Third time’s the charm as Mayo win All-Ireland pool title

The Mayo U23 pool team put two consecutive final defeats behind them to land the All-Ireland title as they came from behind to beat Tyrone 5-4 in the final at the All-Ireland Championships in Killarney. The senior men’s and ladies sides also had great runs to the semi-final stage of the championships which concluded on Sunday, May 26.

Having lost in a deciding frame final in both the last two seasons, the Mayo U23s finally got over the line as Erris duo Padraic Coyle (Doohoma) and Adam McAndrew (Pullatomas) and Westport pair Danny Feehan and Dermot Kelly (Killawalla) were crowned champions. Managed by David Doocey, Mayo finally got the title these players deserved.

They came through the group stages unbeaten, impressively dropping only three frames in four matches to set up a quarter-final tie with Limerick. A 5-2 win sent them on the way to the semi-finals where they beat a much fancied Dublin side 5-3 to set up a final clash with Tyrone.

During the early stages of the final at 3-0 down, it looked like it could be more heartbreak for Mayo. From there though, youngster Dermot Kelly got their first frame on the board with a nerveless finish, Padraic Coyle then added a second and Danny Feehan tied up the match as he came out of a snooker when in big trouble to pot his final red and Padraic then took out a magnificent seven ball finish which didn't look on after the Tyrone player left the black in the pocket with a red outside it.

This put Mayo into the lead for the first time and even though Tyrone came back to level matters at 4-4, it was Dermot Kelly who stepped up once again in the final frame to take the title back to Mayo. He showed his great temperament grinding out the frame when it looked to be going the other way on several occasions. All four players played their part over the weekend and showed that the work Mayo have put in at underage level is really starting to pay dividends.

The Mayo U23 ‘B’ team also got out of their group, only missing out on top spot by frame difference with three wins from four, losing to Limerick ‘A’ in the last 16, while the Mayo ‘C’ team beat Donegal ‘A’ in their group but didn't manage to progress.

In other sections over the five days the Mayo teams had some big performances. In the men’s senior championships, Mayo made it to the last four where they were beaten by the eventual winners Louth. They came through the group stages and met Cork in the quarter-finals, where they came from 13-10 behind to reach the semi-finals as Ed Holmes won a final frame decider to jubilant scenes.

Louth proved too strong for Mayo in the semi-finals and they went on to beat Tyrone in the final to secure an All-Ireland for the Wee County, who also won the over 50s team event. Louth would have been inspired to win the title in memory of a veteran of Louth pool Wayne Rogers and a couple of other Louth players who passed away recently. But with the talent coming through, on top of the doubtless top class players and leaders already there, Mayo's turn to lift the John McMahon Cup soon would seem inevitable.

The Mayo ladies also reached the semi-finals, losing out to eventual winners Offaly. They came through their group winning every match, beating defending champions Donegal along the way. They defeated Wexford in the quarter-finals before the defeat to Offaly.

The Mayo ladies ‘B’ team had a very tough group where they lost to eventual winners Offaly and highly fancied Kilkenny, and very narrowly to Westmeath ‘B’ in a deciding frame. Things didn't get easier in the shield where they got knocked out by Westmeath ‘A’, who went on to the final. They can hold their heads high though as this group of ladies pushed each other all season and picking the ‘A’ team was not easy. This competition will have given them the confidence that they can win an All-Ireland title if they continue their hard work and camaraderie.

In the men’s intermediate team section, Mayo ‘B’ relinquished a lead to Galway ‘A’ in the first game of the group stages and despite winning the last game of the group 14-5 against Wicklow ‘A’, they had left it too late to progress in the cup. They lost in the semi-final of the shield to eventual winners Kerry ‘A’, while Down ‘A’ won the intermediate cup.

In the junior grade, Mayo ‘C’ topped their group with four wins out of five, beating Meath ‘C’, Wicklow ‘B’, Offaly ‘B’ and Monaghan ‘A’. They somehow came up against a very strong Antrim ‘A’ team in the quarter-finals who went on to win the competition. It was surprising to see Antrim in the junior section as this county won multiple senior titles only a few short years ago and the Mayo team can hold their heads up high.

In the Junior ‘B’ section, the Mayo ‘D’ team blitzed their group with four wins from four matches, including a couple of very convincing wins. They beat Kerry ‘C’, Meath ‘D’, Louth ‘D’ and Clare ‘B’. They also got a tough quarter-final draw where they had chances but lost out to Cavan ‘B’ who ended runners-up to champions Antrim ‘B’.

The Mayo over 50s team had a big match straight away against Laois and just came out the wrong side of a deciding frame 8-7. They came back fighting to beat Cork ‘B’ 8-4 in the next match but the last match of the group they came up against eventual winners Louth who were too strong for them in a must-win match to get out of the group.

The Mayo performance of the week in the singles events was by Balla’s Edina Mulrennan as she reached the ladies semi-finals where she was beaten by Emma Cunningham, who went on to win the title. Edina took two massive scalps on the way to the final by beating the 2022 champion Helena Melly in the last 16 and Irish player Katie Kiernan 6-3 in the quarter-final. Edina is well known on the pool circuit around Ireland and it was brilliant to see her put in such a strong performance and she now knows she's dining at the top table of Irish ladies pool. A mention must go to Caitriona Barrett (Erris) who pushed Edina all the way, only losing out in a deciding frame in an earlier round.

In the senior men’s singles championships, Mayo Pool Association chairman Michael Golden and vice-chairman Ed Holmes performed the best of the Mayo players as both of them reached the last 16 out of a field of 163 players. Mick was beaten by Cork’s Gary Bracken who looked to have run away with the final at 9-5 up before Cavan’s Stevie Dempsey reeled him back in to win 10-9.

In the intermediate singles there were 189 participants. David Doocey (Erris) reached the last 32 but couldn’t get past the eventual runner-up Jack Courtney as he bowed out on a 6-4 scoreline.

In the junior category there were 254 participants and Mayo’s best performers were Aiden Sheridan (Kiltimagh), Kieran McGinty and Ian Sheehy (both Achill) who all got beaten at the last 64 stage.

In the junior ‘B’ event there were 294 participants and Mayo had five representatives in the last 32, namely Ian Denanny (Westport), Adam McAndrew (Erris), Tom Larkin (Castlebar), Dermot Kelly (Killawalla, Westport) and Leo Reuland (Erris). Though Leo, Dermot and Tom all pushed their opponents all the way, none of them got past this round but it was still a great showing by Mayo in this category.

In the U23 singles, both Danny Feehan and Padraic Coyle reached the quarter-finals but came up just short as Danny lost 6-5 to Jack O’Brien and Padraic lost 6-4 to Donegal’s Darragh Gallagher. Adam McAndrew and Colum Morley (Balla) also reached the last 16 while Ryan Cooper (Ballina), Dermot Kelly and Leo Reuland also performed well.

Dave Sweeney (Swinford) was best of the Mayo players in the over 50s singles getting to the last 32 of 173 participants where he was beaten by multiple Irish champion Robert Brady. In the over 60s event, Walter Prendergast (Mayo Abbey), Tony McGrath (Erris) and Tom Larkin (Castlebar) were all beaten at the last 64 stage.

The Mayo Pool Association has thanked all team managers and captains for their hard work all year and in the lead up to this competition; John Magee and Mick Golden managed the senior side, Jim Moran and Eoghan McGrath managed the intermediate side, Kieran McGinty and Ian Sheehy managed the junior side, Jake Stanton managed the junior ‘B’ side, Edina Mulrennan and Martina Coughlan managed the ladies teams, Sean Coyne managed the over 50s team and Dave Doocey, Eoghan and Conall McGrath managed the U23 teams. Jack Coyle, who has been doing ground work for years, and everyone that has helped out organising or played in the underage events the last few years can be very proud of those under 23s.

And to the players as well, it’s a big ask, not only to dedicate the hours to preparing for, but to take nearly a week away from work, family and other commitments to play in the All-Ireland Championships. Competition was tough for spots on every single team and a lot of players were left disappointed not to make the cut, but all those who pushed for spots kept every player on their toes which made for strong teams in every grade.