Darragh Joyce, Seamie Lally, and Peter Collins and will struggle to get a result against any of their three opponents.

Group 4

Moy Davitts, Hollymount/Carramore, Louisburgh, Kilmaine

Moy Davitts are, on paper, the favourites to top this group.

Finalists last year, this time, the Moysiders will roll the boulder up the hill without key midfielder Anthony Jordan, who is now playing his football in Dublin.

New manager Anthony McGarry takes charge of a team bursting with potential but one that never quite played to their potential in 2024.

Hollymount/Carramore – again, on paper, in must be stressed – are the second-best team in the group thanks to a near-perfect blend of youth, experience and talent.

They’ll have a good old ding-dong with neighbours Kilmaine, who, without Oisín Mullin, ended up in last year’s relegation playoffs.

Louisburgh are arguably on a par with the two aforementioned teams and could get a result against either.

Each team in this group have at least one player who could make hay around the 40-metre arcs.

Cian McHale (Moy Davitts), Adam Barrett (Kilmaine), Darren Coen (Hollymount-Carramore) and Dylan Prendergast (Louisburgh) are among the best sharpshooters in this competition and are well-placed to land some game-changing scores.