Quick on the draw

Quick on the draw


Text messages were flying after the club championship pairings were revealed

Sketch
Daniel Carey

THE night did not get off to the most auspicious of starts. The over-enthusiastic taps in the bathroom of the TF left the reporter looking like he had suffered a nasty accident. Before last Thursday evening, I hadn’t wet myself since I was two.
In other respects, though, things were looking up. The progress of the Mayo minors meant that last weekend was free from club championship action, and by Thursday evening, that was looking like no bad thing Torrential rain had led to the cancellation of the Mountbellew Agricultural Show (which had, the news reports informed us, was staged through two world wars).
No war in the TF – quite the opposite, in fact. Peace and harmony reigned as one man’s eclectic choice of evening meal – toast, red wine and a sandwich – met with a thumbs up from the obliging kitchen, even if his first choice of filling – tuna – was shot down.
“Let’s get this show on the road, there’s school in the morning,” said one woman who had travelled to the home of the title sponsors for the last club championship draw of the year. In fairness to the organisers, they didn’t hang about. Mayo GAA Board Chairman James Waldron introduced Vice-Chairman Paddy Naughton and we were off.
“The crowd is getting smaller as the year goes by,” Naughton mused, and indeed, it was an exclusive club – or more correctly, an exclusive band of clubs. There may be a lot of interest in who’s drawn with who, but as we’ve now reached the business end, it was interested parties only – and even then, many had obviously opted for the delights of Christina Applegate and ‘Samantha Who’ on TG4 over the delights of the county town.
Still, when the main event of the evening was over, such was the bleeping of text messages that one could have been forgiven for thinking we were at an Apple conference rather than a gathering of Gaels.
West Mayo GAA Board Secretary Seán McEvilly was on ‘walkabout’ duty, though the first candidate he identified to draw a team for the Intermediate Championship semi-finals had to declare an interest. Two successful draws later, Belmullet were paired with Aghamore. Next came Kilmaine, and as one spectator put it, “I hope the next one is Westport or there’s something wrong”. The Covies were indeed last out of the hat, so they can look forward to facing the boys in green and red.
Next we were onto the Junior Championship, admittedly somewhat premature given that the quarter-finals have yet to take place. In any event, the winners of The Neale versus Knockmore will meet whoever comes through out of Islandeady-Carramore, while Lahardane or Ballina will play either Killala or Castlebar.
After the U-21 draw almost jumped the gun, it was onto the main business of the evening, the Senior Championship. Michael Duffy, who does an odd bit of work in this parish, politely declined to draw the first piece of paper. The man whose hand paired Ballyhaunis and Aghamore together last time out was, after all, hardly a neutral observer, given that he was wearing his Ballintubber GAA Secretary’s hat.
When things were eventually settled, Charlestown were drawn to play Claremorris in the first semi-final, while Crossmolina must await the winners of the replay between Ballaghaderreen and Ballintubber. At the other end of the scale, there was no need for a draw. Louisburgh and Kiltane, having both lost their initial relegation play-offs, will have their own Celebrity Death Match before the month is out.
Then it was on to the U-21B draw. The Neale or Ballaghaderreen will take on Kiltimagh, while Achill play St Gerard’s on dates to be decided.
The print-out which followed had the South Mayo O’Mara Cup final scheduled for Ballinrobe. Given that tempers ran high after the to-ing and fro-ing over the semi-final between Shrule/Glencorrib and the Robesiders, perhaps Flanagan Park will be replaced by a venue where tensions aren’t running so high. The West Bank or Gaza, perhaps?