Hurlers take aim at Rackard glory
Mayo duo Sean Kenny and Eoghan Collins will look to add more silverware when they face Monaghan in the Nicky Rackard Cup. Picture: David Farrell Photography
Fresh off winning the National League Division 3A title, Mayo will look to make it a league and championship double when they begin their Nicky Rackard Cup campaign at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park on Sunday afternoon where they play Monaghan (2pm).
Mayo’s group will be very familiar to them, having competed against Monaghan, Armagh and Louth in the National League earlier this year. The other two sides in the group are Roscommon and Donegal, who lost last year’s Nicky Rackard final to Wicklow.
Donegal and Mayo are very familiar opponents to Mayo in recent years. The Ulster side defeated Mayo in the 2020 final before Mayo won the competition the following year with a rout of Tyrone in Croke Park.
After reaching the Christy Ring Cup final the following year, which ended in defeat to Kildare, hopes were high that Mayo could build on it once more but it would be a championship to forget as Mayo lost all five group games and ended up relegated back to the fourth tier.
Since the appointment of Brian Finn and Ray Larkin as joint-managers, the latter guiding Tooreen to an All-Ireland intermediate club final with Tooreen in early 2023 as well as three Connacht titles in a row, expectations were high that Mayo would be back in the winners circle.
On Easter Sunday they did just that when they defeated Sligo 3-19 to 3-16 to win the title. Considering Sligo are competing in the Chisty Ring this year, it would not be a stretch to say that Mayo are strong favourites to claim a third Nicky Rackard Cup, having won in 2016 and 2021 previously.
They had the tightest defence in Division 3A, conceding only 3-56 across all five games. A tally of 3-16 conceded in the league final against Sligo will be of some concern, however, and Mayo will hope that was just a blip and not something that will be a concern going into the championship.
On paper, the opener against the Farney County looks the most straightforward of their group games. Monaghan were very poor on the day as Mayo ran out 26-point winners in the end, 5-20 to 0-9, with Adrian Phillips hitting 3-4. They bounced back well to beat Armagh and pushed Sligo close also but the Armagh win would be their solitary one as they finished bottom of Division 3A.
Given Tooreen’s success over the past seven years, it’s no surprise that much of their spine makes up Mayo’s. Nine of their contingent started the final against Sligo: Bobby Douglas, Oisin Greally, Conal Hession, David Kenny, Daniel Huane, Sean Kenny, Liam Lavin, Eoin Delaney and Shane Boland, while Sean Regan and Shane Crinnigan are valuable options off the bench.
Tooreen’s local rivals Ballyhaunis also feature prominently with Adrian Phillips Mayo’s chief scorer this year, while Eoghan Collins, Cormac Phillips, Michael Farrell and Danny Hill are all important members of this team.
But it’s the rise of junior hurling club in Mayo that have received plenty of attention in the county. Moytura duo John Heraty and Joseph Burke have seen plenty of game time while Luke Connor of Caiseal Gaels has established himself as an integral member of Mayo’s full back line.
The class of Mayo across the field means they should be too much for Monaghan once again.
