The Mayo News' Podcast

The official launch of The Mayo Football Podcast Club Stars with EirGrid took place at Knockranny House Hotel in Westport on Monday. A whole host of Mayo footballing personalities were there, including Mayo manager Andy Moran.  You hear our interview with Andy on a separate pod, but here we talk to Westport ladies manager Pop Geraghty, team selector Padraig Walsh, and players Janette O’Malley and Aoife Kennedy as they reflect on back to back county titles.  We also chatted to Ciara Galvin from EirGrid, the main sponsors of this year’s Club Stars, Padraig O’Hora, who is an ambassador with Mayo Mental Health, our charity partners, along with Niall Dunne and Lianne McManamon from MHA. 

Can Ballina Stephenites march on to victory for the third year in a row?  Or will Westport lift the Moclair Cup for just the second time in their history?  John Maughan and Aidan Kilcoyne join Mike to answer those questions and many more ahead of Sunday’s final.  The lads discuss managers and match-ups, formations and form lines, and much more.  John also explains why he believes Kobe McDonald is the real deal. 

Sunday’s decider sees Kilmeena and Moy Davitts go head-to-head on the biggest day of the Intermediate club championship season.  Ger Flanagan and Ardnaree Sarsfields manager Rory Clarke join Mike to run the rule over the last two teams standing in the race to play senior football next season. 

There are four teams left in the race for the Sweeney Cup with the semi-finals taking centre stage this weekend.  John Reilly joins Mike to preview Kilmeena's clash with Kiltane and Moy Davitts versus Ardnaree Sarsfields, along with the make-or-break Intermediate relegation final between Burrishoole and Louisburgh. 

There are four teams left in the race for the Moclair Cup after a weekend where most of the favourites got the job done.   Ger Flanagan joins Mike and Rob to look back at the quarter-finals and pick out some of the main talking points. 

There are eight teams left standing in the race for the Petie McDonnell Cup.  John Reilly joins Mike and Rob to shoot the breeze about last weekend’s games and to look ahead to next weekend’s quarter-finals. 

The quarter-finals of the Mayo Intermediate club championship threw up plenty of drama and excitement.  John Reilly joins Mike and Rob to run the rule over the teams left standing in the competition and to assess their respective chances. 

There are eight teams left in the race for the Moclair Cup with the quarter-finals down for decision next weekend.   Ger Flanagan joins Mike and Rob to look ahead to the matches - including the relegation play-offs - and they try to predict the outcomes. 

The quarter-finals of the Mayo Intermediate club championship are always hard to predict.  Aidan Kilcoyne joins Mike and Rob to run the rule over the teams left standing in the competition and to assess their respective chances.  The lads also chat about the relegation play-offs. 

We’re down to the quarter-finals in the blue riband competition and the title challengers are starting to emerge.  Former Knockmore manager - and current Cill Chomain bainisteoir - Nigel Reape joins Mike and Rob to look back on last weekend’s games.  The lads pick out some talking points and reflect on the challenges being presented for match officials at club level by some of the new rules. 

The field in the Exclusive Junior club championship is beginning to take shape with six of the quarter-finalists now decided.  Cill Chomain manager Nigel Reape joins Mike and Rob to look back on last weekend’s games and cast an eye over what comes next. 

It was quite the weekend in the Intermediate championship as the quarter-finalists were decided, so there’s plenty to look back on.  Ed McGreal joins Mike and Rob to talk about some of the teams, players and games that caught their eyes.  The lads also discuss how the main contenders are moving ahead of the last eight. 

The hardest Mayo championship of them all to win remains the Intermediate, and next weekend will see the contenders and pretenders separated.  Balla defender Ger Flanagan joins Mike and Rob to look ahead to next weekend’s games and run the rule over each of the matches.  The lads also discuss how the season has gone so far for some of the teams fancied to go all the way. 

The third round of the Mayo senior club championship remains one of the most exciting weekends of the season.  Former Knockmore forward and manager Aidan Kilcoyne joins Mike and Rob to look ahead to next weekend’s games.  The lads pick out some talking points and give their predictions on all of the matches.

The third round of the Mayo Junior club championship marks a crossroads for all the competing teams.  Former Eastern Gaels manager and current Aghamore bainisteoir Paddy Finnegan joins Mike and Rob to look ahead to next weekend’s matches in the Junior grade.  The lads preview all the games, look at some of the talking points, and give their predictions. 

The second round of the Mayo club championship is where the contenders are often separated from the pretenders.  Former Knockmore forward and manager Aidan Kilcoyne and Balla defender Ger Flanagan join Mike and Rob to look ahead to next weekend’s games in the Senior, Intermediate and Junior championships.  The lads also chat about Andy Moran’s appointment and tease out some of the main talking points around the big club matches.  

The first press conference of the Andy Moran era took place on Thursday evening as the new Mayo manager met the media at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.  Andy was joined by one his selectors, Colm Boyle, a good friend of the podcast, as they talked about why they decided to take on the job.  Afterwards, the two lads chatted to Mike and Rob for a while in more detail about some of the things they hope to do over the next three years, and his the whole plan came together in recent weeks. 

The first guest on our 'We Need To Talk About Mayo' series is a true Mayo great, four-time All-Star Keith Higgins. Keith speaks with Rob and Edwin about his own journey as a footballer, the lessons learned, his time coaching the Mayo Under 20s. He channels his huge experience to give great insight into just how Mayo GAA can and must improve. To get in touch with us and to become involved in this discussion, club members can contact us on the Mayo Football Podcast's Discord server or on Patreon at patreon.com/mayopodcast. We're also looking to stimulate discussion on the Mayo GAA Blog (mayogaablog.com) and anyone who wants to contact us directly about the issues raised in this podcast series can email us at themayofootballpodcast@gmail.com. This is a discussion for everyone with an interest in the future direction of Gaelic football in the county. We really do need to talk about Mayo.

The Mayo club championships will dominate the local landscape for the next few months.  The fun and games will begin in earnest next weekend so we set the scene in the company of two men with plenty of championship experience between them.  Colm Boyle will be lining out with Davitts in the County Intermediate championship while Aidan Kilcoyne played in numerous County Senior Finals with Knockmore, and he also joint managed his home club to last year’s decider.  Mike chats to Colm and Aidan about the likely contenders for ultimate honours and which players and teams are likely to dominate the headlines.  The lads also try and predict what way next weekend’s games are going to go! 

The former Mayo manager sits down for a wide-ranging chat ahead of a charity fundraiser for Mayo Cancer Support that he’s taking part in this October. John also talks to Mike about everything from his current role with Crossmolina to what the reality of managing Mayo is like for anybody fortunate enough to get the opportunity. John gives us a fascinating insight into what he believes the job takes, the kind of person needed to fill the role, and why he might still be tempted to get involved in the new set-up. He also looks ahead to Sunday’s All-Ireland Final and gives us his prediction for the match.