Castlebar grind down Garry’s hopes of fairytale ending
Castlebar's Seán Morahan receives the ball ahead of Garrymore midfielder Gary Golden. Picture: David Farrell Photography
Mayo football might be occupying a different world right now but some old orders remain.
A 32nd county senior title for Castlebar Mitchels was achieved with minimum fuss on Sunday, the second most successful club in the history of the competition taking ownership of the Moclair Cup from the most successful, Ballina Stephenites, whose three year reign as champions was officially terminated by Mitchels in August.
Garrymore had entered this final with genuine hopes of upsetting the establishment – they were the first to strike a blow upon Ballina’s hopes of a title defence this year after which they had cut Castlebar Mitchels down to size too – but on county final day, against a club that had won seven finals since Garrymore’s last in 1982, it was going to take something special from the South Mayo outfit to become the 2026 champions. And something special never materialised.
Mayo might have waited 75 years to end their All-Ireland drought this year but every famine has its context so having won the Mayo SFC title 31 times prior to Sunday, a nine year wait for their next was beginning to feel like a lifetime to Castlebar Mitchels.
The seriousness with which the county town side approached this game was exemplified by their five All-Ireland winners – Bob Tuohy, Paddy Durcan, Donnacha McHugh, Seán Morahan and club captain John MacMonagle – declining the Mayo team’s recent USA tour. That commitment paid off handsomely as midfielder Tuohy kicked six points on his way to the man-of-the-match award while Durcan contributed superbly to nullifying the threat of his county colleague Enda Hession while at times giving an attacking masterclass too.
Garrymore got more out of their other Mayo star, Eoin McGreal, who supplied three second-half points from defence which together with four by Darren Quinn, helped to reduce the deficit to four points by the 58th minute when really, Castlebar had played all the football. But Garry’ had no more to give; a foul by corner-back Justin Commins that denied MacMonagle a goal scoring opportunity, resulted in a black card for Commins and a penalty for Cian Walsh which he dispatched with aplomb.
A 60th minute point by substitute Eoghan Hughes left eight between them at full-time. It was a much fairer reflection of the difference in class between the two teams on the day.
At the beginning of what was a magnificent individual midfield display, perhaps even his best yet for club or county, Bob Tuohy had opened the scoring with a stylish two pointer and by the end of the opening quarter he had added a pair of singles, one of which had bounced over the crossbar of Garrymore goalkeeper Brian Lynskey. There were points by Cian Walsh and Joe Forry, two, as well, as Kevin Filan’s side made light work of the stiff breeze blowing against them. Mitchels were leading by seven points as early as the 17th minute and the picture could even have been bleaker for Garrymore had Colin Commins not blocked a fourth minute goal effort by Paddy Durcan who broke through the cover far too easily.
After wides by Darren Quinn, Andrew Glennon and Trevor Nally, and a poorly hit shot from 20 metres by Aaron Hughes, it was the latter who eventually broke Garrymore’s scoring duck in the 22nd minute when backing himself from outside the scoring arc. The Red and White were badly missing the long-range accuracy of Mark Gibbons, ruled out through a hamstring injury, and their only other first-half score was also a two-pointer, fired over in the very last play by Trevor Nally, in between which Seán Morahan and Anthony O’Boyle had registered points for Castlebar Mitchels, to see the locals take a 0-9 to 0-4 lead to the dressing-room.
Garrymore had created a couple of half goal chances, one inside the opening ten minutes when an off-balance Trevor Nally forced Rory Byrne into a quite straightforward save, the other on the half hour mark when Cathal Slattery, with the angle narrowing all the time, resolved to fisting for a point only for that to drop short.
Strangely, like Mitchels early doors, playing against the elements seemed to suit Garrymore better, as they looked a much improved outfit in the third quarter, paring the gap back to three points at one stage.
Eoin McGreal instigated and finished a move involving Slattery and first-half substitute Caolan Crowe, and while that opening point of the second-half was replied to by Bob Tuohy, after full-forward Joe Forry’s clever recycling of possession, and by a Paddy Durcan special from downtown, Garrymore fought back to score five of the game’s next six points.
Trevor Nally was alert to a high ball in and rifled a potential goal chance over the bar, McGreal backed himself from two point territory on the right wing and was rewarded, while Darren Quinn began to take on his marker Donnacha McHugh and picked off two points, either side of Tuohy blazing over a goal chance at the opposite end after some attacking brilliance by Paddy Durcan.
That all left the scoreboard reading 0-13 to 0-10 in Castlebar’s favour entering the final ten minutes.
A glorious two-point free curled over by Forry from the stand-side touchline into the Bacon Factory end pushed the gap back out to five before John MacMonagle foiled Garrymore’s best chance of a route back into contention when throwing himself in front of Caolan Crowe’s swing for goal in the 52nd minute.
An Ultan O’Reilly point, after a give and go with substitute Calum Filan, son of the Mitchels manager, made it a six points game with six minutes left on the clock, and while Darren Quinn did boot over a two-pointer – and moved himself into fifth place in the senior championship’s top scorers chart – to keep Garrymore gallantly clinging onto their opponents coattails, Castlebar’s game management – and late penalty award – was soon to secure title 32.
Also crowned champions in Mayo’s previous All-Ireland winning years of 1950 and ’51, Mitchels will travel to London on the weekend of November 14/15 to play Fulham Irish in the AIB Connacht Senior Club semi-final.
