Mayo need to get lucky - like Dublin
Seán Lowry celebrates the 50th anniversary of Offaly’s first All-Ireland win later this month, raising funds in memory of his late 1971 team-mate Paddy Fenning. As an ESB employee Lowry lived in Mayo for a number of years and had the opportunity to play for the county when they reached the 1985 All-Ireland semi-finals, losing a replay to Dublin.
Now back in Offaly he sees luck as vital for his other county going into Saturday’s All-Ireland.
“Mayo were such an unlucky team because they have drawn All-Irelands; they’ve been beaten by a point in All-Irelands; they have scored own goals in All-Irelands; they have dropped the keeper, have shot themselves in the foot.
“They have made some mistakes themselves but they were also so unlucky as well. I would class Dublin as a lucky team and Mayo a very unlucky team.”
“They need a bit of luck and they haven’t got it so far so maybe if they get a bit next Saturday, it might go their way.”
" He was speaking to Midlands 103 in support of the Paddy Fenning Walk in aid of MND research/support services and homeless causes on September 26th. For further information, go to paddyfenningwalk.com.
Quote of the day
"There's an awful lot of guys who've learned an awful lot in a short amount of time. Next year's season comes very quickly," - Mayo manager James Horan after last December's All-Ireland final defeat by Dublin.
Number of the day
45 - the record number of years between All-Ireland football titles, currently held by Louth (1912-57). If Mayo win on Saturday, the new record will be 70 (1951-2021).
On the north-west frontier, I
This is just the sixth final between counties from Connacht and Ulster. Four of the five to date have featured Cavan. In 1933, Cavan beat Galway to become the first Ulster county to win the Sam Maguire.
Cavan were a coming side and had lost that year’s league final against a Meath team that put a stop to Kerry’s record unbeaten run of 34 matches from 1928 to ‘33, a run of four years and eight months - overhauled by Dublin in 2017.
They had stated their credentials in the semi-final when defeating a Kerry team in pursuit of five-in-a-row with a late goal by Vincent McGovern in a match played - peculiarly for such an important championship match - at Cavan’s home ground, Breffni Park before an attendance of 17,111.
1947 programme is hot property
More revelations on the Cavan-Kerry front with the announcement by ebay.ie that the prime item among its GAA-themed memorabilia is a programme from the 1947 Polo Grounds final in New York between the counties.
“The most expensive item for sale on the marketplace is a signed 1947 All Ireland GAA Football Programme, priced at €1,340,” according to a release from the online seller.
Purchasers of more recent programmes may have to bide their time, as even last December’s football final, which was played behind closed doors, had its programme available for purchase online at €7.
Apparently there are 1,460 live listings for GAA-related products on ebay and football searches outstrip hurling by 20 to one.
Women’s numbers on the rise
News that TG4’s average audience for Sunday’s historic women’s football final between new champions Meath and Dublin had come in at 226,600 indicated that the numbers were 50,000 up on last December’s meeting of Dublin and Cork, admittedly played five days before Christmas.
This year’s figures made TG4 the most watched station in Ireland on Sunday afternoon.
The record for a women’s final on TG4 remains the 2017 decider between Dublin and Mayo, which came in just north of 300,000.
