2025 Super League: a mad and magical season
Castlebar Celtic's perfect league season, winning a third Super League in a row, sees them get seven of the our picks for Western People Super League Team of the Year.
Another season has come and gone in the Elverys Sports Super League. Here are the five big talking points from throughout the 2025 season, as well as our Team of the Season.
I would like to thank Stuart Tynan for his assistance in compiling the team of the year, and for removing his Castlebar Celtic hat long enough to make an informed, unbiased decision!
There was never a great deal of doubt that Castlebar Celtic would retain their Super League title but winning three games on the bounce, over the course of nine days, at the death showed the Hoops were just a class above.
Westport United came to town on June 5 sitting at the top of the table and although Celtic had several games in hand, denying them three points could have put a lot of pressure on for the next few games. Oran Groarke had fired Celtic ahead but Harrison Quinn leveled matters in the second half. Westport looked to have secured a share of the spoils but Johnnie Cocozza netted in the 93rd minute to steal the win.
Three days later, Celtic travelled up north to take on Ballina Town. Things looked ominous for Celtic for the first time in a long time on the 71 minute mark when Groarke was sent off with them trailing 3-2. But they left Belleek Park with all three points thanks to Jordan Loftus’s equalizer and Dylan Edwards 84th minute winner. What is more, Ballina’s Dylan McKee smacked the post with a penalty in stoppage time.
Six days later, they left it late but was again great as Jordan Loftus’s 93rd minute goal gave them a 1-0 victory over Glenhest Rovers. In the space of nine days, Stevie Gavin’s side ended all talk of a title race by securing nine points in the most dramatic of fashion.
A sadder story towards the bottom of the Super League table was the withdrawal of Kiltimagh/Knock United’s senior team, which came on the back of the withdrawal of their B team from League One earlier in the season.
Clubs have dropped out of the Mayo League in the past, and many have come back, but it is rare that a team from the top division feels the need to withdraw entirely – especially at the moment they did. There was only a few games left in what had been admittedly a disastrous season but it would have been better for all associated with the club to see it out instead.
You cannot deny the demoralizing effect that the 17-0 defeat to Westport United had and maybe it should not have been a shock that K/K conceded their home match to the Coveys before conceding the following game against Castlebar Celtic as well. On foot of that decision, the club opted to pull out of the Mayo League, a sad end to their return to the top flight which once showed signs of tremendous promise.
It was one of the most seismic stories in the storied history of the Mayo Football League. Ballyheane sought to have an early season Thursday night game against Castlebar Celtic moved with players unavailable due to college commitments.
The League refused and Ballyheane, adamant that an agreement that midweek games would not be taking place until later in the season had been broken, took the controversial decision to withdraw their three players from the Oscar Traynor squad. Michael Fahy, Nathan Reilly Doyle and the county’s star player Ben Edeh were no longer in contention to play the upcoming semi-final against Limerick as Mayo looked to reach their second OT final in as many years.
The Leagues Disciplinary and Control Unit (DCU) came down hard on Ballyheane, accusing the club of bringing the game into disrepute. A €1,000 fine was handed down and four club officials, including management duo Ashley Stevenson and Joe Redmond, were banned from all footballing related activities for 12 months.
Ballyheane appealed this decision but to no avail, as the FAI upheld the Mayo League’s punishment. It was an ugly saga that was handled poorly by all sides. It will take a long time until the hurt this has caused will subside.
While Westport and Celtic were the frontrunners, the void left in the ‘best of the rest’ category by clubs who underperformed on their 2024 campaigns such as Ballyheane, Conn Rangers and Ballina Town was filled by plucky underdogs Glenhest Rovers.
Having been relegated in 2023, a new look Glenhest fired back up from the Premier League last year. Although the striker who was central to last year’s revolution, Connor McCarthy, missed chunks of this season, they nonetheless carried the momentum he helped them to generate into the Super League.
Levi Barrett was their top goal scorer with 10 goals and Paddy Mulchrone had another terrific season with nine goals. McCarthy chipped in with seven goals despite his limited minutes.
They finished in third place and along the way, picked up big wins home and away against the likes of Ballina Town and Conn Rangers. These were four games they lost during their last stint in the Super League. While they don’t look like challenging Westport and Celtic, who contributed to four of Glenhest’s five league defeats this year, they will remain in the top half and potentially challenge for one of the cups should they keep going at this trajectory.
Looking ahead to next season, two teams au fait with life in the Super League will make their return to the top flight.
Under the management of David McNicholas, Ballyglass finally returned to the top tier at the fourth time of asking having been relegated in 2021. Former League of Ireland footballer and local lad Ryan Connolly fired them up the table with his goals and the club benefitted from having a more settled starting 11 throughout the season.
Simon Collins guided Claremorris back to the Super League at the first time of asking and they will be keen to ditch the label of a ‘yo-yo club’ this time around. They were relegated in 2022, and won Premier in 2023, only to suffer another relegation in 2024. This year, Westport United B won the second tier title triggering a playoff between the second-highest Premier team, Claremorris, and the ninth place Super League team, Ballyhaunis Town, in which Claremorris were successful.
Unfortunately, both returning clubs have had their comebacks marred somewhat as both McNicholas and Collins have stepped down from their respective roles. For Ballyglass and Claremorris, getting these appointments right will be essential if they are to stay up and be competitive next year.
Another solid season for the young goalkeeper who showed a steady pair of hands throughout the year, even when his team was firing them in at the other end.
He makes the team ahead of Mikey O’Brien and Adam Blake off the back of Glenhest’s superb season and an impressive return of 10 goals from his defensive position.
2024’s Mayo League Young Player of the Year carried his form into 2025 with aplomb. His name is a regular fixture in conversations around who the best player in the county is at the moment.
He has shown again this season that he is one of the League’s most solid and composed defenders and for Westport, he is a much-needed successor to club legend Joe Lawless at centre back.
Probably the most underrated player in the county at the moment, Walsh enjoyed another fine season for Castlebar Celtic in defence.
Cocozza returned to Castlebar Celtic at the back end of the 2024 season giving the club another versatile, attacking weapon and made the rest of league collectively groan.
An industrious, composed footballer who does a lot of hard work that often goes unnoticed. He had an impressive season once again and already looks like a top-class player aged just 22.
Practically ever present for the club since signing up in 2023, missing just four League games (of games that were played) in that time. Nine goals and 13 assists this season is a fantastic return.
Still only 20, he hit double figures in the Super League for the third season in a row and was also the joint top scorer in the Benson Cup alongside teammate Dylan O’Malley.
Every 34 minutes that he was on the pitch, Luke Kelly scored a goal. He ended the season with 23 goals to his name and had either of the conceded games gone ahead, probably would have a few more.
The FAI Connect app makes keeping track of the stats very simple these days but the Westport man’s return of 18 goals and 20 assists seems almost unprecedented.
This season has made it very clear that young players are stepping up and becoming the focal point of their teams. The average age of our Team of the Season is 23 and seven of the players selected are 22 or younger.
Brian Walsh is 24, Johnnie Cocozza is 27 while Levi Barrett (29) and Dylan Edwards (30) are the main suspects for dragging that average age up ever so slightly.
The future is bright and it points towards a very promising few years ahead of Mayo soccer, particularly for fans of Westport and Celtic who boast all bar one position on this team.
