Ones to watch in 2009

Ones to watch in 2009

We predict who is going to make the sporting headlines in Mayo over the next twelve months

GAELIC FOOTBALL
Ger Cafferkey
Ballina Stephenites

IN twelve months time this selection will either seem like impressive foresight or wishful thinking because any debate involving Mayo and full-backs has been notoriously dodgy ground these last few years.
Unfortunately, the most talked-about full-back in the county won’t actually get the chance to tog out for Mayo until next month’s National League. The fourth year Civil Engineering student has been claimed by NUI, Galway for the FBD Connacht League so he actually played against Mayo last Sunday in Dangan.
However, that run-out (against a capable opponent in Aidan O’Shea) gave John O’Mahony and some Mayo supporters the chance to see the 21 year old in combat, and so the process of evaluating him can now begin in earnest.
Last season was hectic and (mostly) injury-free for a player who has idled away far too much time on the treatment table over the last two years. He spent the spring with the Mayo U-21s, the summer flitting between the Ballina football and hurling squads, and the last few months he has been at NUI, Galway’s service.
So why do we like the cut of his jib? Well, Ger Cafferkey is a very good footballer and he takes it seriously. He thinks about his game, analyses his performances forensically, trains hard, and is no shrinking violet either.
His marking job on Kerry’s gargantuan full-forward, Tommy Walsh, in last year’s All-Ireland U-21 semi-final also confirmed what most of us already suspected. This man is finally ready to step up and make the senior number three jersey his own.
MIKE FINNERTY

HURLING
Cathal Freeman
Tooreen

IF you think you had a busy 2008, what about Cathal Freeman, who balanced hurling and football with club and county, as well as the small matter of the Leaving Cert?
The young Tooreen man’s most hectic day came in August. He kicked the point that forced extra time in Mayo’s (ultimately successfully) All-Ireland minor football quarter-final with Monaghan in Longford. Three and a half hours later, he was in Castlebar, and scored a phenomenal 1-8 (out of a total of 1-9) as the Mayo minor hurlers went down to eventual champions Kildare in the All-Ireland B quarter-final.
Big things are expected of the dual star, who is now a first year student at NUI, Galway. He was superb in the drawn All-Ireland minor football final, and had his brother Adrian for company as Aghamore clinched the Mayo Intermediate Championship. But he’s arguably even more proficient with the small ball.
Freeman hasn’t yet featured in training with the county senior hurling squad, but his performances at club level for Tooreen suggest his ability to make the step up certainly isn’t in question. Having been transferred from wing back to wing forward with great success by Ray Dempsey, he’s likely to play much of his senior hurling in the half-forward line.
DANIEL CAREY

SOCCER
Seán McHale
Castlebar Celtic

IF Cathal Freeman’s move from the defence to the forward line played a big part in transforming the Mayo minor footballers, Seán McHale’s switch from midfield to attack was even more effective.
McHale was already an established part of the Castlebar Celtic side, and was never afraid to get stuck in when deployed in the engine room by Gavin Dykes. But Declan Kilkelly’s appointment as manager saw him redeployed as a striker – with devastating effect.
There was a point in the middle of the season when McHale couldn’t stop scoring. And when he added two goals against Westport United in July to an ever-burgeoning tally, one man reckoned he “must be heading for a place in the Guinness Book of Records”. Another set his sights even higher. “Trapattoni has to bring McHale in,” he mused by text message.
With a full season in prospect in what seems clearly his best position, McHale’s resurgence promises to be one of the most interesting aspects of the year ahead. The goals haven’t dried up either – he scored against Rathkeale in the controversial FAI Junior Cup game. And the dual star could well be a central player as Parke (unfortunate not to reach the knockout stages of last year’s Mayo Intermediate Championship) attempt to win the Junior title.
DANIEL CAREY

RUGBY
Joe Moran
Connacht

THE Castlebar native is the rising star of Mayo rugby at the moment having made his Irish under 20 debut on Christmas week against a Leinster selection.
This was the latest step on a journey that started out in Cloondeash with his local club at under 14s, moved on through Roscrea College, then to Leinster Schools, and took in both the Connacht and Irish under 19s.
Now Moran, a strong abrasive runner, has reached the point where he is on the verge of the Galwegians All-Ireland League team and a member of the Irish under 20s. He usually plays blindside flanker but is pretty adept in the second row and could well end up there as his career develops.
Moran moved to Roscrea College for his Junior Cert and continued his rugby education in a school team with a pretty strong reputation in the Leinster Schools Cup.
It was while in Roscrea that the son of Castlebar auctioneer Brian was spotted by the Leinster Schools selectors who battled behind the scenes with their Connacht counterparts to secure him for the inter-pro series.
However, once that competition was over Joe teamed up with his native province to play under 19s and then joined their academy set up at the Sportsground.
Last year, at the age of just 18, Moran was one of the stars in the Galwegians junior team that secured the Connacht Junior Cup. We will be watching his progress closely this year.
ROB MURPHY
GOLF
Sean Flanagan 
Co Sligo
FOR as long as people remember, the name Flanagan has been synonymous with golf in Rosses Point. The Flanagan name has figured prominently on various club and provincial teams with distinction down the years.
Already young Sean Flanagan has served notice that he will be one to watch throughout 2009 and well into the future.
A series of outstanding performances during 2008 has excited shrewd followers of the game, particularly at his home club of Rosses Point.
The club is noted for its outstanding youth policy that has produced some fine young golfers. Several national team and individual titles have come to the club in recent times.
In the year gone by young members of Co. Sligo have featured on the Irish junior team that has swept the boards at international level.
Although just 12 years of age, Sean Flanagan has finished as top under 13 golfer in all four of the provincial under 15 championships. He is a member of the Irish under 14 panel and as such attends the GUI Academy at Carton House.
He is noted for his ice cool temperament and high work ethic and prefers to let his golf do the talking.
With the game of golf enjoying an all-time high in Ireland at the moment, surely with his undoubted potential Sean Flanagan is a name to be followed with interest in the years and months ahead.
AUSTIN GARVIN