Stephenites remain the team to beat in Mayo senior championship
Ballina Stephenites' Mike Murray is tackled by Westport duo Luke Tunney and Lorcan Silke. in last year's Mayo SFC final. Ballina are going for four senior titles in a row but the likes of Westport, Castlebar Mitchels and Crossmolina will pose a big challenge to their recent dominance. Picture: INPHO/Dan Clohessy
Saturday evening sees both Group 1 games unfold within roughly four and a half miles of each other, with all four teams having different ambitions.
Westport were left heartbroken after losing the senior final replay against Ballina Stephenites with the final kick of the game, and their Ballina hoodoo continued with defeat in last month’s Division 1 league final.
They will welcome Conal Dawson and Rory Brickenden back from their All-Ireland winning escapades to bolster a side that includes a host of former county senior, under-20 and minor players including Lee Keegan, Eoghan McLaughlin, Ben Holmes and Colm Moran to name but a few.
They will be big favourites against Charlestown, who will be heavily reliant on Paul Towey for inspiration and will hope Ben Crean, Jack Mahon and Matthew Leneghan can help ease the burden on the club’s talismanic sharpshooter.
The game in St Brendan’s Park is an intriguing one, as Kilmeena and Claremorris will fancy their chances of coming out of the group should either win.
Last year’s intermediate champions will welcome Mayo’s two-point hero Jack Carney back into the fold in midfield and Damien Egan’s men will have learned plenty of lessons from their previous campaign in senior in 2024.
All-Ireland goal hero Darragh Beirne is the main man for Claremorris, but he is accompanied by a stellar supporting cast including Mayo U20 captain Rio Mortimer, Dara and Niall Hurley, and James Shaughnessy.
Neither can afford to lose this one.
Not since the great Castlebar Mitchels team of the 1950s has a side won four senior titles in a row but belief will be high that Ballina Stephenites can buck that trend.
Winning the three-in-a-row in such dramatic style against Westport in a replay was one of the stories of Mayo GAA last year and their squad depth arguably remains unrivalled.
Sam Callinan will return to the fold after Mayo’s All-Ireland win and they boast past and present county men in David Clarke, Ger Cafferkey, Frank Irwin and Dylan Thornton to name but a few and they will be big favourites against Garrymore in James Stephens Park.
Garrymore have their own All-Ireland heroes in Enda Hession and Eoin McGreal and they will bolster a squad that has been hit badly by injuries during the league.
The two clubs met in the final group game last year, and Ballina were always in control on their way to victory. That same outcome this Saturday is more than likely.
Balla and Castlebar Mitchels could be the game of the weekend, with both clubs eager to impress. Balla have yet to get out the group since a return to senior in 2021 but they are getting closer each year. They gave Westport a real fright in Nally Park two years ago and it is not out of the question that David Dolan, Conor Walsh, Gary McHale, Ger Flanagan and co. could drag Mitchels into a battle here.
The county town side have great depth but a damaging home defeat to Belmullet last year exit at the group stage. County men Paddy Durcan, Donnacha McHugh, Bob Tuohy, John MacMonagle and Sean Morahan will bolster Kevin Filan’s side and on their day, they are formidable. But a failure to win their opening game two years in a row will put them under serious pressure.
Crossmolina Deel Rovers were one of the big stories of the senior championship last year, having come up as All-Ireland intermediate champions and the men in maroon will feel another big run is in them.
The loss of Kobe McDonald to Australian football is a major blow, but Jordan Flynn and Conor Loftus have also been outstanding in Mayo’s All-Ireland success. Coupled with young guns Dylan Flynn, Oisin Deane, Josh Moyles and Sean Óg McGuinness, the men from the River Deel will be a feared prospect should they get out of the group.
Every year that passes, Ballintubber keep get written off as an aging team, but the five-time Moclair Cup winners remain a stubborn side to overcome.
Cillian and Diarmuid O’Connor remain the key cogs for Damien Coleman’s side and along with Michael Plunkett, Josh Mahon and Stephen O’Malley, the Clogher outfit will not go away quietly.
Before that meeting on Saturday evening sees an intriguing battle between Aghamore and Mayo Gaels in east Mayo.
Aghamore’s dual stars Liam Lavin, David Kenny and All-Ireland winner Fergal Boland are as dangerous with a football as they are with a hurl, and they will hope to send Aghamore into a first quarter-final since 2020.
Despite winning a Division 2 league title this year, Mayo Gaels are the outsiders to get out of the group. They kept their place in senior after defeating Ballyhaunis in the relegation final.
The form of Gallagher brothers Adam, Peter and John, along with Ethan Henry, will be crucial if they are to pick up a result in Aghamore, or they will face another race for survival.
There is always a Group of Death, and this one is more than living up to that billing All four teams contain All-Ireland winners, three of them have been in Mayo senior finals in the past seven years, two of them have won the Moclair Cup since 2010 (Ballaghaderreen in 2012 and Knockmore in 2020 and 2021) but will one of them win in 2026?
Expect fireworks when Belmullet make the trip to Knockmore for what will be a hard-hitting contest on Friday evening.
In Ryan O’Donoghue, Belmullet have the best player in the championship and Seamus Howard looks a mainstay of the green and red for years to come. Belmullet stunned Castlebar Mitchels in the opening group game last year and it would be no surprise should they claim another scalp.
Mayo vice-captain Darren McHale has missed the entire season with a troublesome hip injury and what part he plays in the club championship remains to be seen. Their manager Ray Dempsey, in the hotseat when they went back-to-back, knows his side can go deep again and in Aiden Orme, Kieran King, Connell Dempsey and David McHale, that experience can take them far, but they have a tricky opener.
The sole senior game on Sunday promises to be a cracker. Both Breaffy and Ballagh’ were beaten quarter-finalists last year, as well as semi-finalists in 2024, but there is a real possibility neither gets out of this group.
Ballagh’, who their very own Andy Moran manage Mayo to All-Ireland glory, could make it a year to remember if they win a first senior title in 14 years and David McBrien and Kuba Callaghan form a very solid team along with David Drake and Shairoze Akram.
Breaffy have been the perennial bridesmaids in senior, having reached five finals in 13 years but failing to win any of them. The loss to Westport at the quarter-finals stage year, having been nine points up with 20 minutes to go, was a low point but their county men Jack Livingstone, Matthew Ruane and Aidan O’Shea will take inspiration from Mayo to their club side that another painful wait could end.
Balla v Castlebar Mitchels, ref. Liam Devenney.
Knockmore v Belmullet, ref. Shane Corcoran.
Westport v Charlestown, ref. James Regan, Kilmeena v Claremorris, ref. Ronan Gurren (7pm).
Ballina Stephenites v Garrymore, ref. Jerome Henry.
Mayo Gaels v Aghamore, ref. Vincent Neary, Crossmolina v Ballintubber, ref. John Glavey (6.45pm).
Breaffy v Ballaghaderreen (2pm).
