Nothing compares to the Northern lights
Knockmore attacker Aiden Orme takes on Sam Callinan of Ballina Stephenites during the 2023 Mayo SFC semi-final at St Tiernan’s Park in Crossmolina, Picture: David Farrell Photography
As tight as…
Meaner than…
He wouldn’t give you…
If ever a sentence encapsulated the parochial strains and the not-an-inch-shall-we-give rivalry which exists between the GAA clubs of Ballina and Knockmore, it came at last Thursday night’s monthly meeting of Mayo County Board.
Board secretary Ronan Kirrane had just been outlining the rules and dates around the submitting of nominations and motions for this December’s county convention at the Great National Hotel when he declared how he was looking forward to a “quiet convention in Ballina” on December 8.
“The Great National Hotel is in Knockmore,” piped up the Knockmore delegate.
It is too.
Not. An. Inch.
They might only have met in two previous senior finals but Ballina Stephenites v Knockmore truly is one of the great arguments in Mayo Football. The former has won the senior championship more often than any other club, the latter are the third most successful, and yet there’s a case to be made that when it comes to Moclair Cup glory, Knockmore are now the more consistent of the pair given they have won it 10 times since 1973 compared to Ballina’s seven since 1966.
It's 20 years ago that the Stephenites beat Knockmore in the last county final involving the duo. It was a significant win too as not only did it mark the club’s first retention of the title in over 40 years but it was a springboard to the Green and Red becoming All-Ireland Club champions the following St Patrick’s Day for the first – and only – time. Interestingly, Knockmore’s last – and only – time to beat Ballina Stephenites in the Mayo SFC final, back in 1996, also saw them conclude that campaign in Croke Park as All-Ireland Club finalists so what fate awaits the winners of this evening's third installment is anyone’s guess.
This, of course, is also the third straight year that Ballina have reached the final which in itself is something the club has not done since losing three finals in 1967, ’68 and ’69 having beaten defending champions Claremorris in the 1966 final.
Losing to first-time winners Westport in 2022, Niall Heffernan’s side last year accomplished something rarer than you might think because only four times in the previous 35 years had the beaten team in the Mayo SFC final managed to lift the Moclair Cup 12 months later – and Ballina weren’t among that group of teams to have done so. In fact, prior to that low-scoring win against Breaffy this time last year, for the last example of Ballina following up a county final defeat with victory the following year, you had to go all the way back to the years 1946 and ’47 – more than two decades before even the birth of Knockmore GAA Club.
But that’s enough about the history. This game will be won on Saturday, not on nostalgia.
The North Mayo behemoths are meeting in championship for the fourth time in five seasons. They played each other in last season’s semi-final and in 2020, faced off in both the group and semi-final stages, the year that Knockmore won their first Mayo SFC title in 23 years. It’s a mini spell that currently favours Ballina by two wins to one, giving Knockmore no sweeter opportunity than Saturday for to level up the scores.
“High on tension, low on quality,” were the opening words of my report of the pair’s last four clash last year. For most of the hour you could have heard a pin drop on the terrace of St Tiernan’s Park as absent too was the feistiness you’d normally expect from this fixture. Eventually, with Knockmore in desperate need of an equalising goal, a skirmish erupted in front of the Ballina posts in deepest stoppage time and resulted in straight red cards for Knockmore sub Adam Naughton and goalkeeper Colm Reape, and Jack Irwin of Ballina Stephenites. But as tends to be the way nowadays, an appeal was lodged, heard and successful and so the verdict of referee Jerome Henry and his officials counted for nought as Irwin took his place for the final against Breaffy.
Knockmore have been making a similar pitch over the last couple of weeks, trying to see if they could successfully appeal the suspension of Pearse Ruttledge, who was flashed a straight red card against Breaffy last time out, in the hope the midfielder could take his place in the line-up this Saturday. Their efforts at Mayo and Connacht level failed but it's understood the club may this week even have taken their case all the way to Croke Park.
Jerome Henry will in charge again and with so much on the line, there’s every chance he could be just as busy with the cards as he was in last year’s fixture.
A lot has been made of Ballina’s injury problems this campaign and management and players alike have spoken openly about the efforts made this year to strengthen the squad and legislate for the absenteeism of key players. And there’s no doubt that to have come through a county semi-final without the quality of Padraig O’Hora or Mikey Murray at their disposal was no mean feat. However, a comparison of the teams that lined out in the respective 2023 and ’24 semi-finals actually shows more change to the Knockmore line-up than Ballina’s.
The side selected by Aidan Kilcoyne and John Brogan for the extra-time victory over Breaffy last Sunday week displayed six changes in personnel to that which was beaten by Ballina in the semi-final 12 months ago, with no shortage of experience provided by the returns of Conor Flynn, Sean Holmes, Nathan Armstrong and Keith Ruttledge, while Caolan Hopkins has emerged from the shadows to become one of the championship’s hottest scoring forwards this season. The sixth addition was Declan Melvin, with talent like Kevin McLoughlin and Shane McHale – of similar influence to O’Hora and Murray for Ballina – among the players that Knockmore have had to make do without.
But if the Saffron and Blue are looking better equipped than when taking on their neighbours last year, it’s possible the Ballina team that takes to the field in MacHale Park will also be stronger, particularly with Luke Doherty back in harness and the aforementioned Mikey Murray showing some inspired form this season having also not started the semi-final or final in 2023.
Luke Jordan has been a solid addition to a defence that is otherwise relatively unchanged, with Sam Callinan, Ger Cafferkey, Padraig O’Hora, Liam Golden and David Tighe a formidable unit at this level. Indeed you know your defence is good when you can choose to transfer a recent Mayo U20 defender, Ciaran Boland, to the attack.
But Knockmore have a set of forwards who look capable of asking some difficult questions of the townies and if any one thing accentuates that assertion, maybe it’s that Peter Naughton, the Mayo club championship’s top scorer during Knockmore’s back-to-back title wins in 2020 and ’21, is not even making the first XV now. Hopkins, a burly presence in the full-forward line, complements the silken left boots of Aiden Orme and Darren McHale, and speaking of ciotógs, don’t be surprised if Kevin McLoughlin is sprung to serious effect. The ex-Mayo star’s guile around the middle could help curtail the impact that Frank Irwin and Mikey Murray have been having for Ballina. The ability of that duo to win primary possession, to create and to score, are huge weapons in Ballina’s arsenal and it will demand a big performance from Connell Dempsey in opposition if Knockmore are to land a third title in five seasons.
The Knockmore defence, which includes the outstanding Kieran King and David McHale, handled quite well the obstacle that is Aidan O’Shea but Conor McStay, who limped off late in the game against Ballaghaderreen and has been showing some of his best ever form in these knock-out rounds, together with Evan Regan and target man Luke Feeney, offer a definite step-up on the attacking threat of Breaffy. If Knockmore could limit the James Stephens outfit to 10 points just like they did in last year’s clash, they’d probably back themselves to improve considerably upon their own seven points return.
Something’s got to give. Or does it? Remember, it’s been a year for draws.
Not. An. Inch.
