Sports briefs: League kick-off delayed, Mayo welcomes doubles king Dolan
Fermanagh's Brendan Dolan is on his way to Mayo this weekend for a darts exhibition.
Soccer: The Mayo Football League has been forced to make changes to start of the 2024 league season which is scheduled to kick off later this month.
The next round of the Connacht Cup and Shield competitions has been fixed for the weekend of Sunday, February 25 which was the date that the Mayo Football League had announced for the start of the Super League and Premier Division that weekend. However, with fifteen Mayo teams still in the hunt for provincial honours after last Sunday’s round of cup and shield fixtures, the MFL said that it had no option but to defer the start of the Super League and Premier League by one week.
League One and League Two will go ahead as scheduled on February 25 with the exception of any team still involved in Connacht competitions and the Elverys Sports Super League and Castlecourt Hotel Premier Division will now kick off on Sunday, March 3 instead.
The Mayo Under 17 League will commence on Saturday, March 2.
Soccer: There was a lot of activity at the weekend in the province and beyond as Mayo clubs looked to advance in both the Connacht and SFAI Cup competitions. S&F United welcomed St Brendan’s Park FC from Tralee to Green Road in Foxford on Saturday in the last 32 of the SFAI U13 Boys Cup but suffered a 4-0 defeat. However, there was double delight for Westport United as a 1-0 home win against College Corinthians of Cork has seen their U16 team into the last 16, likewise their U12 team are also into the last 16 as they were 3-0 winners away to Leeside United of Cork on Sunday.
Manulla exited the SFAI U16 Cup when losing 3-1 at home to Freebooters but in the SFAI U16 Trophy, Castlebar Celtic were 2-0nwinners against the visiting Springfield Ramblers.
The Connacht U12 Cup saw Claremorris beat St John’s Athletic 4-1 while in the U12 Shield, Claremorris ‘B’ beat Galway Bohs 4-3. Ballyvary Blue Bombers were 2-1 winners at home to Ballisodare United in the Connacht U14 Shield.
Darts: Former World Grand Prix darts runner-up Brendan Dolan will be appearing in The Western Hotel, Claremorris on Saturday. February 10.
'The History Maker' was the first ever player to achieve the 'double in – double out' nine dart finish in 2011 against James Wade, hence the Fermanagh man's nickname!
Dolan, who is also a two-time World Championship quarter-finalist in 2019 and 2024, will play local players on the night for an evening of darts entertainment.
For further details of the event, you can contact The Western Hotel via email at info@westernhotel.com.
Athletics: A young Mayo woman was named top female at the inaugural University Fitness Games which were held at the Atlantic Technological University’s Letterkenny campus last week. Grainne Pracht from Swinford was among nearly 110 participants who competed across various categories, showcasing their fitness and determination. The event, a unique initiative within the academic sector, aimed to engage individuals who are avid gym-goers and do not necessarily participate in traditional team sports.
The competition featured diverse categories, including the fittest male, fittest female, adapted athlete, male student, female student, male pairs, and female pairs.
The Top Female Student went to Grainne Pracht, who is a student at ATU Sligo, and Top Male Student went to Ruairi Crealy from St Mary’s University, London.
Athletes were put to the test with a challenging set of workouts, and they had a tight 60-minute window to demonstrate their strength, endurance, and overall fitness.
Nicola Dunnion, Head of the Department of Tourism and Sport at ATU Donegal, expressed her congratulations to Neil Barrett and the academic sports staff for organising such a unique event.
“We are very proud of our strong sporting reputation here at ATU, and this event was yet another way of demonstrating our capability in this area. Thank you to everyone who volunteered on the day, and congratulations to all the participants. It was a fantastic spectacle.”
