The Mayo Minors of 2013: where are they now?

Feature
Daniel Carey

LAST month, members of the Mayo minor team of 2013 filed into St Patrick’s Church, Kilmaine for Darragh Doherty’s requiem Mass. The late corner forward’s most prized possessions, the Connacht and All-Ireland medals he won that year, were among the items presented.
Eoin Sweeney, a selector on that team, paid tribute to a young footballer with the biggest smile in the world. Manager Enda Gilvarry remembered him as someone who was ‘fiercely committed and very dedicated’. The loss of such a bright talent in a road accident rocked the entire GAA fraternity.
Exactly two years ago last Tuesday, Doherty’s goal helped Mayo to a 2-13 to 1-13 victory over Tyrone in the All-Ireland Minor Championship final. It bridged a 28-year gap since the Tom Markham Cup had last come to the county. Enda Gilvarry was full-back on that 1985 side, whose victory over Cork we recalled in these pages last week.
In the aftermath of Mayo’s defeat to Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final replay, GAA fans have wondered aloud what new faces we might see in the county’s senior set-up next year. With that in mind, the talk in some quarters invariably turned to the class of 2013. Some of their stories are well-known. Diarmuid O’Connor has already made a major impact in his second season at adult inter-county level. Stephen Coen, an inspirational captain in 2013, made his senior championship debut earlier this month.
A couple of their former team-mates are on the fringes of the senior squad, and many have already made the step-up to under-21. But others have suffered major injuries, some of which have required surgery.
Most are in third-level education, a handful are already working. Some have won honours with their clubs since, while others are still involved in championship action and are hoping to finish 2015 on a high. And like the men of ’85, the 2013 squad will be forever bonded by their days of glory in Croke Park.
Two years on, we ask: Where are they now?

Mark Mulligan
Claremorris
HAS returned to fitness recently after a successful hip operation and played for Claremorris under-21s against Ballaghaderreen. Missed the closing stages of the club’s under-21 ‘A’ championship success last year due to a bad finger injury. Having deferred college for a year, he recently begun studying physiotherapy in London.

Eddie Doran
Achill
THE 20-year-old, one of the brightest prospects from the class of 2013, has had two hip operations and precious little football in the last two years. A sports science student at DCU, the Dooniver native missed last year’s club championship but has come back into the reckoning for Achill in the last six weeks.

Seamus Cunniffe
Ballaghaderreen
THE DCU psychology student was minor in 2013 and 2014 and took to the US for the last two summers. Missed Mayo’s U-21 campaign in 2015 and played little football with DCU or Ballagh’ due to a long-term groin injury. Underwent rehab with the Mayo medics and returned to action this summer, playing in the last few league games.

David Kenny
Aghamore
TV3’s ‘official’ man of the match for the final, the dual star was also part of the Mayo minor hurling team that clinched the All-Ireland ‘C’ Championship. Played under-21 hurling and football for Mayo in 2015, has hurled for the seniors and went to Portugal with the Mayo senior footballers this year.

Michael Hall
Breaffy
PART of the Mayo senior squad in 2015, Hall is a lively defender who is comfortable at corner back or wing back. The 21-year-old started one NFL game this year (against Tyrone) and will be determined to push for a place in 2016. A key player for his club, the DCU student is one with a bright future ahead.

Stephen Coen
Hollymount/Carramore
PUT in a Herculean effort to lead the team to All-Ireland glory, and after a brief rest, has been involved with the Mayo senior and under-21 squads. Made his senior championship debut in the recent All-Ireland semi-final replay against Dublin. Has recovered from tendonitis in his knee and is a major player for Hollymount/Carramore.

SeΡn Conlon
Castlebar Mitchels
PART of the Mayo minor team again in 2014, the wing back featured for the Mitchels ‘B’ team in the group stages of this year’s Intermediate Championship. Part of the club’s senior squad and started last Saturday’s quarter-final. He’s also played a couple of senior league games.

Val Roughneen
Balla
THE midfielder has graduated to the Mayo under-21 ranks, whom he represented earlier this year. Also a key member of a young Balla team that narrowly failed to make it out of their group in the Junior Championship. Works in Elverys.

Diarmuid O’Connor
Ballintubber
THE biggest success story of the class of 2013 thus far. Considered a major contender for the Young Footballer of the Year award after his second season with Mayo seniors. Won his first senior championship medal with Ballintubber in 2014, and was a member of the DCU team that won the Sigerson Cup last February.

PΡdraig Prendergast
Louisburgh
RETURNED to playing this year after a cruciate injury in summer 2014 suffered in an under-21 challenge match. Adhered to his rehab regime and has bulked up. Despite his lengthy absence, he acquitted himself well for Louisburgh in the Junior Championship against Achill. In college in Galway.

Michael Plunkett
Ballintubber
THE DCU student, who turns 20 in November, won his first senior championship medal with Ballintubber in 2014. Came off the bench for Mayo under-21s in their victory over Leitrim, but a nasty hip joint injury took him out of football for a time earlier this year.

Conor Loftus
Crossmolina
the DCU student scored three points in the 2013 final. Went to the Mayo seniors’ training camp in Portugal this year and was kept on in the panel, though he didn’t make any match-day squad. His game for Mayo U-21s last March marked the end of an annus horribilis in which he required two groin surgeries in 2014.

Darragh Doherty
Kilmaine
HAILED by Stephen Coen as ‘a huge figure in our squad, a great guy, and the life and soul of the party’ after his tragic death in a road accident last month. “We wouldn’t have won the All-Ireland without Darragh Doherty,” the 2013 captain told this newspaper. Mayo minor and Kilmaine team-mates took turns to carry his coffin.

Liam Irwin
Breaffy
THE full-forward scored one of the goals of the 2013 season in the Connacht final. A student at DIT, he was involved in this year’s Mayo under-21 side before opting out. After a summer in America (where he won a championship with John McBrides in Chicago), the 21-year-old is now back in the Breaffy senior squad.

Tommy Conroy
Kiltane
WON Mayo and Connacht Intermediate Football Championship medals with Kiltane in 2013, and captained Our Lady’s, Belmullet to All-Ireland Senior ‘D’ success in 2014. Ongoing groin problems resulted in hip surgery last May, but he returned to club action six weeks ahead of schedule. The 20-year-old is keen to pursue an apprenticeship in the near future.

Matthew Flanagan
Balla
GOALKEEPER on the Mayo under-21 team for the last two years, and first-choice at minor level in 2014. Plays soccer with Manulla (he won the Mayo League’s inaugural Young Footballer of the Year award), and was full-forward on the Balla team that won last year’s West Mayo minor ‘A’ title. Had knee surgery in 2014 but has returned to action. Studying in Galway.

Hugh Cafferty
Crossmolina
CAME on in the 2013 final but – not unlike his brother James – has been beset by hamstring problems since, and has had very little game-time. A member of the Crossmolina senior squad this year and a student in Dublin.

Kevin Jordan
Mayo Gaels
THE University of Limerick second-year student is playing well for Mayo Gaels’ intermediate team this year. Suffered a bad shoulder injury training for Mayo under-21s which took him out of contention for the first part of this year.

Ronan Finn
Claremorris
A STUDENT in Dublin, he was right half-back on the Claremorris under-21 team that won last year’s county ‘A’ championship, beating Ballina in the final after a replay. Playing on the club’s senior team this year. Had a spell on the county under-21 panel.

Brian Walsh
Ballintubber
THE IT Sligo student saw action in Ballintubber’s run to the Moclair Cup last year, though he didn’t play in the county final. A serious shoulder injury sustained in the Mayo under-21 semi-final last November put him out of action until this summer, where he’s again been a fringe player for his club.

Matthew Ruane
Breaffy
ONE of the youngest members of the 2013 panel, Ruane starred for the Mayo minors in 2014. The 19-year-old has already featured for Mayo under-21s, been inducted into a senior strength and conditioning programme and has also been brought in on occasion for senior training games. The DCU business student is a regular starter for his club.

FionΡn Duffy
Crossmolina
WAS also a member the Connacht title-winning Mayo minor squad of 2014. Has been Crossmolina’s best forward in 2015, scoring consistently. Along with Conor Loftus, played in Crossmolina’s only under-21 game, a draw with Charlestown.

James Langan
Knockmore
CAME on as a sub in the All-Ireland semi-final victory over Monaghan. A member of the Knockmore under-21 team and got a few runs-out at adult level, but not currently involved with the club’s seniors or juniors. Studying in Galway.

Conor Byrne
Moy Davitts
WAS also a member of the county squad in 2014. Did his Leaving Cert last June and has started college. On the road to recovery after a period beset by injuries, including an ankle problem that required an operation. Came on as a sub at both intermediate and under-21 level in recent weeks, and started for his club last Saturday.

Ronan Carolan
Parke
PLAYED in Parke’s recent defeat to Hollymount/Carramore in the Mayo Intermediate Championship quarter-final. In a club racked by injuries, it was his first appearance since chipping a bone in his foot in an under-21 match against Burrishoole. A student in Sligo, he’d had hamstring trouble before that.

Stephen Brennan
Claremorris
A STUDENT at NUI, Galway, he was also a member of the 2014 Mayo minor squad that won the Connacht title. Left corner back on the Claremorris team that won last year’s Mayo under-21 ‘A’ championship. Now a member of the club’s senior side.

Stephen Burke
Ballinrobe
PLAYED club football in 2014 but an ankle injury last April required an operation in July, though he’s been a regular sight helping out at training since. Working in McHale’s in Ballinrobe.

Darragh Dunne
Ballaghaderreen
A COMPUTER science student at Trinity College Dublin, he represented their Freshers team and excelled in Ballaghaderreen’s run to the county U-21 ‘B’ final last year. Putting up big scores from corner forward and is now a regular in the Ballaghaderreen senior team.

CIAN HANLEY
Ballaghaderreen
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