Ones to watch in Mayo sport in 2013

Ones to watch in 2013


We predict who’s going to make the sporting headlines in Mayo over the next 12 months

Gaelic Football
Conor O’Shea
Breaffy
WITH Andy Moran ruled out of action until at least April 1, Mayo manager James Horan will be looking to unearth some fresh options for his forward line during the spring. That’s where we believe Conor O’Shea (19) comes in.
The Breaffy teenager has been knocking around in the background of the county senior panel for a couple of years and it is an open secret that Horan is a big fan of O’Shea’s work.
A younger brother of Aidan and Seamus, it will come as no surprise to hear that Conor is big, strong, well able to win his own ball, and can play a bit.
Like his siblings he is also a very versatile footballer; as a minor he played most of his football at midfield, but Ray Dempsey deployed him as a target-man in the full-forward line last spring.
A first year student at NUI, Galway, O’Shea’s rise through the ranks in recent years has been impressive. He captained the county minors in 2011 and was one of the success stories of an otherwise disappointing Mayo U-21 campaign last year.
James Horan knows that he needs to shake up Mayo’s attack and this fresh-faced, raw, talented youngster just might be the man to do it.
Mike Finnerty

Rugby
Jamie Dever
Connacht Academy
JAMIE Dever is poised to take a big step forward within the Connacht rugby landscape in 2013. Injury certainly hampered his progress during the past 12 months. As a result, one year on from representing Ireland at under-19 level and helping Connacht under-20s to an inter-provincial clean sweep, he is just itching to get back on the field.
The former Rice College and Westport star is part of the Connacht Academy and very much a key long-term front-row prospect for the province that seems to be producing its fair share of talented forwards in recent years.
At just 19, Dever has time on his side. Connacht’s current number three, Ronan Loughney, went through a plethora of injury woes in his early seasons with the province, and used the down time to build core strength and improve conditioning.
For Dever, the first target in 2013 is to get back playing with the Connacht Development side and in the All-Ireland League with Corinthians, so that he gets plenty of game time by the spring.
From there, the sky is the limit. And with the current regime keen to give their young guns a shot at every opportunity, he could get first-team matches in pre-season next August.
Rob Murphy

Soccer
Colm Nevin
Castlebar Celtic
NOE Baba is off to Fulham, but another Castlebar Celtic youngster has been making his mark closer to home.
Colm Nevin was one of four under-18 players who joined the club’s senior squad in 2012, and made his debut for Mayo’s Oscar Traynor Trophy team as a substitute in last month’s victory over Sligo/Leitrim.
A midfielder who knows where the net is, he’s had trials with the Irish under-18 schoolboys team, bagged two goals in Celtic’s 8-2 FAI Junior Cup victory over Killala in November, and got another two in the 5-3 defeat of Iorras Aontaithe.
“Colm was excellent – for a young lad playing senior football in a central midfield role … he was very, very good,” Celtic manager Declan Kilkelly told Midwest Radio after that game.
As well as getting through his midfield duties, he’s fond of a pop from distance – and has scored a couple of screamers. In 2011, his 30-yard cracker against Headford helped seal a first ever Connacht junior (under-16) title for St Gerald’s College, and last August, a stunning strike helped revive Celtic’s fortunes in a Super League match against Fahy Rovers.
Daniel Carey

Golf
Jonathan Doherty
Ballina GC
YOUNG Ballina golfer Jonathan Doherty has enormous potential and has already achieved a lot in the game.
He won the 2012 Under-17 Connacht Close Championship in Oughterard – though he was eligible for the under-16 grade, having won the Connacht Close Under-13 Championship at Loughrea in 2009.
He finished as the leading under-16 qualifier in the Faldo Series at Lough Erne, with the second best score of the entire age groups.
A member of the Connacht Youths team that performed very well in the Interprovincial Championships last year, he’s currently rated in the top five youth golfers in Connacht and has reduced his handicap from five to three.
He has also enjoyed success at school and club level, and has represented Ballina GC in the Junior Cup, Senior Cup, Barton Shield.
As they say, it wasn’t from the wind he took it. His grandfather is none other than former Mayo footballer Joe Corcoran, who was a great golfer in his own right.
Jonathan also plays Gaelic football for Ardnaree and soccer for Ballina Town. He knows better than most that very soon he will have to decide which game he will concentrate on.
Austin Garvin

Boxing
Michelle Lynch
Golden Gloves, Belmullet
KATIE Taylor’s exploits in women’s boxing has helped to popularise the sport as young girls flock to their local clubs.
Michelle Lynch of Golden Gloves, Belmullet is one of the best female boxers in the country. The likeable young lady has made wonderful strides in the sport in a very short time.
She became the first boxer from the progressive Golden Gloves club to win a national senior title in 2012. She also had the unique distinction of winning under-21 and intermediate titles in the same season.
Just a few weeks ago, she was one of three female boxers to receive special achievement awards from the IABA. She received several awards at the Mayo boxing dinner in Ballina last season.
Michelle has represented Ireland successfully at international level on three occasions, and has boxed in the European Youth Championships. She was very disappointed to miss out due to illness on boxing against England in her club’s recent international at the Broadhaven Bay? Hotel.
If she continues to improve there’s a distinct possibility that she will be on the short list to represent Ireland in the 57kg class at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Austin Garvin