Mayo County Ladies' Football Team
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Mayo county ladies' football team represents Mayo in amateur
ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football () is an Irish team sport for women. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a round ball toward ...
. The team competes in inter-county competitions such as the All-Ireland TG4 Senior Ladies Championship and the Lidl Ladies National Football League as a member of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association. Mayo are the fifth most successful team in the championship of all time, with four wins, and fifth most successful in the League of all time, with three wins. The late 1990s and early 2000s, when Mayo won four All-Ireland Championships in five years, is considered the "golden era" of ladies' football in Mayo. Mayo last won a major title in 2007, defeating
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
in Division 1 of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
, and last won silverware in 2023, also defeating Galway in the Connacht championship.


History

Though not represented at the founding of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association in 1974, Mayo has been a constant presence in ladies football. The first provincial council for Ladies Football in
Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
was established in 1975 with three counties participating;
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
,
Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...
and Mayo. Mayo's first official game as a county team occurred on the 13 July 1975, where they lost to Galway in Ballinasloe by 2–5 to 0–1. The squad for Mayo's first ever game were as follows: Margaret A. Loftus (Crossmolina), Bea O’Malley (Newport), Pauline Gilger (Lahardane), Mary Larkin (Ballintubber), Mary E. Chambers (Newport), Christina McCormack (Islandeady), Finuala Murray (Newport), Rosaleen Conway (Ballintubber), Captain Marie Kenny (Islandeady), Teresa Higgins (Claremorris), Ann O’Brien (Claremorris), Mary F. McDonnell (Newport), Kathleen Rowland (Crossmolina), Liz Kilcourse (Castlebar), Catherine Larkin (Ballintubber). Substitutes: Marian Cullinane, Breege Murphy, Kathleen Jordan, Ann Loftus, Bernadette Boland, Ann Bourke, Vera Coyne, and Caroline Moran. Losing to Galway and later Roscommon in the inaugural Connacht championship in 1975, Mayo became the second winners of the Senior Connacht Championship in 1976, defeating Galway. Connacht played their first inter-provincial match against Leinster in 1976, with six Mayo players representing: Brid Fitzgerald, Ann Burke, Pauleen Finnerty, Mary O, Roseleen Conway and Valerie Collins, a game which
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
won after a replay, in Ballycumber, County Offaly. Mayo went through a period of no trophies in the early to mid-eighties, mainly because the Connacht championship did not take place in the years 1978, 1979, 1982, 1985 and 1986, before clinching the All-Ireland Junior title in 1987, defeating
Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
and officially being graded as a senior team. The junior championship final against Wexford was the first time a team from Connacht had played in Croke Park. Mayo also went on to win the Connacht championship title for 3 consecutive years in 1988,1989 and 1990. Mayo lost to
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
in the semi-final of the All-Ireland championship in 1988, losing by 1–10 to 1–1. Pauline Mullen was the first Mayo player to win an All-Star award in 1992. Mayo failed to win silverware again until 1993, where they won the Intermediate Championship or All-Ireland B Final as it was called at the time, defeating
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. From 1993 to 2001, the Connacht championship was not played due to a lack of teams being fielded, and Mayo automatically qualified for the semi-final of the All-Ireland Championship each year in these years. The period between 1993 and 1998 however was heartbreak for Mayo as they failed to advance past the semi-finals. In the 1993 semi-final Mayo played Laois in
Ballina, County Mayo Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg Ra ...
which ended in a draw, with a score line of Mayo 1–10 to Laois’ 0–13. The replay held in Stradbally, County Laois resulted in a 3–16 to 2–05 victory for Laois. Despite this, Bernie O’Neill became the second Mayo player to be awarded an All-Star in 1993. Between 1994 and 1996 Mayo were beaten both in the semi-finals of the championship and in the final of the National League, losing in the league to Monaghan in 1994, Waterford in 1995 and Monaghan again in 1996. Despite this, All-Stars were acquired by Diane O’Hora in 1994, both Bernie O’Neill and Patricia Mullen in 1995, and by Christina Heffernan in 1996. In 1996, Mayo were defeated in the championship semi-final by Laois again by a score line of 3–14 to 0–19 in
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
. It should be noted however that during the same period the youth teams in Mayo dominated the early to mid-90s in Connacht, with the U14's capturing titles in 94,95,96 and 97, and the U16s winning Connacht championships in 90, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97 and 98. In 1997 Mayo were defeated by
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
in the championship semi-final, and in 1998 in the semi-final they lost to
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
in
Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...
. Christina Heffernan picked up her second All-Star award in 1998. Though Mayo had come agonisingly close to an All-Ireland final appearance throughout the late 80s and most of the 90s, the combination of dual managers John Mullin and Finbar Egan from 1998 onwards and the influx of young Mayo players with a taste for and experience with success at underage level led to a period of dominance for Mayo ladies football between 1999 and 2004.


1999


League

In the 1999 league campaign, Mayo reached the semi-finals where they were beaten by
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
.


The 1999 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Championship Final


The Build-Up

In 1999, Mayo reached their first All-Ireland Championship final by defeating
Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
3–13 to 2–07 in
Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 7,300. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used mainly by the co ...
. Waterford defeated Monaghan in the other semi-final by a score line of 1–15 to 1–9. Rebecca Halahan for Waterford was sent off in the semi-final for elbowing Monaghan's Edel Byrne and would therefore miss the final due to suspension. Waterford had previously beaten Mayo in the 1998 championship semi-final, though only after extra-time. A number of Waterford players had featured on all five winning teams, Noirin Walsh and Julianne Torpey in defence, both midfielders, Martina O'Ryan and Olivia Condon and the entire full-forward line, Aine Wall, Claire Ryan, the team captain, and Geraldine O'Ryan. In 1999, Waterford were seeking their third back-to-back title of the decade, having already won the championship in 91 and 92, 94 and 95 and 98. The 1999 Ladies Senior Football Championship Final was heralded as the old guard versus the new; Waterford, the 5-time champions and seasoned veterans against a young but talented Mayo side in their first All-Ireland. Mayo's rising star
Cora Staunton Cora Staunton (born 13 December 1981) is an Irish sportswoman. She is best known as a ladies' Gaelic footballer, winning four All-Irelands and three Ladies' National Football League titles with Mayo. She has also been an All Star on eleven ...
suffered a broken collarbone during training two weeks prior to the final.


Build-Up Quotes

* John Mullin (Mayo Manager) - "This a very big occasion for the entire team and playing at Croke Park for the first time is going to be a new experience, but I think they are mature enough to stand up to it and produce their best form." * Michael Ryan (Waterford Manager) - "They have a lot of fine young players and they are a hungry young team and they've been knocking on the door for a while now. Much will depend on how they react to Croke Park and all that goes with the final tomorrow. It's something that we feel will give us an advantage." * Diane O'Hora (Mayo Captain) - "The thing about this team is that they are scared of nobody. Once they get flowing, they are hard to stop." * Keith Duggan of ''The Irish Times'' predicted a Waterford win, saying "Mayo's presence (in the final) points to a bright new century for the sport, but that era is not quite yet upon us." * Tom O'Riordan of ''The Independent'' predicted that Waterford would "leave Mayo feeling blue."


Starting Teams


The Game

Cora Staunton started the game but was taken off after 1 minute, replaced by Orla Casby. The action was later explained as 'sentimental' by Mayo manager John Mullin, adding 'we wanted her to be able to say she'd played in Croke Park on an All-Ireland final day. Whatever flak I took didn't matter. On my head be it.' There was no score for the first 8 minutes of play, before Waterford's Claire Ryan got the first point. In the first few minutes of the game, Mayo goalkeeper Denise Horan executed a double save from Áine Wall and Julie Ann Torpey. Christina Heffernan scored Mayo's first point in the 13th minute. After this Mayo began to find their groove. Claire Egan drove clever balls forward to Sinead Costello and Maria Staunton to race onto. Christina Heffernan stretched the Waterford defence with long perceptive balls. Full back Helena Lohan dominated the full back position under the dropping ball, and centre-back Yvonne Byrne fielded the ball excellently, notably in the second half with one-hand amidst several players. Nuala O'Shea kept Waterford taliswoman Áine Wall from scoring all game. At the end of the first half there was nothing separating the sides, with a score line of Mayo 0–5 - 0–4 Waterford. Six minutes into the second half and Mayo were pulling away, with Diane O'Hora, Christina Heffernan, Sabrina O'Bailey and Imelda Mullarkey scoring points to make the score 9 points to Mayo, 4 to Waterford. Waterford then mounted a comeback scoring 4 unanswered to make the score 9 points to 8. But Mayo didn't appear rattled by the comeback and scored the next 3 points. O'Hora hit her fifth and Costello scored the final point of the game, to take the win and Mayo's first All-Ireland.


Match Report

For pictures of the event
see here.


Post-Match

Mayo captain Diane O'Hora lifted the cup on the old Hogan Stand, the last person to lift a trophy on the legendary stand before it was demolished that same day. Mayo's starting line-up featured four 16-year-olds, two 17-year-olds, three 18-year-olds, a 19-year-old, a 20-year-old, a 21-year-old goalkeeper, two 22-year-olds and one 23-year-old. First substitute in, Orla Casby brought the number of 16-year-olds up to five, second substitute Shelly Gibbons was only 15 and Mayo had a further three 15-year-olds on the bench. Mayo players Denise Horan, Marcella Heffernan, and Christina Heffernan all received All-Star awards for the 1999 season. * Diane O'Hora said in an interview post-match: "After we got the first score, we were just so relaxed throughout the game - not over confident but there was a real belief there. We just had nothing to lose coming up here and it showed." * John Mullin post-match: "Personally, this feels amazing . . . here I am, middle aged and suddenly a manager of a Mayo team that has won an All-Ireland. But this is a remarkable young team. There was much made of the fact that they hadn't been to Croke Park before but it wasn't something that bothered us." * Michael Ryan post-match: "Even with two minutes to go, I though we might get a goal but, ah it wasn't happening for us. That's the way of it and take nothing from Mayo, they were great today." When asked how she was feeling post-match, Marcella Heffernan replied cheerfully - "I don't want to leave, I could stay here forever."


Reflections


2000


League

Mayo won their first league title in 2000, defeating Tyrone in the final by 1–11 to 2–06.


Temporary Resignations

On 22 February, selector Jonathan Mullin resigned from his position in the Mayo management team, stating that football 'was no longer top of the agenda' of the Mayo county board: 'Unfortunately in the past couple of months, the football part has been re-graded and is no longer even near the top of people's agendas, people at all levels of the set-up in Mayo, and I don't intend to work with these people.' Jonathan's father and co-manager John Mullin and Finbar Egan resigned the following day, stating their 'extreme unhappiness' with the county board. In response, the Mayo senior panel issued a statement saying they would walkout if Jonathan, John and Finbar were not persuaded by the county board to stay on, with Sinead Costello stating that 'A lot of players have come to their own decision that if Finbarr (Egan) is not there this year, then they won't play.' The resignee's were in time reinstated as the Mayo's managers, and led Mayo into the 2000 league and championship campaigns.


The 2000 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Championship Final


The Build-Up

Mayo beat Tyrone in Croke Park in the semi-final of the 2000 championship campaign/ Though it was a close game for the first half and at one point Tyrone led by 7 points, Cora Staunton scoring 3–06 and Diane O'Hora getting 2–1 led to Mayo being the eventual winners, a final score of 5–10 to 2–12. Waterford beat Meath in the semi-final by a score line of 1–17 to 0–08 at Parnell Park to book their place in the final. The 2000 final was a repeat of the 1999 final, with Mayo and Waterford contesting, and Waterford were looking for revenge for their 1999 loss.


Build-Up Quotes

* Ian O'Riordan predicted 'the title should stay in the west.' * Ireland on Sunday - 'Waterford look a banker in final fling.' * RTÉ predicted a Mayo win.


Starting Teams


The Game

The 2000 All-Ireland final was played in very poor conditions, with wind and rain making ball handling awkward for both teams. Waterford's Mary O'Donnell opened the scoring with a controversial point: to everyone except the umpires, the shot appeared wide. Both teams traded scores in the first few minutes but neither side looked dominant. Cora Staunton scored a goal after 23 minutes, picking up a loose ball and rifling it into the net. Despite this both teams continued to trade points before the end of the first half. Mayo were 1–3 to 0–5 up at the half. The second half started with a series of four unanswered Waterford points - from Anna-Lisa Crotty, Aoife Murphy, Claire Ryan and Geraldine O'Ryan. With 40 minutes gone Waterford led 0–9 - 1–4. 12 minutes into the second half Mayo were awarded a penalty and Yvonne Byrne scored from the spot to make it 0–9 to 2–4. Julie Ann Torpey levelled the game with a point in the 53rd minute. Cora Staunton then scored a point to go one ahead, and 20 seconds later scored a goal. The goal in the last few minutes of the game was from 55-yards, with the ball dipping unexpectedly for Waterford keeper Sarah Hickey, under the crossbar and into the net. Diana O'Hora later recalled "I think the Waterford goalkeeper believed it was going wide, or over the bar, and she was very surprised that it was a goal." Waterford were now 4 points behind. Points by Mary O'Rourke, Geraldine O'Ryan and a Rebecca Hallahan free reduced the deficit to just one point. Mayo's Rachel Barrett blocked a shot in the last few minutes to deny Waterford an equalising point. With 5 seconds left on the game clock, Waterford's cornerback Marion Troy had a chance to equalise but put the shot wide, resulting in Mayo winning by a point, 3–06 to 0–14, and winning their second All-Ireland in as many years.


Match Report

For pictures of the event
see here


Post-Match

Cora Staunton was named player of the match with a final tally of 2–2. Captain Maria Staunton lifted the Brendan Martin cup for Mayo. Mayo players Denise Horan, Marcella Heffernan, Helena Lohan, Christina Heffernan, Diane O'Hora, and Cora Staunton all received All-Star awards for the 2000 season. * Jonathan Mullin post-match: "They're an unbelievable group of players. As a team, they're much more mature than a year ago, physically stronger and a year older." * Michael Ryan post-match: "Mayo got the breaks and took them, they showed what they were made of. Any team that wins two All-Irelands in a row is a great team . . . but I'm very proud of my team, they fought tooth and nail." * Cora Staunton post-match: "Our backs did tremendous work, but, knowing them from having to mark them in training, I know that they're the best backs in the country. They're all class, every single one of them and it is brilliant, personally and for the whole panel, to win this one, to win back-to-back All-Irelands. * Diane O'Hora (in reference to her Mayo teammates) post-match: "I've never seen such determination and strength in all my life. They were fantastic." The Connacht Telegraph published the following on 4 October 2000: "MIGHTY, MIGHTY, MAYO! You went, you saw and you have conquered once again. For the second year running, you have brought great honour and glory to the county by winning the All-Ireland senior football championship. In so doing, the Mayo ladies have now emulated the great men's 1950/51 senior team which won back-to-back All-Irelands."


Reflections


2001


League

Mayo reached the semi-final of the 2001 league campaign, where they lost to Tyrone.


Championship

Mayo's championship campaign began in the semi-final, where they faced
Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...
in
Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-centur ...
. A close game for much of the match, Mayo eventually edged out Clare with a final score line of 1–11 to 0–09. In the All-Ireland final Mayo faced
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
. Laois got off to the better start and at point in the first half led by 5 points before Mayo came back into the game. A goal by Clare Egan led to a Mayo lead and a half time score of 1–10 to 1–08. In the second half both sides exchanged points with Christina Heffernan, Diane O'Hora and Cora Staunton all getting on the scoresheet. In the final minute the sides were level at 2–14 to 1–16, but on a kick-out Mayo goalkeeper Denise Horan kicked the ball to Staunton within her own 20 metre line, resulting in a free-kick to Laois. Laois scored and ended up winning the game by a single point, a final score of 2–14 to 1–16. Mayo players Denise Horan, Marcella Heffernan, Christina Heffernan, and Cora Staunton all received All-Stars for the 2001 season.


2002


League

Mayo were runners up in the Division 1 league campaign of 2002, where they lost to Waterford.


The 2002 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Championship Final


The Build Up

Mayo defeated
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
2–9 to 1–8 in the semi-final to book their place in the final.
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
beat
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
in the semi-final by a final score line of 2–11 to 3–07. Monaghan and Mayo each battled for a third All-Ireland senior title in their history. Mayo lost the 2001 final to
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
by a single point, and were looking for redemption and their third title in 4 years.


Build Up Quotes

John Mulligan of Mid-West Radio stated "Mayo will be desperate to exorcise the ghost of last year's heart breaking defeat to Laois, while Monaghan will be out to reconfirm themselves as kingpins of ladies football."


Starting Teams


The Game

Monaghan started the 2002 final by scoring the first point of the game. Mayo responded by scoring 4 quick points to take the advantage. Points were exchanged between the two teams, with Cora Staunton scoring 4 in the first half. Monaghan's Edel Byrne finished off a 50-meter solo with a brilliant goal two minutes before the half. Byrne's effort was followed by two quick points from Brenda McAnespie and Niamh Kindlon. Despite this Mayo were still in the game, and half time the score was 0–7 to 1–5 in Monaghan's favour. Niamh Kindlon got the first point of the second half. Gradually, the staunch work of Edel Biggins, Claire Egan, Edel Reilly, Christina Heffernan, Marcella Heffernan and Staunton began to pay off. Marcella Heffernan scored an equalising point in the 40th minute. With ten minutes remaining, the sides were level at 1–7 to 0–10. Monaghan's Ciara Mc Guinness scored a point to go 1–08 to 0–10 ahead. Staunton responded with a point to level the game again. Late in the match, Triona McNicholas scored a point to take the lead, and Denise Horan made a crucial save in the final few seconds to maintain Mayo's lead. Mayo managed to hang on after this and win their 3rd All-Ireland in four years, a final score line of 0–12 to 1–08.


Match Report

For photos of the event
see here


Post-Match

Marcella Heffernan was named player of the match. Mayo Captain Christina Heffernan lifted the trophy on the new Hogan stand that had just been opened. Former Mayo captain Diane O'Hora had previously lifted the 1999 title on the old Hogan stand the day it was to be demolished. Mayo players Helena Lohan, Claire Egan, Christina Heffernan, and Cora Staunton all received All-Star awards for the 2002 season. * Triona McNicholas - "I didn't know what was going on. I ran on to a good pass from Cora Staunton and just went for it, thankfully it went over." * Finbar Egan - "This game was going to be a close one from the start, but when the game needed it, our experience counted."


Reflections


2003


Remembrance

The excitement of reaching a 4th all-Ireland in 5 years was marred by the tragic death of Mayo player Aisling McGing at the age of 18. Aisling and her sisters Sharon and Michelle had all been part of the Mayo panel which had won the All-Ireland in 2002. Aisling is described below by those that knew her: * Finbar Egan - "Aisling was a lovely footballer but she was an even nicer girl." * Beatrice Casey - Aisling was "fun-loving" and "always having the craic." * Sharon McGing - "Aisling was such a bubbly person anyway that if you lost a game, she'd be trying to cheer you up. If you were in bad form, she was trying to cheer you up." * Cora Staunton - "Aisling was a star on our Mayo minors team. More than that, she was a friend – someone I could imagine myself still being good friends with today. She had a great sense of devilment in her. She was witty and beautiful." * Father Pat Donnellan - "Aisling was a beautiful young girl." * Father Tommy McGing - "There was always something unique in her personality. She had that little swagger when she entered a place - always ready with a mischievous smile that could turn a dungeon into a place of laughter. Like the prophet of old she seemed to have an extra portion of God's spirit." In honour of her memory, the U21 Ladies Football Championship was renamed the 'Aisling McGing U21 Championship,' and the Aisling McGing Memorial Cup is played annually on the may bank holiday in Carnacon. Surprisingly, both Sharon and Michelle McGing played in the Connacht final and the All-Ireland final, just two months after their sisters passing. They each played with a laminated photo of Aisling in their sock.


The 2003 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Championship Final


The Build Up

Mayo defeated Roscommon in the first round of the Connacht championship by a score line of 3–13 to 0–06. In the Connacht final, Mayo defeated Galway, a final score of 3–16 to 1–12. Mayo beat
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
in the semi-final 1–11 to 1–09. Mayo beat
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in the semi-final of 2002, so Dublin were out for revenge in 2003. Dublin beat Kerry 0–12 to 0–8 in the semi-final. This was Dublin's first All-Ireland final in their history, and Mayo were looking to capture their 4th title in 5 years.


Build Up Quotes

* Finbar Egan - "Dublin are a quick, physical team. They have an excellent fitness regime and have a lot of time invested in weights. The game has the potential to be cynical." * Gavin Cummiskey of The Irish Times predicted "Dublin will be all fired up to give a good account of themselves, but Mayo are expected to record another back-to-back All-Ireland win."


Starting Teams


The Game

A game played in poor weather, the 2003 final began slow with both defences putting up solid performances, Helena Lohan being particularly dominant in the full-back position. Both teams traded points, with Diane O'Hora scoring two points, and Michelle McGing and Emma Mullin getting 1 each to leave Mayo up by two at the half, 0–04 to 0–02. In the second half Dublin got slightly more into the game, scoring 3 unanswered points to put them into the lead. Mayo put on a tough defensive display for most of the second half, with Christina Heffernan and Claire Egan both receiving yellow cards fouls. In injury-time Mayo were losing by a point 0–05 to 1–04. Cora Staunton got a free about 60 metres from the goal, and dropped the ball high into the Dublin box. The Dublin keeper, attempting to catch the ball, dropped it into the hands of Diane O'Hora who turned onto her left foot and scored a goal. It was the last kick of the game, and Mayo won in dramatic fashion, a final score line of 1–04 to 0–05.


Match Report

For photos of the event
see here


Post-Match

Mayo Captain Helena Lohan lifted the 2003 All-Ireland senior trophy, the 4th different Mayo captain to do so in 5 years (1999 - Diane O'Hora, 2000 - Maria Staunton, 2002 - Christina Heffernan). Mayo players Nuala O'Shea, Helena Lohan, Christina Heffernan, and Michelle McGing all received All-Star awards for the 2003 season. * Mick Bohan (in reference to his Dublin side) - "What this group have done is phenomenal. They were honest and brave out there and maybe in some way we are winners . . . we just didn't win a football match." * Finbar Egan - "The only match we've lost in five years in the Championship was against Laois two years ago. It wasn't a great performance but we'll win a bad one rather than lose a good one. Those McGing girls, this was a hard day for them and they came out and gave everything for us."


Reflections


2004


Jersey Controversy

A dispute over jerseys began in 2003 when Mayo, who were contracted to wear jerseys made by the company Azzurri for the 2003 season, were told by the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) to wear
O'Neill's O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. is an Irish sporting goods manufacturer established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland, with production plants located in Dublin and Strabane. O'Neills has a long r ...
jerseys for both the semi and all-Ireland finals, as the association had secured a general contract with the company. Mayo defied this request however, playing with tape over the O'Neills logo's on the jerseys in the semi-final, and wearing the full Azzurri kit in the final. At the beginning of 2004 Mayo were issued with a 2,000 euro fine for the semi-final incident and a 20,000 euro fine by the LGFA for wearing the jerseys in the final. For the next 2 months, Mayo contested the fines, and an independent arbitrator was brought in, who recommended concessions. Reductions in fines and alternative jersey agreements were agreed verbally, but a miscommunication led the LGFA to infer a lack of acceptance of the recommendations, resulting in the association voting to ban Mayo from the 2004 championship, stating "This decision came about after the failure by the Mayo Ladies County Board to accept the terms of an independent mediator after a lengthy mediation process." Mayo later appealed the vote and after months of dispute, the LGFA reinstated Mayo into the championship.


League

Mayo began the 2004 league campaign against
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
in
Headford Headford () is a small town in County Galway, located 26 km north of Galway city in the west of Ireland. It is an angling centre for the eastern shore of Lough Corrib, and Greenfields, approximately 6.5 km west of the town, is its bo ...
in poor weather conditions. Despite a goal from Diane O'Hora and points from Cora Staunton Mayo went in at half time behind, 1–05 to 1–02. In the second half Galway only scored 1 point and Yvonne Byrne scored a penalty to give Mayo the win with a score of 2–06 to 1–06. Mayo next played Kerry where they conceded 3 goals and lost the match by a score line of 3–05 to 0–09. In round 3 Mayo faced
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
. Mayo outperformed Cork in most areas of the field, with Claire O'Hara at half-back particularly effective at stopping Cork attacks, and scores from Staunton, Ciara McDermott, O'Hora, Emma Mullin, Martha Carter, and Marcella Heffernan led to a comprehensive Mayo victory of 2–13 to 1–08. In the semi-final of the league Mayo beat
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
to qualify for the league final, again playing Cork in the final. Cork started better than Mayo in the first half and went into half-time with a 6-point lead. In the second half Mayo took over, with Staunton scoring 1–09 and O'Hara, Nuala O'Shea and Helena Lohan shutting down the Cork forwards, eventually winning the match with a final score of 1–14 to 1–11 and winning their second league title in Mayo's existence.


Championship

Mayo began their championship campaign in the Connacht final against
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
. Galway started well and went 3 points up early in the game, with Staunton responding with 2 scores to go into half-time with a score of 0–06 to 0–02 to Galway. In the second half Mayo scored no points to Galway's 10, leading to a comprehensive Galway victory with a final score line of 0–16 to 0–02. Despite this loss, Mayo clawed their way back through the rounds, defeating Cork in the quarter-finals, to set up a semi-final clash with Galway again. A final tally of 1–08 for Staunton was only good enough for a draw however, a final score of 1–10 to 1–10. The replay was another close match, but Galway eventually won by 1 point, 3–10 to 3–09, knocking the defending champions Mayo out of the competition. Three Mayo players, Helena Lohan, Claire Egan, and Cora Staunton received All-Star awards for the 2004 season. At the end of the 2004 season, Finbar Egan stepped down as the manager of Mayo.


2005


League

In January 2005, Con Moynihan took over as the new Mayo manager. Mayo began the defence of their 2004 league title with a 2–11 to 2–08 victory over
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
. Mayo next played
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
in
Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...
, winning with a score line of 2–07 to 1–06. On 27 February Mayo lost to Kerry by 1–13 to 0–08. Mayo next played
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, and despite scores from Cora Staunton, Christina Heffernan and Ciara McDermott, Cork just edged out Mayo with a final score of 2–10 to 2–09. At the end of the group stages, Mayo had won 3 games and lost 2, finishing 3rd and qualifying for the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals Mayo faced
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
on 27 March. In a tightly contested match, the sides were even at the end of full-time, but in extra-time Waterford edged out Mayo with a final score of 2–10 to 3–08, knocking Mayo out of the competition. At the beginning of April, Con Moynihan stepped down as Mayo manager, replaced by the junior Mayo management team of Stephen Bourke, Danny Fahey, Noel Kearney, and Tommy Walsh, until the end of 2005.


Championship

In the 2005 championship campaign Galway beat Mayo in the Connacht championship final. Regardless, Mayo managed to reach the semi-final of the 2005 campaign against Cork. Despite leading at half-time by 1–05 to 0–05 and a player of the match performance from Claire Egan, Mayo lost to Cork, a final score line of 0–13 to 1–09, knocking them out of the competition. Claire Egan was the only Mayo to receive an All-Star award in the 2005 season. Charlie Lambert became the new Mayo manager in 2006.


2006


League

In the 2006 league campaign, Mayo comfortably qualified for the quarter-finals, beating Tyrone 3–07 to 1–09, and goals from Annette Gallagher and Cora Staunton led to a victory over
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
, 2–13 to 2–07. In the quarter-final, Mayo face
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
in Ballina. Mayo led by 2–06 to 0–06 at half-time, and a final tally of 1–08 by Staunton led to Mayo getting the win, 4–11 to 1–11. In the semi-final, Mayo faced
Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
in
Ratoath Ratoath () is a commuter town in County Meath, Ireland. A branch of the Broad Meadow Water (Broadmeadow River) () flows through the town. The R125 and R155 roads meet in the village. At the 2022 census, there were 10,007 people living in Ra ...
on 23 April. A closely contested match for most of the game, Meath eventually won the game by one point, a final score line of 1–13 to 2–09, knocking Mayo out of the competition.


Championship

In the 2006 championship campaign, Mayo first played in the Connacht final against
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
. Both sides were even early on before Galway started to pull away, but a goal from Marcella Heffernan kept Mayo in touch at the half, 2–07 to 1–05. Though both teams traded scores throughout, Galway maintained their lead and ended up eventual winners, 2–12 to 1–13. In the quarter-final, Mayo were pitted against defending champions
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
at
O'Moore Park O'Moore Park () is a GAA stadium in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. It is the home of the Laois Gaelic football and hurling teams. Under a new sponsorship deal it is known as "Laois Hire O'Moore Park". Although it may have been in use as a G ...
. Mayo got off to a good start, with a Triona McNicholas goal putting Mayo ahead at the half, 1–06 to 1–04. In the second half, Cork's defence shut down Mayo and Staunton, who was eventually sin-binned, and Cork managed to take the lead late in the game. Getting another goal in the second half, Cork eventually edged out Mayo with a final score line of 2–12 to 1–11, knocking Mayo out of the competition. At the end of the 2006 season, Charlie Lambert stepped down as the manager of Mayo, replaced by Frank Browne in January 2007.


2007


League

In the first two rounds of the 2007 Division 1 League Campaign, Mayo lost to
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
and drew with
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
. Mayo got their first win against
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, with Cora Staunton scoring 2–07 for a final score line of 5–14 to 2–05. Mayo next beat the previously undefeated Kerry with a final score of 0–12 to 1–07, booking their place in the quarter-finals. Mayo's final game in the group stage was against Tyrone, where goals from Fiona McHale, Staunton and Michelle Ruane led to a comprehensive victory, 3–09 to 0–03. In the quarter-final Mayo were drawn against
Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
. Mayo dominated the game, with Lisa Cafferkey and Staunton both getting two goals each, a final score of 4–18 to 0–09. In the semi-final Mayo defeated
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, who lost their 32-game winning streak. In the final Mayo faced Connacht rivals
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
at Dr. Hyde Park. A goal from Cafferkey and points for Staunton, Ciara McDermott, McHale, and Diane O'Hora secured a comfortable victory for Mayo with a final score line of 1–13 to 0–06, securing their first Division 1 league title since 2004.


Championship

On 6 May, Mayo contested for the Connacht championship against Galway. Players like Martha Carter, Diane O'Hora and Christina Heffernan dominated parts of the game, and a 9-point tally from Cora Staunton and a goal from Lisa Cafferkey propelled Mayo to victory with a final score line of 1–11 to 0–06. For the 2007 group championship stages, Mayo were drawn in group 2 with Kerry, Waterford and
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. Mayo first played Waterford, where a Staunton final tally of 1–11 led to a comfortable final victory for Mayo, 1–19 to 0–08. Mayo next played Kerry in Cusack Park, and again a high 9 point tally from Staunton and a solid Mayo defence led to a decisive win of 0–16 to 0–07, already securing a place in the quarter-final. In the final group game Mayo played Dublin. A comprehensive first half led to the score being 1–08 to 0–03 at the interval. Dublin came into the game in the second half but Mayo managed to keep a healthy lead throughout, a final score of 1–13 to 0–10. In the quarter-final Mayo played
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
in torrential rain in
Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...
. Mayo were missing stalwart Marcella Heffernan, who broke her wrist in the Dublin game. The first half was close, but Mayo led the game at half time by 1–06 to 1–05. In the second half Mayo pulled away slightly, and though Monaghan hit the post late in the game, Mayo managed to hang with a final score of 1–12 to 1–07. In the semi-final Mayo faced Tyrone. A hard-fought game in the first half, Staunton had a penalty saved only to react quickest and put the rebound into the goal. The half-time score was 1–05 to 1–05. The second half remained close, but Mayo eventually pulled away with a final score line of 2–13 to 2–08, booking their place in their first championship final since 2003. In the 2007 championship final, Mayo were pitted against
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, who were going for 3 consecutive final wins in a row. Cork started the game better, building a 5-point lead in the early minutes. Mayo got their first point through Caroline McGing in the 20th minute. Claire O'Hara's dominant display in the midfield got Mayo slightly back in the game, but a goal for Cork led to a half-time lead of 1–06 to 0–03. In the second half Cork maintained a healthy lead throughout, and despite late goals from Staunton and Fiona McHale, Cork comprehensively won the match, a final score of 2–11 to 2–06. Mayo's Claire O'Hara and Cora Staunton were both awarded All-Star awards for the 2007 season.


2008


League

Mayo began the defence of their 2007 league title win in 2008 against Kerry without a manager and short of key players like Christina Heffernan, Diane O'Hora and Cora Staunton. As a result, Mayo were badly beaten by Kerry, conceding 4 goals in a game they never looked like winning. Michael Ryder was hired as the new Mayo manager at the end of February. Mayo next played
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
, where they were beaten 2–06 to 4–08. Mayo got their first win of the campaign against
Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
in
Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...
. A shootout form start to finish, points from Lisa Cafferty, Fiona McHale, Aoife Herbert, Deirdre Doherty and Patricia Coyle led to Mayo getting the victory, a final score of 0–13 to 0–10. Mayo won only 1 of their first 4 games and therefore did not finish high enough in the league to make the semi-finals.


Championship

In the Connacht final of 2008, Mayo defeated
Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
in
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
by a score line of 3–15 to 0–09, with Cora Staunton scoring 2–08. In the quarter-final Mayo faced Kerry. The game was even for the first half and the sides were level twice with Martha Carter dominating the midfield, before a Staunton goal put Mayo ahead, and at half time the score was 1–08 to 0–08. Mayo were 7 points ahead with 20 minutes remaining but Kerry slowly chipped away with points, and in the end Mayo just managed to hold on to take the win by a single point, 2–12 to 1–14. In the semi-final Mayo faced
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
. The game was even for most of the first half, with the sides level 5 times throughout the game, and at half-time there was only a point between the teams. Despite a final tally of 1–09 for Staunton, Monaghan pulled away in the second half and with eight minutes remaining Monaghan got a goal to seal the win and knock Mayo out of the competition, a final score of 2–16 to 1–12. Cora Staunton was the only Mayo player to receive an All-Star for the 2008 season. At the beginning of 2009 Michael Ryder was let go as the Mayo manager, though the reason as to why was never cited.


2009


League

Kevin Reidy's Mayo began their 2009 league campaign against Tyrone in
Trillick Trillick () is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 2,439 people in the 2011 census. Trillick is in the civil parish of Kilskeery and the barony of Omagh East. It is located within both the Roman Catholic ...
. Tyrone led by 1–5 to 0–4 at the half, and despite a Cora Staunton tally of 1–05, Tyrone held on to claim victory, 1–09 to 1–07. In round 2 Mayo faced Kerry in
Ballinrobe Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2022 census, the population was 3,148. The town is in a civil parish of the same name. Hist ...
. Goals from Cora Staunton (2), Sinéad Cafferky and Claire Egan led to a decisive 20 point win for Mayo, 5–11 to 0–06. In round 3 Mayo faced Donegal. Goals from Lisa Cafferkey and Fiona McHale and a Staunton 8 point tally proved too much for Donegal, and Mayo picked up the victory with a final score line of 4–13 to 2–13, qualifying them for the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals Mayo were pitted against
Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...
in
Cooraclare Cooraclare () is a village near Kilrush, in County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a Cooraclare (parish), Catholic parish by the same name. Location The village of Cooraclare is in the parish of Cooraclare (Kilmacduane) in the Roman Cat ...
. A closely contested game for the first half, a goal by Sinéad Cafferky put Mayo ahead at the half 1–06 to 1–04. In the second half, Staunton got a goal and converted a penalty to eventually edge out Clare with a final score line of 3–12 to 1–07 and reach the semi-finals. In the semi-final, Mayo were drawn against
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
. Mayo were slow off the mark against Laois, trailing 0–06 to 0–01, before Emma Mullin got her first of 3 goals, finally finishing with a tally of 3–03 to lead Mayo to a 6-point win and into the league final. In the final, Mayo faced defending champions
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
in
Kiltoom Kiltoom, also ''Kiltomb'' (), is a civil parish as well as an electoral division in County Roscommon, Ireland. There is also an eponymous townland in the parish. Kiltoom is located northwest of Athlone on the southwestern shore of Lough Ree. T ...
. A great save by Yvonne Byrne was not enough to hold back Cork who appeared to score points at ease, comfortably getting the win with a score line of 1–20 to 0–11 and defending their title.


Championship

Mayo's 2009 Championship contention began with the Connacht final on 5 July in Charlestown. Though Mayo got off to a good start
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
appeared to look the dominant team throughout, and after both Triona McNicholas and Emma Mullin were sin-binned, Galway pulled away in the second half, outscoring Mayo in the second half by 1–07 to 0–03. The final score read Galway 3–17 to Mayo's 2–08, and Galway claimed their first Connacht title since 2006. Having lost the provincial title, Mayo were put into the qualifiers against Laois. Mullin scored 1–06 and Staunton 12 points, and though Laois made a comeback in the second half, Mayo pulled away late in the game to get the win, 2–19 to 1–15. Mayo next played Tyrone in the quarter-finals in
Ballymahon Ballymahon () on the River Inny (Leinster), River Inny is a town in the southern part of County Longford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is 19 km north-east of Athlone, at the junction of the N55 road, N55 and R392 road (Ireland), R392 ro ...
where 3 goals helped Mayo just edge out the game with a final score line of 3–09 to 1–12. In the semi-final Mayo faced the defending All-Ireland champions Cork. Staunton shot 1–07 in the game but Cork, just like in the league, seemed to be unstoppable, as 3 goals proved the difference and got Cork the win, a final score of 3–10 to 1–09, knocking Mayo out of the competition. At the beginning of 2010 Kevin Reidy stepped down as the manager of Mayo, replaced by Pat Costello in January 2010. Noelle Tierney, Martha Carter and Cora Staunton all received All-Star awards for the 2009 season.


2010


League

For the 2010 season the national football league was changed from 3 divisions of 12 to 4 divisions of 9, with the top 4 teams in each division playing in the semi-finals. Mayo were put into Division 1. Mayo beat Tyrone 2–12 to 3–07 in round 2, and beat 2009 All-Ireland finalists
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
by 1–12 to 0–12, with Cora Staunton scoring 10 of Mayo's points.
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
got the best of Mayo in
Emyvale Emyvale, known before the Plantation of Ulster as Scarnageeragh (), is a village and townland in the north of County Monaghan, Ireland. It is on the main Dublin to Derry and Letterkenny road, the N2, about north of Monaghan Monaghan ( ...
on 7 March by a score line of 0–17 to 1–09. Going into the final game Mayo had to beat
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
to advance to the semi-finals, but were decisively beaten 1–22 to 0–06.


Pulled Out of Championship

On 19 April, Pat Costello resigned as Mayo manager, stating that his position was 'no longer tenable due to (being) constantly undermined by certain players within the panel. On 20 May the Mayo county board voted 26–5 to withdraw Mayo from the championship, 'in order to deal with this problem properly in the long-term interest of ladies football.' On 2 June the Mayo county board upheld an appeal to the decision by a vote of 28–9. On 11 June the Ladies Gaelic Football Association announced its intention to hold an inquiry into the matter, but after weeks of negotiations the Mayo county board upheld its position. On 5 July 3 clubs from Mayo -
Carnacon Carnacon or Carrownacon () is a village, townland and area in central County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated about from Castlebar, and is about from Claremorris and Ballinrobe. Village Carnacon is situated on the shores of a mayfly fishing lake, ...
,
Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th-century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. Wi ...
and
Knockmore Knockmore () is an upland area and townland situated in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland outside the village of Derrygonnelly, in the historical barony of Magheraboy. This area, together with the adjacent Barrs of Boho and most of the upland ...
, appealed the decision to the central council on the grounds that under the rulebook 'county boards must send forward a team for inter-county adult championships.' As a result, the central council 'overwhelmingly voted that the Mayo Ladies County Board must enter a team (in the championship).' As a result, Mayo were put back into the championship, into the qualifiers against Kerry.


Championship

Mike Murphy became the interim manager while the Mayo county board found a replacement for Pat Costello. Despite a tumultuous few months for the Mayo team and a lack of serious training, the championship qualifiers began against Kerry in
Banagher Banagher ( or ) is a town in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in the midlands, on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The town had a population of 3,000 at the height of its ...
. The first half was closely contested and at half-time the score was 5 points each. Despite a final tally of 1–06 for Cora Staunton, Kerry chipped away points and won a hard-fought game by 1 point, 0–12 to 1–08, knocking Mayo out of the championship.


2011


League

The Mayo senior team under Jason Taniane began with the Division 1 league campaign in 2011. Mayo played their first game on 13 February in
Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. As of the 2017, it was the fastest growing town in the county, having seen a 31% increase in population between 2006 and ...
against
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
where they were resoundingly beaten by 3–13 to 1–08. In round 2 Mayo played
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
in Ballyheane and again were beaten, 2–12 to 1–06. In round 3 Mayo fared no better, losing to
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
by 10 points, 2–17 to 2–07. Round 4 saw Mayo face their Connacht rivals
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, and though the game was close for large parts, Galway came out on top with a final score line of 1–14 to 1–11. Mayo travelled to Fr Tierney Park in
Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...
for round 5 where they were again defeated by Donegal, 3–04 to 1–08. Mayo's luck didn't improve for round 6 and despite a 1–07 haul from Cora Staunton, Mayo were beaten by two points by Tyrone, 3–10 to 3–08, and relegated to Division 2. Mayo's final match of the league campaign on 3 April resulted in a 2–14 to 2–11 win for Kildare, completing a full league campaign of losing for Mayo (0W, 0D, 7L).


Championship

Mayo defeated Galway in the 2011 Connacht championship by a score line of 5–11 to 2–15, with goals from Cora Staunton, Fiona McHale and Carol Hegarty getting the win for Mayo. Mayo's championship contention began and ended on 13 August in the quarter-final against Kerry in St. Brendan's Park. Mayo trailed by 1–06 to 0–06 at half-time but only managed 1 point in the second half, letting Kerry pull-away and eventually win with a score line of 3–11 to 0–10. At the end of the 2011 campaign Peter Taniane stepped down as the manager of Mayo, replaced by Mike Murphy and Jimmy Corbett for the 2012 campaign.


2012


League

Mayo's 2012 Division 2 league campaign began on 5 February in
Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...
against
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, where Mayo comfortably won the game by a final score of 3–14 to 1–07. In round 2, Mayo were victorious against
Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...
in
Ballindine Ballindine () is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. It is located along the Western Railway Corridor, 6.5 km (4 miles) south of Claremorris. The N17 road passes through the village, carrying over 10,000 vehicles daily, and it connects ...
, scoring 2–11 to 0–08. Round 3 saw Mayo travel to
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, where they eventually came out on top in a close game, 3–13 to 3–10. Mayo next faced Tipperary in round 4 where, after a hard-fought match, finished the game with a 2–12 to 2–08 win. In round 5 Mayo faced
Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...
in
Kinawley Kinawley or Kinawly () is a small village, townland (of 187 acres) and civil parish straddling County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and County Cavan, Republic of Ireland. The village and townland are both in the civil parish of Kinawley (founded b ...
, and with the sides evenly matched the game ended in a 2–11 to 1–14 draw. Mayo next faced Kerry in Claremorris where they narrowly won by a two-point margin, 1–09 to 1–07. The final round saw Mayo face
Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...
in Mullahoran, a game which Mayo never looked like losing, with a final score of 1–16 to 1–09, finishing the group stage in 1st (6W, 1D, 0L). For the semi-final Mayo played against 4th place Kerry and 4 goals scored proved decisive with Mayo winning by 4–06 to 1–07 to reach the Division 2 final. In the final Mayo face Connacht rivals
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
in
Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 7,300. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used mainly by the co ...
. Galway had the early lead before Mayo fought back to make the score 0–08 to 1–05 at the half. In the second half Triona McNicholas scored a goal to put Mayo 1–09 to 1–05 clear after 37 minutes, and with Cora Staunton scoring a further two goals and Fiona McHale getting another Mayo came out on top with a final score line of 4–17 to 2–07, earning promotion to Division 1 for the 2013 league campaign.


Championship

The 2012 championship qualifiers began for Mayo against Tyrone on 12 August at St. Brendan's Park, Birr. Despite hitting 18 wides throughout the game, Cora Staunton scored 3–11 to convincingly beat Tyrone 3–12 to 1–04. In the quarter-finals Mayo were pitted against league champions
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
on 25 August in Dr. Hyde Park. Aileen Gilroy hit the crossbar in the second minute of the game, and in response Monaghan scored a goal in the 5th minute. At half time the score was 1–08 to 0–05 for Monaghan. In the second half Monaghan extended their lead and despite goals from Staunton and Gilroy, Monaghan responded with 3 goals of their own, a deficit that Mayo could not come back from. The final score was Monaghan 4–15 to Mayo's 2–14, knocking Mayo out of the competition. Cora Staunton received Mayo's only All-Star of the 2012 season. At the end of 2012 Frank Murphy and Jimmy Corbett stepped down as Mayo joint managers, and Peter Clarke was hired for the start of the 2013 season.


2013


League

Peter Clarke began his tenure as Mayo manager with the 2013 league campaign. A tally of 1–09 for Cora Staunton and 1–1 for Aileen Gilroy led to a 2–15 to 1–09 Mayo victory against Donegal in
Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. As of the 2017, it was the fastest growing town in the county, having seen a 31% increase in population between 2006 and ...
. Mayo were defeated by
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
after a hard-fought game in
Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Ireland. Overview It is located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, about from Portlaoise and from Dublin. It is a townland, a civil parish, and historic barony. It is known for its annu ...
, a final score line of 4–09 to 2–10. Mayo were again defeated by
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
in round 4 of the league by 1–15 to 2–06 in
Aughnamullan In Ireland Counties are divided into Civil Parishes and Parishes are further divided into townlands. The following is a list of townlands in County Antrim, Northern Ireland: __NOTOC__ A Acravally, Aganlane (also known as Parkmore), Aghaboy, ...
. Mayo were beaten by
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
in round 5 of the league campaign with a final score line of 2–10 to 1–11. Mayo placed 4th by the end of the 2013 league campaign, defeating
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in the final game by a score line of 1–10 to 0–08. In the semi-final Cora Staunton scored all of Mayo's 1–10 to beat 1st place Monaghan 1–10 to 0–09 in
Ballinamore Ballinamore (, meaning "mouth of the big ford") is a small town in the south-east of County Leitrim in Ireland. Etymology , corrupted ''Bellanamore'', means "town at the mouth of the big ford", so named because it was a main crossing (ford) o ...
to advance to the league final. Mayo played Cork in the league final but registered 10 wides and went 17 minutes in the second half without scoring a point, eventually losing by a score line of 0–14 to 0–07.


Championship

Mayo's 2013 Championship began at Pearse Park, where
Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
were comfortably beaten by a score-line of 5–11 to 0–11, with Cora Staunton scoring 4–08. On 24 August, Mayo played Kerry in the quarter-finals in Birr. Despite a Staunton tally of 1–09, Deirdre Doherty scoring 1–1 and being up by two points with less than ten minutes remaining, Mayo conceded three late scores to lose by a point, 2–14 to 2–13, knocking Mayo out of the championship. Mayo's Yvonne Byrne and Cora Staunton were awarded All-Stars for the 2013 season.


2014


League

Mayo's round 1 2014 Division 1 league campaign began on 2 February in Mallow where they were narrowly defeated by
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, 1–10 to 1–08. Mayo next travelled to
Healy Park Healy Park (known as O'Neills Healy Park for sponsorship reasons) is a GAA stadium in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and is named after a GAA clubman from Omagh, Michael Healy. Healy Park is the home ground of Omagh St. Enda's and th ...
in
Omagh Omagh (; from , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. Northern Ireland's c ...
to face Tyrone where they decisively defeated Tyrone by 5–17 to 0–04. In round 3 Mayo faced off against
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in Ballyheane, County Mayo where they were defeated by Dublin by a score line of 2–12 to 2–09. In round 4, Mayo comfortably beat
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
at home by 7–10 to 0–09. On 9 March, Mayo next travelled to Donegal where they won by 1 point, 2–17 to 4–10. In round 6 Mayo travelled to Kerry where they never really looked in the game, a win for Kerry with a final score line of 4–15 to 0–10. Mayo's final game of the division stages was against
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
in Ballina where a close game ended in a Mayo win, 0–12 to 0–09. Mayo ended the campaign 5th, not a high enough finish to get into the semi-finals (4W, 0D, 3L).


Championship

The 2014 championship for Mayo began in the qualifiers against
Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
on 9 August. Though Westmeath trailed by nine points at one point in the first half, they managed a comeback to level the game with minutes left in the game. However, a Cora Staunton tally of 2–06 and a late free from Mayo clinched the win, a final score line of 3–08 to 1–13. In the quarter-final Mayo were pitted against the defending champions Cork in
O'Moore Park O'Moore Park () is a GAA stadium in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. It is the home of the Laois Gaelic football and hurling teams. Under a new sponsorship deal it is known as "Laois Hire O'Moore Park". Although it may have been in use as a G ...
in
Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...
. Despite being close for large parts of the game and heroics by Helena Lohan to stop a ball on the goal line from going in, Cork eventually edged out Mayo in the second half, a final score of 1–15 to 0–09, knocking Mayo out of the competition. At the end of the 2014 season Peter Clarke stepped down as the Mayo manager. Frank Browne was appointed the new manager for 2015.


2015


League

Frank Browne's Mayo started their 2015 league campaign at
Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield, County Mayo, Midfield and Meelick, County Mayo, Meelick. It is just off the N5 road (Ireland), N5 road, 1 ...
Community Park on 1 February, losing 2–13 to 1–08 against
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
. Round 2 saw Mayo travel to
Mountmellick Mountmellick or Mountmellic () is a town in the north of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the N80 road (Ireland), N80 road, 6 km north of Portlaoise. The town is within Mountmellick (parish), Mountmellick Roman Catholic p ...
to play
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
, where Mayo were comfortable winners with a score line of 1–14 to 0–05. In round 3 Mayo outscored
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
by 0–13 to 0–08 to win at DCU St. Clares. Mayo next returned to Swinford where they defeated Tyrone by 0–12 to 1–04, but lost in round 5 to
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
in Blackhill by a score line of 3–12 to 1–08. Mayo's round 6 encounter with Kerry at
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
resulted in a 3–15 to 2–13 loss, and this was followed on 12 April by a defeat to
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, 2–06 to 1–16, in Ballina. Based on these results Mayo placed 6th overall in Division 1 (3W, 0D, 4L).


Championship

Mayo's 2015 championship campaign kicked off with the provincial championship against Galway. Despite Cora Staunton scoring 1–15 and a Galway player getting sin binned, Mayo still ended up the losers, narrowly defeated by a point, 0–21 to 1–17. Losing the provincial championship, Mayo were put into the qualifiers where they beat Tyrone comfortably by 4–25 to 0–03, with Staunton again amassing a huge tally of 2–10. In the quarter-finals Mayo travelled to the
Gaelic Grounds The Gaelic Grounds, known for sponsorship reasons as the TUS Gaelic Grounds, is the principal GAA stadium in the city of Limerick in Ireland. Home to the Limerick hurling and football teams, it has a capacity of 44,023. History 9 October 192 ...
to face Kerry. Despite a close game in the first half, Kerry scored 2–10 in the second to knock Mayo out of the competition with a final score line of 2–13 to 1–08. Cora Staunton was the only Mayo recipient of an All-Star award for the 2015 season.


2016


League

Mayo's 2016 Division 1 league campaign began on 31 January with a win against
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
in Mallow, 2–08 to 0–7. Round 2 saw Mayo face
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in
Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield, County Mayo, Midfield and Meelick, County Mayo, Meelick. It is just off the N5 road (Ireland), N5 road, 1 ...
Amenity Park where Mayo narrowly got the win with a final score line of 2–09 to 2–07. Round 3 saw Mayo travel to
Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...
to face
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, where Mayo won by 1 point, 2–08 to 1–10. Round 4 was back to Swinford where Mayo comfortably beat
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
4–17 to 1–13. Mayo next travelled to
Fitzgerald Stadium Fitzgerald Stadium () is the principal GAA stadium in Killarney, Ireland, and is the home championship venue for the Kerry senior football team. Named in honour of one of the first great players of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Dick Fitz ...
to face Kerry, again winning by a small margin of 2–08 to 2–06. Round 6 was held in Killyclogher where Mayo decisively defeated Tyrone by a score line of 1–13 to 0–05. Mayo's final game of the group stage was against
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
in Ballina where they pulled off a 2–11 to 1–09 victory and a clean sweep of Division 1 (7W, 0D, 0L). In the semi-final Mayo played 4th place Kerry in Birr, where they pulled off a narrow victory of 1–16 to 2–12 to reach the league final. The final was played on 7 May in
Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 7,300. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used mainly by the co ...
between Mayo and Cork. Though the teams were evenly matched for large periods of the game and despite Cora Staunton scoring 6 points, a goal by Cork was the difference between the two sides and the game ended with Cork as winners, 1–10 to 0–10.


Championship

The 2016 All-Ireland Championship began with the provincial final, which was played on 3 July between Mayo and Galway. Galway were going for 5 Connacht titles in a row, but a Cora Staunton total tally of 2–14 led to Mayo comfortably beating Galway 3–20 to 0–14. As provincial champions Mayo were automatically put into the quarter-finals against Leinster runners-up
Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
. The sides were even in the first half before a goal by Doireann Hughes put Mayo ahead, but the match was close right up until the final whistle, where Mayo managed to hang on for a 2–10 to 1–11 victory. In the semi-final Mayo went up against the 2015 All-Ireland runners-up Dublin. Dublin controlled the first half and looked well in control with a half time scoreline of 2–06 to 0–06. In the second half however Mayo had come back from an 8-point deficit to be level, but with the final kick of the game Dublin scored a free-kick to win the match and knock Mayo out of the competition, a final score of 2–10 to 1–12. Fiona McHale was the only Mayo player to receive an All-star award for the 2016 season.


2017


League

Mayo began their 2017 Division 1 league campaign on 29 January with a round 1 loss to
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, 1–10 to 2–08, at
Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield, County Mayo, Midfield and Meelick, County Mayo, Meelick. It is just off the N5 road (Ireland), N5 road, 1 ...
Amenity Park. Round 2 saw Mayo lose to
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
in St. Tiernach's by a score line of 3–09 to 1–14, but Mayo bounced back in round 3 with a 3–14 to 0–18 victory over
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
in Clonmore. Round 4 in Swinford brought Mayo back to losing ways with a 3–09 to 1–08 defeat at the hands of
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
. Mayo next played
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in
Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...
and narrowly pulled out the win with a score line of 1–11 to 1–10. Mayo followed this up with another win against Kerry in Swinford, 3–09 to 2–11, but ended the campaign with a 4–13 to 2–11 loss to Donegal, leaving Mayo 5th overall in the league and not high enough placed to qualify for the semi-finals (3W, 0D, 4L).


Championship

The Connacht championship took place on July the 2nd 2017 in
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
. Mayo conceded 3 goals in the first half and were soundly beaten by Galway, 3–12 to 1–08. As a result of the loss, Mayo were entered into the qualifiers against
Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...
. 1–11 from Cora Staunton, 1–4 from Sarah Rowe and 1–3 from Grace Kelly led Mayo to a comfortable victory, 3–20 to 0–8. The quarter final's pitted Mayo against Donegal, where goals by Staunton, Kelly and Niamh Kelly led Mayo to a tough but decisive 3–14 to 2–11 victory. In the semi-final, Mayo played the six-in-a-row champions Cork. The first half was level 5 times, with Staunton scoring a goal in the 25th minute. Despite this Cork were ahead by two points at the half, but in the second half 2 quick goals from Aileen Gilroy and Amy Dowling put Mayo in the lead. Cork did come back, and a late penalty save from Mayo keeper Yvonne Byrne was a major let-off for Mayo, but a Staunton tally of 1–09 proved too much for Cork and Mayo hung on to reach the All-Ireland final with a score of 3–11 to 0–18 for the first time since 2007. Mayo's opponent for the 2017 final was
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
who were runners up in the championship the past 3 years. Mayo began the All-Ireland final well and the game was even until the 18th minute when Dublin scored a goal. Mayo's Yvonne Byrne and Rachel Kearns both got yellow cards in the first half, but points from both Niamh Kelly and Grace Kelly led to a half time score of 1–06 to 0–6. In the second half Mayo never got within 3 points of Dublin despite Staunton's final tally of 7 points, and impact substitutions midway through the second half led to 3 late goals by Dublin and their first All-Ireland final win since 2010, with a score line of 4–11 to 0–11. 3 players from Mayo received All-Star awards for the 2017 season; Sarah Tierney, Aileen Gilroy and Cora Staunton. At the end of the 2017 season, Franke Browne stepped down as the Manager of Mayo, replaced by coach Peter Leahy.


2018


League

Peter Leahy's Mayo side began their 2018 Division 1 League Campaign on 28 January with a 0–11 to 0–7 victory over
Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
in
Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield, County Mayo, Midfield and Meelick, County Mayo, Meelick. It is just off the N5 road (Ireland), N5 road, 1 ...
Amenity Park. Round 2 saw Mayo face off against Kerry in Brosna. Kerry beat Mayo with a score line of 2–14 to 2–06. However, it was later found that Kerry had fielded an unregistered player, thereby awarding the points to Mayo. In round 3 Mayo defeated
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
by 2–7 to 1–7 at
Pearse Stadium Pearse Stadium () is the principal GAA stadium in Galway, Ireland. The Galway GAA Gaelic football and hurling teams use the stadium for their home games. The stadium, amongst others in the province of Connacht, is also used for games in the ...
. In round 4 Mayo were narrowly defeated by
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
by a score line of 0–12 to 2–08 in
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
. On 25 March Mayo played
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
in Mallow, narrowly losing by one point, 1–12 to 2–08. Mayo next played Donegal in Swinford, winning by a margin of 5–14 to 4–12. Mayo's final game of the group stage against
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
resulted in a 6–11 to 3–11 victory for Mayo, placing Mayo 3rd in the table and therefore qualifying for the semi-finals. In the semi-final Mayo saw off the defending league champions Cork 1–20 to 3–12 with
Sarah Rowe Sarah Linda Rowe (born 25 July 1995) is a triple code sportswoman. She currently plays association football for Central Coast Mariners and women's Australian rules football for Collingwood in the AFLW. She is a former Republic of Ireland wo ...
scoring 9 points and
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
scoring 7. The final pitted Mayo and Dublin against each other in a repeat of the 2017 All-Ireland final. This match however was not as competitive as 2017 and Dublin comfortably won with a score line of 3–15 to 1–10 in
Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 7,300. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used mainly by the co ...
.


The Walkout

Between 5 and 10 July, 12 Mayo players and 2 coaches walked out of the panel ten days before the championship game against Cavan citing 'player welfare issues that are personal and sensitive to the players involved.' Players who left included Mayo Captain Sarah Tierney, Vice-Captain Fiona McHale, four time all-Ireland winner Cora Staunton, and stalwarts Martha Carter and Marie Corbett. 8 of the players that left the panel played for women's club
Carnacon Carnacon or Carrownacon () is a village, townland and area in central County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated about from Castlebar, and is about from Claremorris and Ballinrobe. Village Carnacon is situated on the shores of a mayfly fishing lake, ...
. The county board defended the Mayo management team and gave them their full support, stating 'the senior management team has adhered to all protocols and guidelines set out at the beginning of their tenure...they have our full support going forward.' A mediation process occurred between members of the county board, management team, players who left the panel and players who were still with the panel, but talks were unsuccessful and the players remained out of the panel, signing a confidentiality agreement to not discuss the details of the mediation process. On 22 August, in response to the 8 Carnacon players leaving the Mayo panel, a vote of 26–2 by other Mayo clubs voted to banish Carnacon from the Mayo championship citing the team had 'brought the association into disrepute.' Carnacon appealed the decision to the Connacht council successfully and were reinstated into the Mayo championship. On 4 September, the remaining Mayo ladies football squad issued a statement, saying 'we believe that no player welfare issues exist or have ever existed under the current management and categorically disagree with the statement issued in July by the individuals that departed the Mayo senior ladies panel.' The same day the Mayo clubs again voted in favour, 30–3, to appeal the decision of reinstating Carnancon into the Mayo championship. On 6 September, Cora Staunton denied allegations of an 'attempted coup' being orchestrated by the players who left the panel, stating 'The environment for us wasn't right within the county set-up, we didn't feel it was a safe environment to be in so we decided to leave.' In response, Peter Leahy appeared on a podcast stating that Staunton's comments were 'slanderous,' and that "some of the players weren't happy with my selection, simple as that...we only had nine players from the All-Ireland last year playing, that was a problem to a lot of them...it was 'oh my feelings are hurt.' It was a feelings situation." Five days later the players who left the panel organised a press conference and released a statement, saying 'our issues related to a lack of communication, being undermined, intimidated, feeling isolated and eventually helpless in the entire situation...we appreciate that not every player may have experienced or witnessed these issues and also we appreciate that a number of us did not address these fully with the rest of the Mayo panel...despite this, many of the remaining panel did attend a players meeting on Saturday 7 July and did agree that there were issues at play...our issues were broader and deeper and dismissing them as ‘feelings’ is extremely unhelpful and careless. We made a decision for ourselves, as amateur players, who absolutely love our sport, to step away from it. This decision was not taken lightly and our intention was never to cause upset for anyone rather to protect the well-being of each other...what does the reaction say to people who want to ever speak up, who ever want to raise an issue that this is how we handle it? We must be able to tell all players that their opinions, their feelings and their experiences matter.' Responding to these comments, the Mayo LGFA stated that they believed the walk-out was 'an orchestrated move designed to make the management of Peter Leahy untenable due to sheer weight of numbers leaving the panel...a move designed to wrestle control of the senior team from the management and but for the steadfastness of Peter Leahy, the existing Mayo panel and the County Board it would have succeeded.' This statement was never corroborated with evidence. None of the players who left the panel played for Mayo again while Peter Leahy was manager.


Championship

The 2018 senior championship began for Mayo with the Connacht final against Galway in MacHale Park. Despite 6 points from Cora Staunton and a Fiona Doherty goal that put Mayo within a point with 10 minutes remaining, late points from Galway led to resulted in a loss for Mayo, with a final score line of 0–17 to 1–12. For the group stages, a new round robin format was introduced. The 12 teams were drawn into 4 groups of 3 teams, with each group containing one provincial champion, one provincial beaten finalist, and one beaten provincial semi-finalist (two each from
Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
and
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
). Each team plays each other once, and the top 2 finishers in the groups play in the quarter-final. Mayo were grouped with
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
champions Dublin and
Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...
. Mayo first played Cavan in St. Tiernach's Park on 14 July. Grace Kelly scoring 2–06 and Sarah Rowe getting 1–07 lead to a Mayo victory, 3–23 to 4–13. Mayo next faced off against Dublin for the second time in 2018. The loss of players due to the walkout really showed in this match, with Dublin winning comfortably 3–11 to 1–08 in Dr. Hyde Park. Nevertheless, Mayo qualified second overall in their group, and faced Galway in the quarter-final. A repeat of the Connacht final but with a depleted side, Galway beat Mayo comfortably 5–11 to 0–12, knocking Mayo out of the competition.


2019


League

Mayo's league campaign in 2019 got off to a good start with a 2–11 to 0–12 win over Tipperary in Swinford Amenity Park on 3 February. This was followed by a round 2 loss of 3–10 to 2–07 to Donegal, a round 3 loss of 1–17 to 3–09 to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, and a round 4 loss of 1–11 to 0–08 to
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
. Mayo got their second win of the campaign in round 5 with a 3–12 to 2–12 victory against
Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
in Cusack Park.
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
in round 7 proved to be too strong an opponent, losing 2–05 to 4–15 at
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
. Mayo finished the 2019 league campaign with a 2–15 to 2–15 draw with
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
, leaving them 5th in Division 1 overall (2W, 4L, 1D).


Championship

The 2019 championship began with the Connacht final between Mayo and Galway in MacHale Park. Though Galway were ahead for most of the match, Mayo managed to score three goals in the second half to end the game in a draw, Mayo 3–06 to Galway's 1–12. The replay, held in the
Gaelic Grounds The Gaelic Grounds, known for sponsorship reasons as the TUS Gaelic Grounds, is the principal GAA stadium in the city of Limerick in Ireland. Home to the Limerick hurling and football teams, it has a capacity of 44,023. History 9 October 192 ...
resulted in a 3–07 to 0–9 defeat to Galway. For the All-Ireland campaign, Mayo were pooled in Group 4 with Tyrone and Donegal. Mayo's first game was against Tyrone on 13 July, with a close 3–14 to 3–11 victory for Mayo in
Omagh Omagh (; from , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. Northern Ireland's c ...
. Mayo's second game against Donegal on 27 July resulted in a 1–22 to 3–12 victory for Mayo, putting them top of Group 4. Finishing first in group 4, Mayo played the second seed in group 1,
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
, in the quarter final. Mayo came out on top with a 2–12 to 1–12 victory in Pearse Park on 10 August. In the semi-final, Mayo went up against Connacht rivals Galway in
Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...
. The match was even for most of the game, with Rachel Kearns scoring 1–02 and Niamh Kelly 1–1, but a free-kick scored in the 58th minute by Galway resulted in a one-point loss of 2–10 to 2–09, knocking Mayo out of the competition. Rachel Kearns was awarded an All-Star for the 2019 campaign.


2020


League

The 2020 league campaign started for Mayo on 26 January with a 4–07 to 2–09 win over Donegal at Swinford Amenity Park. On 1 February Mayo lost to Dubin 0–07 to 0–12 in round two at
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
. Round three was held in Swinford Amenity Park where Mayo beat
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
0–06 to 0–02. On 1 March Mayo lost to Cork in round 3 by 1–12 to 1–04. On 8 March Mayo played
Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
again in Swinford, beating them by 0–10 to 2–0. On 12 March, due to the emerging threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the LGFA suspended all Gaelic activity at club, county and educational levels. On 24 March, the LGFA decided to cancel the league and declare the results null and void. Mayo placed 3rd overall in the Division 1 league as a result.


Championship

On 8 May it was announced that the championship would be delayed and reformatted for later in the year. On 21 July the championship was rescheduled for late October. The format change saw four groups of three playoff against each other, with the winners playing the semi-finals. Mayo were put into Group 4, grouped with
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
and Tyrone. Mayo's 2020 Senior Football Championship campaign began on 7 November in Páirc Sheáin Mhic Dhiarmada against Tyrone. A final tally of 2–09 for Sarah Rowe and goals from Tamara O'Connor and Deirdre Doherty sealed a comprehensive victory, 4–17 to 0–04. On 14 November Mayo played Armagh. Despite points from Grace Kelly, Aileen Gilroy, Rowe, Sinead Cafferky, Doherty, Mary McHale and Fiona Doherty, Mayo were beaten by Armagh by a score line of 4–12 to 1–16, knocking them out of the competition in the group stage.


2021

In January 2021, Mayo manager Peter Leahy stepped down after three years in charge to become a part of the U20 Meath backroom team.
Michael Moyles Michael Moyles is a former Gaelic footballer who played for Crossmolina and the Mayo county team. He also managed the Mayo ladies' football team from 2021 to 2023 where they won their first silverware since 2016. Background Moyles is from the ...
was announced as the new Mayo manager at the end of January.


Management Team


League

In April 2021, Mayo were drawn in Division 1A of the
2021 Ladies' National Football League The 2021 Ladies' National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Lidl Ladies' National Football League, is a ladies' Gaelic football competition taking place in summer 2021. Division placings were the same as for the 2020 competiti ...
with
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, Donegal and
Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
. In round 1, Mayo faced Galway on 22 May in
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
. Despite Mayo losing a 6-point lead at one stage in the game, 1–3 from Rachel Kearns, 6 points from Shauna Howley and points from nine different scorers led Mayo to a late comeback and a hard-fought one point victory, a final score line of 2–15 to 2–14. In round 2, Mayo travelled to
Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, the ...
to face Donegal on 29 May. Donegal started the game well and took an early lead, but a resurgence from Mayo led to a 1-point lead at the half, 0–7 to 0–6. The game was close for much of the second half before Donegal were awarded and converted a penalty, putting the game beyond Mayo's reach, a final score line of 1–11 to 0–11. In round 3, Mayo faced Westmeath in
Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...
on 6 June. Going into the match, if Galway beat Donegal in the other group game, Mayo would have to defeat Westmeath by such an amount that they would both make up a double digit deficit and end up with a higher points difference than Galway, but if Donegal won the game Mayo only had to beat Westmeath. Mayo were dominant for most of the game, with goals from Kearns, Tara Needham, Amy Dowling and Ciara Needham and points from 7 different scorers led to a comfortable victory, a final score line of 4–18 to 0–06. In the other game Donegal defeated Galway, placing Mayo second in Group 1A and qualifying for the semi-finals (2W, 0D, 1L). In the Division 1 league semi-final, Mayo faced the defending 2020 All-Ireland Champions and Group 1B winners
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
on 12 June at the LIT Gaelic Grounds in
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
. Despite
Niamh Kelly Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an Australian rules footballer who plays for Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda play ...
scoring the first point of the game, Dublin responded with 3 goals in the first half leading to a commanding half-time score line of 3–03 to 0–4. In the second half, Mayo were unsuccessful in mounting a comeback and Dublin pulled away on the scoring sheet with a final score line of 4–15 to 0–10, knocking Mayo out of the competition.


Starting XV's

2021 Mayo LGFA Squad (Rd. 1 League Campaign) vs. Galway Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Orla Conlon * 3. Kathryn Sullivan * 4. Tamara O'Connor * 5. Éilís Ronayne (c) * 6. Clodagh McManamon * 7. Ella Brennan * 8. Fiona McHale * 9. Mary McHale * 10.
Niamh Kelly Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an Australian rules footballer who plays for Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda play ...
* 11. Shauna Howley * 12. Sinéad Cafferky * 13. Maria Reilly * 14. Rachel Kearns * 15. Lisa Cafferky Substitutions * 16. Aisling Tarpey * 17. Sadhbh Larkin * 18. Marie Corbett * 19. Ciara Whyte * 20. Ciara Needham * 21. Tara Needham * 22.
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
* 23. Amy Dowling * 24. Ava Lambert * 25. Deirdre Doherty * 26. Ava Keane * 27. Saoirse Lally * 28. Saoirse Walsh * 29. Amy Halligan * 30. Allanah Duffy 2021 Mayo LGFA Squad (Rd. 2 League Campaign) vs. Donegal Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Clodagh McManamon (c) * 4. Ella Brennan * 5. Tamara O'Connor * 6. Orla Conlon * 7. Marie Corbett * 8.
Niamh Kelly Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an Australian rules footballer who plays for Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda play ...
* 9. Sinéad Cafferky * 10. Fiona McHale * 11. Shauna Howley * 12. Kathryn Sullivan * 13. Deirdre Doherty * 14. Rachel Kearns * 15. Lisa Cafferky Substitutions * 16. Laura Brennan * 17. Sadhbh Larkin * 18. Maria Reilly * 19. Ciara White * 20. Ciara Needham * 21. Tara Needham * 22.
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
* 23. Amy Dowling * 24. Ava Lambert * 25. Mary McHale * 26. Ava Keane * 27. Saoirse Lally * 28. Saoirse Walsh * 29. Amy Halligan * 30. Fiona Doherty 2021 Mayo LGFA Squad (Rd. 3 League Campaign) vs. Westmeath Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Amy Halligan * 3. Clodagh McManamon * 4. Fiona Doherty * 5. Éilís Ronayne * 6. Maria Reilly * 7. Kathryn Sullivan * 8. Tamara O'Connor (c) * 9. Ciara Whyte * 10.
Niamh Kelly Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an Australian rules footballer who plays for Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda play ...
* 11. Tara Needham * 12.
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
* 13. Amy Dowling * 14. Shauna Howley * 15. Rachel Kearns Substitutions * 16. Laura Brennan * 17. Sadhbh Larkin * 18. Roisin Durkin * 19. Ella Brennan * 20. Ciara Needham * 21. Marie Corbett * 22. Ava Keane * 23. Orla Conlon * 24. Deirdre Doherty * 25. Mary McHale * 26. Fiona McHale * 27. Saoirse Lally * 28. Saoirse Walsh * 29. Lisa Cafferky * 30. Sinéad Cafferky 2021 Mayo LGFA Squad (Div. 1 Semi-Final) vs. Dublin Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Clodagh McManamon (c) * 4. Orla Conlon * 5. Éilís Ronayne * 6. Tamara O’Connor * 7. Kathryn Sullivan * 8. Fiona Doherty * 9. Sinéad Cafferky * 10.
Niamh Kelly Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an Australian rules footballer who plays for Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda play ...
* 11. Fiona McHale * 12.
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
* 13. Maria Reilly * 14. Shauna Howley * 15. Rachel Kearns Substitutions * 16. Aisling Tarpey * 17. Sadhbh Larkin * 18. Roisin Durkin * 19. Ella Brennan * 20. Ciara Needham * 21. Marie Corbett * 22. Deirdre Doherty * 23. Amy Halligan * 24. Ciara Whyte * 25. Mary McHale * 26. Tara Needham * 27. Amy Dowling * 28. Saoirse Walsh * 29. Ciara McManamon * 30. Sorcha Murphy


Group Results


Scoring List


2021 League Statistics


Championship

On 20 May, the draw was made for the 2021 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship. Mayo were put into Group A with
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
,
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
and
Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...
. In round 1, Mayo began their championship campaign against Cavan on 10 July in Markievicz Park, Sligo. Mayo looked comfortable for most of the game, leading by 1–09 to 0–05 at half time, and with 8 different scorers ran out as eventual winners, a final score line of 1–18 to 0–15. In round 2, Mayo faced Monaghan on 17 July in
Ballinamore Ballinamore (, meaning "mouth of the big ford") is a small town in the south-east of County Leitrim in Ireland. Etymology , corrupted ''Bellanamore'', means "town at the mouth of the big ford", so named because it was a main crossing (ford) o ...
. Mayo started the game well scoring the first 2 points, but Monaghan came right back into the game, putting successful pressure on Aisling Tarpey's kick outs throughout the first half. At half time the score line was 0–6 to 0–6.The game was tight for most of the 2nd half with both teams trading scores and both defences keeping the scoring list low, but neither side could get themselves in front and regular time ended with a score line of 0–10 to 0–10. In the first half of extra time the excellent defending continued, with the half time extra time score being 0–12 to 0–11. In the second half of extra time, Monaghan were the only scorers, putting the sides level at the end of extra time, 0–12 to 0–12, and into 30 metre free-kicks. In the Free-Kicks, Shauna Howley was the only player on either team to convert their chance, and as a result Mayo ended up overall winners of the free kicks 1–0, and overall winners of the match 0–13 to 0–12. On 24 July Mayo played Armagh in round 3 in Ballinamore. An early goal for Armagh put Mayo on the backfooot, but Mayo kept themselves in the game with 3 points from Grace Kelly and 1 from both Howley and Sarah Rowe. At half time the score was 1–08 to 0–06. Despite a promising start in the second half, two Armagh goals, several points and 3 yellow cards for Mayo proved too high an obstacle to overcome, leading to a final score line of 3–14 to 0–12, placing Mayo second in group 1 but still through to the quarter-finals (2W, 0D, 1L). In the quarter-final, Mayo faced
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
on 2 August in
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
. Mayo's first half performance was clinical on both sides of the ball, with 5 different players scoring a total of 1–10, and registering only 1 wide. At half-time the score line was 1–10 to 0–05. In the second half, Galway slowly shot their way back into the game, and with 5 minutes to go the sides were only separated by 3 points. In the final three minutes, Mayo's excellent defending and a late score from Lisa Cafferky secured the victory for Mayo, a final score line of 1–15 to 1–11. In the semi-final, Mayo faced
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
on 14 August in
Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...
. Dublin started the game well, scoring the first four points, but goals from
Sarah Rowe Sarah Linda Rowe (born 25 July 1995) is a triple code sportswoman. She currently plays association football for Central Coast Mariners and women's Australian rules football for Collingwood in the AFLW. She is a former Republic of Ireland wo ...
and Rachel Kearns kept Mayo in touching distance throughout the first half. At half-time the score-line was 1–10 to 2–01. In the second half, both teams matched each other for points throughout, and despite Lisa Cafferky hitting the post, points from Kearns, Cafferky, Shauna Howley and
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
, and Mayo making several other chances, Dublin maintained their lead to the end, a final score line of 1–17 to 2–09, knocking Mayo out of the competition. Rachel Kearns was awarded an All-Star for the 2021 season.


Starting XV's

Mayo Starting XV (Group 1 Rd. 1 Championship) vs Cavan Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Clodagh McManamon (c) * 4. Ella Brennan * 5. Éilís Ronayne * 6. Tamara O'Connor * 7. Kathryn Sullivan * 8. Ciara Needham * 9. Sinéad Cafferky * 10. Fiona Doherty * 11. Rachel Kearns * 12. Mary McHale * 13.
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
* 14. Shauna Howley * 15. Tara Needham Substitutions Used *
Sarah Rowe Sarah Linda Rowe (born 25 July 1995) is a triple code sportswoman. She currently plays association football for Central Coast Mariners and women's Australian rules football for Collingwood in the AFLW. She is a former Republic of Ireland wo ...
for Mary McHale (33') * Ciara Whyte for Fiona Doherty (40') * Lisa Cafferky for Tara Needham (40') * Saoirse Walsh for Clodagh McManamon (45') * Orla Conlon for Ciara Needham (57') Substitutes Not Used * Laura Brennan * Sadhbh Larkin * Roisin Durkin * Marie Corbett *
Niamh Kelly Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an Australian rules footballer who plays for Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda play ...
* Amy Halligan * Ava Keane * Ava Lambert * Ciara McManamon * Aoife Geraghty Mayo Starting XV (Group 1 Rd. 2 Championship) vs Monaghan Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Clodagh McManamon (c) * 4. Ella Brennan * 5. Tamara O'Connor * 6. Éilís Ronayne * 7. Sadhbh Larkin * 8. Ciara Needham * 9. Sinéad Cafferky * 10.
Sarah Rowe Sarah Linda Rowe (born 25 July 1995) is a triple code sportswoman. She currently plays association football for Central Coast Mariners and women's Australian rules football for Collingwood in the AFLW. She is a former Republic of Ireland wo ...
* 11. Rachel Kearns * 12. Mary McHale * 13.
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
* 14. Shauna Howley * 15. Tara Needham Substitutions Used * Fiona McHale for Ciara Needham (2') * Kathryn Sullivan for Sadhbh Larkin (25') * Fiona Doherty for Tara Needham (44') * Lisa Cafferky for Mary McHale (45') * Marie Corbett for Ella Brennan (60') * Aoife Geraghty for Fiona Doherty (E.T. 9') Substitutes Not Used * Laura Brennan * Roisin Durkin * Orla Conlon * Saoirse Walsh * Amy Halligan * Amy Dowling * Ava Keane * Ava Lambert * Ciara McManamon Mayo Starting XV (Group 1 Rd. 3 Championship) vs Armagh Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Clodagh McManamon (c) * 4. Orla Conlon * 5. Tamara O'Connor * 6. Ciara Whyte * 7. Kathryn Sullivan * 8. Marie Corbett * 9. Sinéad Cafferky * 10. Fiona McHale * 11. Rachel Kearns * 12.
Sarah Rowe Sarah Linda Rowe (born 25 July 1995) is a triple code sportswoman. She currently plays association football for Central Coast Mariners and women's Australian rules football for Collingwood in the AFLW. She is a former Republic of Ireland wo ...
* 13.
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
* 14. Shauna Howley * 15. Tara Needham Substitutions Used * Éilís Ronayne for Saoirse Lally (H.T.) *
Niamh Kelly Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an Australian rules footballer who plays for Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda play ...
for Tara Needham (35') * Roisin Durkin for Marie Corbett (35') * Lisa Cafferky for Tamara O'Connor (48') Substitutes Not Used * Laura Brennan * Sadhbh Larkin * Saoirse Walsh * Amy Halligan * Mary McHale * Ava Keane * Amy Dowling * Ciara McManamon * Aoife Geraghty * Danielle Caldwell Mayo Starting XV (Quarter-final) vs Galway Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Dayna Finn * 4. Roisin Durkin * 5. Tamara O'Connor * 6. Ciara Whyte * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8.
Niamh Kelly Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an Australian rules footballer who plays for Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda play ...
* 9. Sinéad Cafferky * 10. Fiona McHale * 11. Rachel Kearns * 12.
Sarah Rowe Sarah Linda Rowe (born 25 July 1995) is a triple code sportswoman. She currently plays association football for Central Coast Mariners and women's Australian rules football for Collingwood in the AFLW. She is a former Republic of Ireland wo ...
* 13.
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
* 14. Shauna Howley * 15. Lisa Cafferky Substitutions Used * Éilís Ronayne for Ciara Whyte (33') * Amy Dowling for Sarah Rowe (43') * Maria Reilly for Shauna Howley (47') * Danielle Caldwell for Kathryn Sullivan (50') * Sarah Rowe for Rachel Kearns (57') Substitutes Not Used * Aisling Tarpey * Sadhbh Larkin * Marie Corbett * Orla Conlon * Saoirse Walsh * Amy Halligan * Mary McHale * Ava Keane * Ciara McManamon * Aoife Geraghty * Tara Needham Mayo Starting XV (Semi-Final) vs Dublin Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Dayna Finn * 4. Clodagh McManamon (c) * 5. Tamara O'Connor * 6. Roisin Durkin * 7. Kathryn Sullivan * 8. Fiona McHale * 9. Sinéad Cafferky * 10.
Niamh Kelly Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an Australian rules footballer who plays for Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda play ...
* 11. Rachel Kearns * 12. Lisa Cafferky * 13.
Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
* 14. Shauna Howley * 15.
Sarah Rowe Sarah Linda Rowe (born 25 July 1995) is a triple code sportswoman. She currently plays association football for Central Coast Mariners and women's Australian rules football for Collingwood in the AFLW. She is a former Republic of Ireland wo ...
Substitutions Used * Ciara Whyte for Roisin Durkin (34') * Ciara Needham for Fiona McHale (54') * Tara Needham for Lisa Cafferky (54') * Maria Reilly for Shauna Howley (59') Substitutes Not Used * Aisling Tarpey * Éilís Ronayne * Orla Conlon * Saoirse Walsh * Amy Halligan * Mary McHale * Marie Corbett * Amy Dowling * Ciara McManamon * Aoife Geraghty * Sadhbh Larkin


Group Results


Scoring List


2021 Championship Statistics


2022


Management Team


League

For the 2022 Ladies' National Football League season, Mayo were put into Division 1A alongside Donegal,
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
and
Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
. Mayo faced Westmeath at the NUI Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome in Bekan on 12 February at 7 pm. Mayo started the game well with a goal by Maria Reilly in the 1st minute, but Westmeath quickly responded with a point and converted penalty. The game was frantic for the first 15 minutes with both sides getting scores, but over time Mayo slowly began to build up a lead. Goals for Shauna Howley, Sinead Cafferky, another for Maria Reilly and points from several players led to Mayo having a commanding lead at half-time, a score line of 4–11 to 1–05. In the second half, Mayo pulled farther ahead with goals from Laura Moran, Sinead Walsh, and Ava Keane. Mayo's substitutes had a big impact, and 11 different scorers got on the board throughout the game. Though Westmeath had some positive spells in the second half, Mayo continued to score and ran away with the game, a final score line of 7–22 to 1–12. Mayo next faced Galway away on 27 February in Tuam Stadium. The game started at pace, with a goal a piece in the first 6 minutes. Mayo had the wind advantage in the first half and they used it effectively. Mayo's counterattack was swift, and 3 goals from Sinead Walsh, Ciara Whyte, and Lisa Cafferky led to a commanding 3–3 to 1–03 score line at half time. In the second half Mayo continued the pressure, with Sinead Cafferky scoring a goal within the first 2 minutes, and Lisa Cafferky and Sinead Walsh scoring soon after. With the wind in their favour, Galway mounted somewhat of a comeback, scoring a penalty and several points, but with excellent defending Mayo ran out the game comfortable winners, a final score line of 6–06 to 2–08, booking their place in the semi-final of the division 1 league. In round 3, Mayo faced Donegal at Connacht Centre of Excellence in Bekan on 6 March. The game started slow with both sides scoring a point a piece in the first 10 minutes. Just after the first water break Sinead Walsh got the first of the game, and Mayo chipped away points after the defenders won some well fought turnovers. A turnover led to Mayo's second goal by Shauna Howley, but Donegal mounted a comeback late in the first half, scoring 1–1. This led to a halftime score line of 2–04 to 1–02. In the second half Donegal started better, scoring the first 3 points, and Mayo failed to score until the 40th minute. Playing into the wind and with the blinding sun, Mayo struggled to get scores, and by the last water break the lead was down to 2 points. Mayo got back into scoring form in the last 15 minutes however, and points from Howley and Aoife Geraghty allowed Mayo to hold on as eventual winners, a final score line of 2–04 to 1–02. This win put Mayo top of division 1A (3W, 0D, 0L) and into the league semi-finals to face the runner-up of division 1B, Meath. In the league semi-final, Mayo faced Meath on 19 March in St. Tiernach's Park. The first half was tightly contested with both sides trading points. At half-time Mayo led by 0–7 to 0–4. In the second half Meath took over scoring 2–5 unanswered. Mayo mounted a comeback with a goal from Lisa Cafferky and several goal chances, but Meath matched scores for the rest of the game and ended up eventual winners, a final score line of 2–12 to 1–09, knocking Mayo out of the competition.


Starting XV's

2022 Mayo Senior NFL Panel * Rachel Baines (Burrishoole) * Danielle Caldwell (Castlebar Mitchels) * Kathryn Sullivan (Castlebar Mitchels) * Grainne Flynn (Castlebar Mitchels) * Fiona McHale (Carnacon) * Tamara O'Connor (Cill Chomain) * Éilis Ronayne (Davitts) * Aisling Tarpey (Foxrock/Cabinteely) * Laura Brennan (Hollymount) * Allanah Duffy (Hollymount) * Ava Keane (Hollymount) * Nicola Hession (Hollymount) * Ciara Whyte (Kilmoremoy) * Mary McHale (Kilmoremoy) * Sinead Cafferky (Kilmovee Shamrocks) * Lisa Cafferky (Kilmovee Shamrocks) * Maria Reilly (Kiltane) * Shauna Howley (Knockmore) * Hannah Reape (Knockmore) * Roisin Flynn (Knockmore) * Nina McVann (Knockmore) * Sarah Mulvihill (Knockmore) * Tara Needham (Louisburgh) * Ciara Needham (Louisburgh) * Sinead Walsh (MacHale Rovers) * Saoirse Lally (Westport) * Laura Moran (Westport) * Sherin El Massy (Westport) * Aoife Geraghty (Westport) 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 1 League Campaign) vs Westmeath Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Sherin El Massry * 4. Saoirse Lally * 5. Tamara O'Connor * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Nicola Hession * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Aoife Geraghty * 10. Sarah Mulvihill * 11. Lisa Cafferky * 12. Shauna Howley (c) * 13. Rachel Baynes * 14. Ciara Whyte * 15. Maria Reilly Substitutes * Sinead Walsh for Sarah Mulvhill (37') * Danielle Caldwell for Saoirse Lally (37') * Ciara Needham for Tamara O’Connor (39') * Laura Moran for Lisa Cafferkey (43') * Tara Needham for Maria Reilly (43') * Mary McHale for Éilis Ronayne (43') * Roisin Flynn for Aoife Geraghty (43') * Ava Keane for Ciara Whyte (47') * Grainne Flynn for Shauna Howley (47') * Laura Brennan for Aisling Tarpey (49') * Hannah Reape for Rachel Baynes (50') * Kathryn Sullivan for Fiona McHale (51') 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 2 League Campaign) vs Galway Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Éilís Ronayne (c) * 3. Sherin El Massry * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Tamara O'Connor * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Aoife Geraghty * 10. Sarah Mulvihill * 11. Lisa Cafferky * 12. Shauna Howley * 13. Sinead Walsh * 14. Ciara Whyte * 15. Maria Reilly Substitutes * Saoirse Lally for Éilis Ronayne (30') * Mary McHale for Maria Reilly (35') * Rachel Baynes for Ciara Whyte (40') * Roisin Flynn for Tamara O’Connor (48') * Tara Needham for Sinead Walsh (55') * Hannah Reape for Fiona McHale (55') * Ciara Needham for Shauna Howley (55') * Nicola Hession for Kathryn Sullivan (58') * Grainne Flynn for Lisa Cafferky (59') * Laura Moran for Aoife Geraghty (59') * Nina McVann for Diane Caldwell (59') 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 3 League Campaign) vs Donegal Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Roisín Flynn * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Aoife Geraghty * 10. Shauna Howley * 11. Sinéad Walsh * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Ciara Whyte * 15. Hannah Reape Substitutes * Grainne Flynn for Hannah Reape (38') * Maria Reilly for Ciara Whyte (44') * Allanah Duffy for Aoife Geraghty (blood sub, 49') * Ava Keane for Sinead Walsh (57') * Nina McVann for Lisa Cafferky (59') 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Semi-final League Campaign) vs Meath Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Éilis Ronayne * 3. Roisín Flynn * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Aoife Geraghty * 10. Shauna Howley * 11. Sinéad Walsh * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Ciara Whyte * 15. Maria Reilly Substitutes * Ciara Needham for Ciara Whyte (43') * Hannah Reape for Maria Reilly (54') * Sherin El Massry for Roisín Flynn (58') * Tamara O’Connor for Éilis Ronayne (58')


Group Results


Scoring List


2022 League Statistics


Championship

On 15 May, Mayo began their 2022 Championship Campaign in the Connacht Senior Football Championship against
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
in
Tuam Stadium St Jarlath's Park (''Páirc Iarflaith Naofa'', commonly known as Tuam Stadium) is a GAA stadium in Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. It is one of the principal stadiums of Galway GAA's football teams. The ground once had a capacity of around 26,0 ...
. Galway got off to the better start registering 7 points to no score. Mayo eventually got off the mark after 29 minutes from Shauna Howley and followed it up with a further point from Ciara Needham, leading to a half-time score of 7 points to 2 in favour of Galway. In the second half, Mayo mounted somewhat of a comeback with a goal from Lisa Cafferky and points from Howley, Tara Needham, Tamara O'Connor and Sinéad Cafferky, but Galway responded with a goal and points of their own. In the end, though Mayo reduced the gap to 2 points with 9 minutes to go, they could not make up the deficit, losing by a final score line of 1–12 to 1–08. As a result, Mayo were placed in Group 1 of the upcoming senior championship campaign, the only 4 team group, with Tipperary,
Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...
and
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. The first game of the championship group stages took place on 11 June against Tipperary in
McHale Park MacHale Park () is a GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and is named after John MacHal ...
. In the first half Mayo had the wind advantage, but Tipperary managed to get the first point of the game after 13 seconds. Mayo came into the game after this however, scoring 3 early points, before a goal from Lisa Cafferky put Mayo up by 5 after 10 minutes. Mayo continued the good play over the next 10 minutes, with Lisa Cafferky, Shauna Howley, Ciara Needham and Tara Needham all scoring points to leave the score 1–7 to 0–2 after 20 minutes. Tipperary came back into the game, scoring 2 points in quick succession and getting a goal chance late on, but Mayo ended the half well with a series of points, making the half time score line 1–10 to 0–4. In the second half both sides had early chances but neither capitalised. The first score came in the 34th minute when Shauna Howley got a point. Both sides traded points but neither team really got going in the second half. Mayo scored 6 points, 2 points each from Howley and Sinead Walsh and 1 each from Cafferky and Tamara O'Connor, looking comfortable in the lead for most of the game. An injury time goal gave Tipperary some consolation, but by full-time Mayo still led by 10 points, a final score line of 1–16 to 1–06. The second group stage game was played on 19 June against Cavan in Pearse Park. Mayo were the better of the sides for the first 10 minutes & Shauna Howley scored 4 points in the first 15 minutes. Cavan came somewhat back into the game with a few points but 6 different scorers for Mayoled to a half-time scoreline of 0–11 to 0–05. In the second half both sides started evenly until Cavan got 2 goals, one after 39 minutes and the other after 43. With 14 minutes to go both sides were level, and an exchange of points kept the teams level with 5 minutes to go. A late point with one minute to go from Tara Needham gave Mayo a one-point win, a final score line of 0–16 to 2–09. The third and final game of the group stages took place on 25 June against Dublin at
O'Moore Park O'Moore Park () is a GAA stadium in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. It is the home of the Laois Gaelic football and hurling teams. Under a new sponsorship deal it is known as "Laois Hire O'Moore Park". Although it may have been in use as a G ...
. Mayo had a wind advantage in the first half. Both sides got early points, and after 15 minutes the score was 0–4 to 0–3 for Dublin. Dublin pulled slightly away in the following minutes but 2 points from Shauna Howley kept Mayo in the game, a half-time scoreline of 0–08 to 0–05. In the second half with the wind advantage Dublin pulled away scoring 2 goals and several points. Despite a late goal from Lisa Cafferky, Mayo failed to get going in the second half, a final scoreline of 2–14 to 1–07. Mayo finished second in group A and played the winners of Group D,
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, in the quarter-finals on 9 July in Cusack Park. Mayo had the better start with early points from Sinead Walsh, Shauna Howley and Kathryn Sullivan. In the 10th minute Mayo's Walsh got a goal, but Cork responded throughout the half with points to keep a close score line. At half-time the score line was 0–11 to 1–7. In the second half both sides traded points early on and the score line remained close until Lisa Cafferky capitalised on a Cork kick-out error and scored a goal. Despite Cork mounting a late comeback Mayo continued to trade points, running out eventual winners with a final score line of 2–13 to 0–17. In the semi-final Mayo faced Kerry on 16 July in
Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...
. Mayo got the first score of the game but Kerry responded with two goals in the first 10 minutes. Mayo reacted well scoring several points and reducing the gap to 3, but another goal in the 20th minute gave Kerry a 7-point lead at the end of the half. At half-time the score line was 3–06 to 0–08. In the second half both sides traded points before Kerry got another goal in the 43rd minute extending their lead to 10 points. Despite some good Mayo play the team was unable to make up the large deficit, a final score line of 4–10 to 0–13 to Kerry, knocking Mayo out of the competition. Two players, Danielle Caldwell and Shauna Howley, received All-Star awards for the 2022 season.


Starting XV's

2022 Mayo Senior Championship Panel * Lucy Wallace (Burrishoole) * Danielle Caldwell (Castlebar Mitchels) * Kathryn Sullivan (Castlebar Mitchels) * Fiona McHale (Carnacon) * Tamara O'Connor (Cill Chomain) * Éilis Ronayne (Davitts) * Ciara Nyland (Davitts) * Aisling Tarpey (Foxrock/Cabinteely) * Laura Brennan (Hollymount) * Jenna Mortimer (Hollymount) * Ava Keane (Hollymount) * Nicola Hession (Hollymount) * Ciara Whyte (Kilmoremoy) * Sinead Cafferky (Kilmovee Shamrocks) * Lisa Cafferky (Kilmovee Shamrocks) * Shauna Howley (Knockmore) * Hannah Reape (Knockmore) * Roisin Flynn (Knockmore) * Nina McVann (Knockmore) * Sarah Mulvihill (Knockmore) * Tara Needham (Louisburgh) * Ciara Needham (Louisburgh) * Rachel Kearns (MacHale Rovers) * Sinead Walsh (MacHale Rovers) * Ava McDonnell (St. Brigids) * Saoirse Lally (Westport) * Sherin El Massry (Westport) * Aoife Geraghty (Westport) * Sorcha McCarney (Westport) 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Connacht Championship Final) vs Galway Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Danielle Caldwell * 4. Saoirse Lally * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Aoife Geraghty * 10. Shauna Howley * 11. Tamara O'Connor * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Sinead Walsh * 14. Ciara Whyte * 15. Lisa Cafferky Substitutes * Tara Needham for Sarah Mulvhill (35') * Rachel Kearns for Ciara Whyte (42') * Nina McVann for Tamara O'Connor (54') 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Championship Group Game 1) vs Tipperary Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Danielle Caldwell * 4. Saoirse Lally * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Sorcha McCarney * 10. Aoife Geraghty * 11. Sinéad Walsh * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Tara Needham * 15. Shauna Howley Substitutes * Tamara O'Connor for Sarah Mulvihill (40') * Jenna Mortimer for Fiona McHale (49') * Lucy Wallace for Kathryn Sullivan (51') * Ciara Whyte for Tara Needham (52') * Nina Mc Vann for Saoirse Lally (57') 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Championship Group Game 2) vs Cavan Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Danielle Caldwell * 4. Saoirse Lally * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Tamara O'Connor * 10. Aoife Geraghty * 11. Sinéad Walsh * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Tara Needham * 15. Shauna Howley Substitutes * Nina McVann for Éilís Ronayne (2') * Róisín Flynn for Saoirse Lally (7') * Sherin El Massry for Nina McVann (H.T.) * Ciara Whyte for Tamara O'Connor (54') 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Championship Group Game 3) vs Dublin Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Danielle Caldwell * 3. Roisín Flynn * 4. Sherin El Massry * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Aoife Geraghty * 10. Tamara O'Connor * 11. Sinéad Walsh * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Tara Needham * 15. Shauna Howley Substitutes * Ciara Whyte for Tara Needham (28') * Laura Brennan for Aisling Tarpey (H.T.) * Lucy Wallace for Sherin El Massry (46') * Erin Murray for Shauna Howley (51') * Jenna Mortimer for Kathryn Sullivan (51') * Hannah Reape for Tamara O’Connor (53') 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Championship QF) vs Cork Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Éilis Ronayne * 3. Roisín Flynn * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Tamara O'Connor * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Aoife Geraghty * 10. Shauna Howley * 11. Sinéad Walsh * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Ciara Whyte * 15. Tara Needham Substitutes * Ciara Needham for Sinéad Walsh (43') * Erin Murray for Lisa Cafferky (52') * Lucy Wallace for Kathryn Sullivan (57') * Sherin El Massry for Éilis Ronayne (58') 2022 Mayo Starting XV (Championship SF) vs Kerry Starting Team * 1. Aisling Tarpey * 2. Éilis Ronayne * 3. Roisín Flynn * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Tamara O'Connor * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Sinéad Cafferky * 9. Aoife Geraghty * 10. Shauna Howley * 11. Sinéad Walsh * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Ciara Whyte * 15. Tara Needham Substitutes * Ciara Nyland for Sarah Mulvihill (30') * Lucy Wallace for Kathryn Sullivan (47') * Sorcha McCarney for Ciara Whyte (52') * Jenna Mortimer for Fiona McHale (56') * Sherin El Massry for Éilis Ronayne (56')


Group Results


Scoring List


2022 Championship Statistics


2023


Management Team


League

For the 2023 Ladies' National Football League season Division 1A and 1B were merged to create a single Division 1 consisting of 8 teams and 7 rounds. The teams in Division 1 were Mayo,
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, Donegal,
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, Kerry,
Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
and
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, with the top two placed teams playing in the Division 1 final. Mayo began their campaign with a round 1 clash against Cork on 22 January at the Connacht Centre of Excellence in Bekan. Cork had the better start to the game and only for a great save by goalkeeper Laura Brennan Mayo would've been down a goal in the first two minutes. Despite this Cork dominated the early part of the game and after 15 minutes the score was Cork 0–4 to Mayo's no score. Mayo registered their first score in the 19th minute with a point from Tara Needham, but a goal and several extra points from Cork led to a half-time score line of 1–06 to 0–2. In the second half Cork continued where they had left off scoring two early points, but Mayo responded with a purple patch and points from Shauna Howley and Lisa Cafferky to leave them trailing by 5 points after 45 mins. Mayo continued to reduce the deficit and with 3 minutes to go they trailed by just two points. Despite the second half resurgence from Mayo Cork managed to get a goal in the final minutes of the game, leading to a round 1 defeat for Mayo and a final score-line of 2–11 to 0–12. In round 2 Mayo faced Kerry on 28 January at the Connacht Centre of Excellence in Bekan. Kerry had the better start and an early save from Mayo's Laura Brennan prevented an early goal chance in the first 2 minutes. Mayo got their first score in the 5th minute with a point from Maria Cannon, but Kerry were the better side in the first 15 minutes score 5 points to Mayo's 0–2. For the rest of the half neither team could establish their authority on the game and both sides traded points, a half-time score line of 0–5 to 0–4 in favour of Kerry. In the second half the game ebbed back and forth for the first 5 minutes before Kerry got a goal to leave Mayo's deficit at 4 points. This was followed in the 38th minute by another Kerry goal. Over the next few minutes Mayo managed a comeback with points from Sinead Walsh, Shauna Howley and Cannon, but another goal from Kerry put Mayo down by 6 points in the 45th minute. This however was Kerry's last score of the game and for the last 15 minutes Mayo chipped away at their lead. Several scores left Mayo down by just 1 point with 4 minutes to go, but Kerry managed to hang on, a final score line of 3–05 to 0–13. In round 3 Mayo faced Waterford on 5 February in
Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...
. Despite an energetic start from Mayo Waterford had the better opening to the game, scoring two early points. For the next few minutes both sides traded points, and after 20 minutes the score line was 0–4 to 0–2 in favour of Waterford. Over the last 10 minutes Waterford continued to have the better of the possession, and despite two late Mayo points a Waterford goal just before the break led to a halftime score line of 1–6 to 0–4. In the second half Mayo's Lisa Cafferky scored 2 early points, but Waterford responded with a second goal leaving Mayo behind by six points at the 40 minute mark. For the next 10 minutes both sides again traded points, and with 10 minutes to go Mayo were down by 4 points. Despite a late comeback where Mayo reduced the deficit to 1 point, a late point from the opponents led to a 2-point loss, a final score line of 2–09 to 0–13. In round 4 Mayo faced Meath on 18 February in Páirc Tailteann, Navan. Mayo started the game well with 2 early points, but Meath responded with 3 quick points leaving the score 0–3 to 0–2 after 10 minutes. Meath continued to pile on the pressure, scoring another 3 points in the following 10 minutes, which left Mayo behind by 4 points after 20 minutes. For the rest of the half both Meath and Mayo traded points, a half-time score of 0–7 to 0–3. In the second half with the breeze on their back Mayo had the better of the possession and got 2 goals in the 40th and 42nd minutes to put them up by 3 points. Mayo continued to pile on the pressure, limiting Meath to two points in the second half, and despite a late surge from Meath they managed to weather the storm and get the win, a final score line of 2–06 to 0–09. In round 5 Mayo faced Dublin on 25 February in DCU St. Clare's. Both sides started well trading several points until the 14th minute when Sinead Walsh scored a goal. After 15 minutes the score was 1–02 to 0–3. For the rest of the half Mayo were the better side, slotting over several points, to make the half time score 1–04 to 0–4. In the second half both sides began trading points before Sinead Walsh got her second goal in the 33rd minute. After this both sides traded points, and with 15 minutes to go Mayo led by 5 points. In the 52nd minute Dublin responded with a goal and several points, leaving the game level with 5 minutes to go. With 3 minutes to go Dublin got a penalty which they missed, but in the final minute Dublin scored a goal leaving them 4 ahead, a final score line of 2–11 to 2–07. In round 6 Mayo faced Galway on 19 March in
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
. Poor weather conditions led to no score for the first 10 minutes of the game. The first score came in the 13th minute when Mayo's Tara Needham slotted away a goal. Galway responded with three frees to leave the teams level with 17 minutes gone. For the rest of the half both sides had good periods of play, and at half time Galway led by 1 point, 1–03 to 0–7. In the second half Galway started better with 2 early points but a goal from Rachel Kearns left the sides level on the 36th minute. For the next few minutes both sides had good periods of play, and with 10 minutes remaining Galway led by 1 point. In the last 10 minutes despite some good scores from Mayo they couldn't take the lead, a final score line of 2–06 to 0–13. In round 7 Mayo will faced Donegal in a relegation decider on 26 March in Letterkenny. Mayo got the better start with a goal by Rachel Kearns in the first 2 minutes. Mayo continued the scoring, and after 20 minutes the score was 2–03 to 0–1. A further 2 goals left Mayo far out in the lead at the half, a half-time score line of 4–05 to 0–01. The second half was a low scoring affair, and despite 3 Donegal goals Mayo maintained their large lead, a final score line of 5–09 to 3–02, leaving Mayo 6th in Division 1 and safe from relegation.


Starting XV's

2023 Mayo Senior NFL Panel * Saoirse Delaney (Aghamore) * Erin Murray (Ballyhaunis) * Clodagh McManamon (Burrishoole) * Maria Cannon (Burrishoole) * Lucy Wallace (Burrishoole) * Danielle Caldwell (Castlebar Mitchels) * Kathryn Sullivan (Castlebar Mitchels) * Fiona McHale (Carnacon) * Ella Brennan (Charlestown) * Deirdre Doherty (Charlestown) * Tamara O'Connor (Cill Chomain) * Éilis Ronayne (Davitts) * Laura Brennan (Hollymount) * Sarah Tierney (Hollymount) * Sinead Cafferky (Kilmovee Shamrocks) * Lisa Cafferky (Kilmovee Shamrocks) * Maria Reilly (Kiltane) * Shauna Howley (Knockmore) * Hannah Reape (Knockmore) * Emily Reape (Knockmore) * Roisin Flynn (Knockmore) * Ciara Durkan (Knockmore) * Tara Needham (Louisburgh) * Ciara Needham (Louisburgh) * Sinead Walsh (MacHale Rovers) * Rachel Kearns (MacHale Rovers) * Lisa Reid (Moy Davitts) * Saoirse Lally (Westport) * Sorcha McCarney (Westport) * Sherin El Massy (Westport) 2023 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 1 League Campaign) vs Cork Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Roisin Flynn * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Clodagh McManamon * 9. Hannah Reape * 10. Emily Reape * 11. Sinead Cafferky * 12. Shauna Howley * 13. Maria Cannon * 14. Tara Needham * 15. Rachel Kearns Substitutes * Lisa Cafferky for Emily Reape (HT) * Sarah Tierney for Hannah Reape (53') * Lucy Wallace for Ciara Needham (53') * Maria Reilly for Tara Needham (55') 2023 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 2 League Campaign) vs Kerry Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Roisin Flynn * 4. Danielle Caldwell (c) * 5. Lucy Wallace * 6. Sarah Tierney * 7. Kathryn Sullivan * 8. Clodagh McManamon * 9. Sinead Cafferky * 10. Hannah Reape * 11. Shauna Howley * 12. Tara Needham * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Rachel Kearns * 15. Maria Cannon Substitutes * Sinead Walsh for Hannah Reape (40') * Ciara Needham for Kathryn Sullivan (50') * Erin Murray for Tara Needham (56') * Fiona McHale for Rachel Kearns (56'). 2023 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 3 League Campaign) vs Waterford Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Roisin Flynn * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Sarah Tierney * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Clodagh McManamon * 9. Sinead Cafferky * 10. Fiona McHale * 11. Shauna Howley * 12. Maria Cannon * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Rachel Kearns * 15. Sinead Walsh Substitutes * Lucy Wallace for Ciara Needham (HT) * Saoirse Delaney for Rachel Kearns (HT) * Hannah Reape for Fiona Mc Hale (44') * Ella Brennan for Kathryn Sullivan (49') * Tara Needham for Sinead Walsh (49') * Erin Murray for Maria Cannon (54') * Ciara Durkan for Sarah Tierney (57') 2023 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 4 League Campaign) vs Meath Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Ciara Needham * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Lucy Wallace * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Sinead Walsh * 8. Clodagh McManamon * 9. Sinead Cafferky * 10. Hannah Reape * 11. Shauna Howley (c) * 12. Maria Cannon * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Maria Reilly * 15. Tara Needham Substitutes * Kathryn Sullivan for Lucy Wallace (HT) * Rachel Kearns for Sinead Cafferky (35') * Sarah Mulvihill for Maria Cannon (44') * Ella Brennan for Hannah Reape (49') * Tamara O'Connor for Maria Reilly (52') 2023 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 5 League Campaign) vs Dublin Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Roisin Flynn * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Clodagh McManamon * 9. Sinead Cafferky * 10. Sinead Walsh * 11. Shauna Howley * 12. Hannah Reape * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Rachel Kearns * 15. Tara Needham Substitutes * Aoife Geraghty for Hannah Reape (HT) * Sarah Mulvihill for Lisa Cafferky (47') * Sarah Tierney for Danielle Caldwell (50') * Maria Cannon for Rachel Kearns (56') * Tamara O'Connor for Shauna Howley (59') 2023 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 6 League Campaign) vs Galway Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Éilís Ronayne * 3. Saoirse Lally * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Sinead Cafferky * 10. Sinead Walsh * 11. Shauna Howley * 12. Tamara O'Connor * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Rachel Kearns * 15. Tara Needham Substitutes * Deirdre Doherty for Sinead Walsh (21') * Maria Cannon for Fiona McHale (47') * Maria Reilly for Shauna Howley (54') * Sarah Mulvihill for Lisa Cafferky (54') * Hannah Reape for Tamara O’Connor (60') 2023 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 7 League Campaign) vs Donegal Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Eilis Ronayne * 3. Danielle Caldwell * 4. Saoirse Lally * 5. Tamara O’Connor * 6. Ciara Needham * 7. Kathryn Sullivan * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Sinead Cafferky * 10. Deirdre Doherty * 11. Shauna Howley * 12. Fiona McHale * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Rachel Kearns * 15. Maria Reilly Substitutes * Sinead Walsh for Rachel Kearns (6 ') * Sarah Mulvihill for Maria Reilly (13') * Roisin Flynn for Ciara Needham (14'), * Sarah Tierney for Danielle Caldwell (28') * Ella Brennan for Kathryn Sullivan (33'), * Saoirse Delaney for Deirdre Doherty (HT), * Maria Cannon for Tamara O'Connor (40)' * Hannah Reape for Fiona McHale (40') * Lucy Wallace for Shauna Howley (40') * Ciara Durcan for Sarah Tierney (43') * Jenna Mortimer for Eilis Ronayne (43') * Lisa Reid for Laura Brennan (46') * Emily Reape for Saoirse Lally (52') * Erin Murray for Lisa Cafferky (52') * Roisin Durcan for Sinead Cafferky (55') * Maria Reilly for Sinead Walsh (58') * Danielle Caldwell for Ella Brennan (68')


Group Results


Scoring List


2023 League Statistics


Championship

The 2023 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship began with the Connacht final, where Mayo faced Galway on 6 May in MacHale Park. Mayo started the game well, scoring 1–3 in the first 6 minutes without reply. As the half progressed Galway began to score and went on a streak of 1–4 without reply. Both sides then traded points, and at half time the score line was 1–8 to 1–7 in favour of Galway. In the second half Mayo had the better of the chances, with goals from Rachel Kearns and Sinead Walsh securing the win, a final score line of 3–13 to 2–09 and the first time Mayo had won the Connacht championship since 2016. As a result of the victory Mayo were put into Group A of the All-Ireland Championship group stages alongside
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
and
Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
. Mayo first faced Armagh on 25 June in the Athletic Grounds. Mayo started the game well, with Sinead Cafferky scoring 1–1 in the first 10 minutes. From there both teams traded points, a half time score line of 1–06 to 0–04. In the second half Armagh had the better start scoring 1–3 without reply, and with 40 minutes gone the score was level at 1–07 to 1–07. Both sides traded points, and with 5 minutes to go the score line was 1–09 to 1–09. Mayo looked to pull ahead in the dying minutes of the game with 2 points from Deirdre Doherty, but a late penalty from Armagh left Mayo behind at the end of the game, a final score line of 1–11 to 2–10. In round 2 Mayo faced Laois on 1 July in
MacHale Park MacHale Park () is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels GAA and Mayo GAA Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground currently has a capacity of 28,000 and i ...
. Mayo began the game with 7 points from 5 different scorers before Laois scored their first in the 13th minute. Mayo continued the scoring prowess with a goal from Sinead Walsh and a further 2 points to leave the half time score line at 1–09 to 0–04. In the second half Mayo continued the scoring prowess, with a goal from Sinead Cafferky and 6 further points led to a comfortable victory, a final score line of 2–15 to 0–08. As a result of the group stage, Mayo finished second securing a quarter final away fixture against Galway. In the quarter final of the 2023 championship Mayo faced Galway on 15 July in
Pearse Stadium Pearse Stadium () is the principal GAA stadium in Galway, Ireland. The Galway GAA Gaelic football and hurling teams use the stadium for their home games. The stadium, amongst others in the province of Connacht, is also used for games in the ...
. Mayo started the game well, registering the first 2 points of the match, but a goal by Galway in the 6th minute led to a cagey first half where neither side looked like pulling away. Points from Deirdre Doherty, Sinead Cafferky, Ciara Needham, and Tara Needham led to a half time score line of 0–06 to 1–02. In the second half both sides again traded points, and with 1 minute to go the score was 1–06 to 0–09. With both sides looking for a winner the ball was intercepted on the halfway line by Mayo's Ciara Needham who passed to Shauna Howley, and with 20 seconds to go Howley scored the winning point and booked Mayo's place in the semi-final, a final score line of 0–10 to 1–06. In the Championship semi-final Mayo faced Kerry on 29 July in
Semple Stadium FBD Semple Stadium is the home of hurling and Gaelic football for Tipperary GAA and for the province of Munster. Located in Thurles, County Tipperary, it is the second largest GAA stadium in Ireland (after Croke Park), with a capacity of 45,690 ...
. Both sides exchanged points in the first 10 minutes, but from the 13th to the 21st minute Kerry scored 1–07 without reply. Mayo managed a few more points, but at half time the score line was 1–10 to 0–4. In the second half Mayo mounted a comeback with a goal from Deirdre Doherty and points from Rachel Kearns, Sinead Walsh, Lisa Cafferky, Shauna Howley, Aoife Geraghty and Ciara Needham, but they were unable to reduce the deficit enough, a final score line of 1–16 to 1–11, knocking Mayo out of the competition.


Starting XV's

2023 Mayo Starting XV (2023 Connacht Championship) vs Galway Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Roisin Flynn * 4. Éilis Ronayne * 5. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Tamara O'Connor * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Rachel Kearns * 10. Sarah Mulvihill * 11. Danielle Caldwell * 12. Sinead Cafferky * 13. Tara Needham * 14. Deirdre Doherty * 15. Lisa Cafferky Substitutes * Sinead Walsh for Tara Needham (36') * Shauna Howley for Roisin Flynn (45') * Maria Cannon for Sarah Mulvihill (48') * Ciara Needham for Fiona McHale (57') * Lucy Wallace for Tamara O'Connor (57') 2023 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 1 Championship Group) vs Armagh Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Éilis Ronayne * 3. Clodagh McManamon * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Ciara Needham * 6. Fiona McHale * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Sinead Cafferky * 10. Shauna Howley * 11. Tamara O’Connor * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Lisa Cafferky * 14. Deirdre Doherty * 15. Sinead Walsh Substitutes * Lucy Wallace for Tamara O’Connor (29') * Maria Cannon for Shauna Howley (40') * Maria Reily for Sarah Mulvihill (48') * Saoirse Lally for Kathryn Sullivan (58') * Roisin Flynn for Ciara Needham (58') 2023 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 2 Championship Group) vs Laois Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Éilis Ronayne * 3. Clodagh McManamon * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Saoirse Lally * 6. Ciara Needham * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Fiona McHale * 10. Maria Cannon * 11. Sinead Cafferky * 12. Saoirse Delaney * 13. Shauna Howley * 14. Deirdre Doherty * 15. Sinead Walsh Substitutes * Maria Reilly for Deirdre Doherty (40') * Sarah Tierney for Fiona McHale (44') * Roisin Durkan for Kathryn Sullivan (49') * Erin Murray for Ciara Needham (50') 2023 Mayo Starting XV (2023 QF Championship) vs Galway Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Clodagh McManamon * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 6. Ciara Needham * 7. Éilis Ronayne * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Sinead Walsh * 10. Sarah Mulvihill * 11. Fiona McHale * 12. Sinead Cafferky * 13. Deirdre Doherty * 14. Rachel Kearns * 15. Tara Needham Subs: * Shauna Howley for Deirdre Doherty (HT') * Maria Cannon for Sarah Mulvihill (43') * Lucy Wallace for Kathryn Sullivan (51') * Lisa Cafferky for Fiona McHale (55') * Tamara O’Connor for Aoife Geraghty (60') 2023 Mayo Starting XV (2023 SF Championship) vs Kerry Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Saoirse Lally * 3. Clodagh McManamon * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Éilis Ronayne * 6. Ciara Needham * 7. Kathryn Sullivan (c) * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Tamara O'Connor * 10. Sinead Cafferky * 11. Rachel Kearns * 12. Sarah Mulvihill * 13. Tara Needham * 14. Shauna Howley * 15. Lisa Cafferky Subs: * Sinead Walsh for Sarah Mulvihill (26') * Lucy Wallace for Tamara O'Connor (44') * Deirdre Doherty for Rachel Kearns (51') * Maria Cannon for Tara Needham (55') * Fiona McHale for Shauna Howley (60')


Group Results


Scoring List


2023 Championship Statistics


2023 Post Season

On 10 August it was announced that
Michael Moyles Michael Moyles is a former Gaelic footballer who played for Crossmolina and the Mayo county team. He also managed the Mayo ladies' football team from 2021 to 2023 where they won their first silverware since 2016. Background Moyles is from the ...
had stepped down as the manager of the Mayo ladies team after three years in charge. On 7 November former men's Mayo footballer Liam McHale was hired as the new manager of the ladies football team on a three-year contract. On 18 November Danielle Caldwell was the only Mayo player to win an All-Star award for the 2023 season.


2024


Management Team


League

For the 2024 Ladies' National Football League season, two teams would be relegated from Division 1, 2, and 3, rather than the one team in previous years. Mayo began their Division 1 campaign in round 1 by facing
Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
at the NUI Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome in Bekan on 21 January at 2:30 pm. For the first few minutes of the game both sides traded points, and a goal by Maria Cannon was matched by a Meath goal. After Meath's goal they followed that up with several points, and despite several scores from Maria Cannon and Alana Fitzpatrick Meath scored another goal leading to a half-time score of 1–08 to 2–10. In the second half Mayo got 2 early points but struggled to get scores as the game progressed. Meath continued to score and Mayo never really looked like they'd reduce the deficit, a final score line of 2–18 to 1–15. In round 2 Mayo faced
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
on 27 January at 3:15 pm in
Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-centur ...
. In the first 5 minutes both sides traded free kicks, with Maria Cannon scoring early. A yellow card for Aoife Geraghty allowed Galway to get an upper hand for a time, and with 20 minutes gone they led by 0–4 to 0–2. Mayo weathered the storm however, and an excellent pass by Tara Needham led to Lisa Cafferky scoring a goal in the 22nd minute. This was followed up by a point from Sinead Walsh, leading to a half time score line of 1–3 to 0–5. The second half began cagey, with both sides missing opportunities early. Galway got the first score of the second half in the 36th minute, followed by a Cafferky point in the 42nd minute. In the 46th minute Mayo managed to break Galway's lines, and another Needham-Cafferky play led to Mayo's and Cafferky's second goal. From here and despite some great Mayo defending by captain Saoirse Lally and others, Galway slowly edged their way back into the game scoring 3 unanswered points in the last 10 minutes. With the last kick of the game and Mayo up by one Galway got a free kick in a dangerous position, but the shot went to the left and wide, leading to the final whistle and a 2–05 to 0–10 win for Mayo, their first win of the league campaign. In round 3 Mayo faced
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
on 4 February at 2 pm in Ballina. In the first half Mayo had the advantage of a strong wind on their backs and capitalised early, with Lisa Cafferky getting an early goal and point, and Sinead Walsh adding another point. After 5 minutes the score was 1-2 to 0-0. Mayo's good play continued, and in the 9th minute Tara Needham was fouled inside the square, leading to a converted penalty by Cafferky. Dublin got their first point in the 12th minute from a free, but this was followed by 2 more points from Cafferky. For the rest of the half both sides traded points, and at half time Mayo were ahead by 2-7 to 0-4. In the second half Mayo struggled playing against the wind. By the 45th minute Dublin, with the wind advantage, scored 1-6 to leave the sides level. Dublin continued to pile on the pressure and went 2 points ahead with 5 minutes to go. Dublin followed this up with several points and a late goal. Despite lots of hard work by many of the Mayo players, they scored their first and only point of the half from a free in the 59th minute, leading to a 7 point loss and a final score line of 2-15 to 2-08. In round 4 Mayo faced Kerry on 27 February at 2.30pm in
Fitzgerald Stadium Fitzgerald Stadium () is the principal GAA stadium in Killarney, Ireland, and is the home championship venue for the Kerry senior football team. Named in honour of one of the first great players of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Dick Fitz ...
. Mayo started the game poorly, conceding 3 early points, but managed to mount a comeback in the form of 2 points each from Maria Cannon and Sinead Walsh. The rest of the half was a low scoring affair, leading to a half time score line of 0-4 to 0-4. In the second half Kerry again went 3 points ahead and looked the better team for much of the game, but Mayo again managed a comeback with points from Cannon and 2 late scores from Sinead Walsh. The second half played out in much the same way as the first, which led to a draw and a final score line of 0-8 to 0-8. In round 5 Mayo faced
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
on 2 March at 5.30pm at Páirc Uí Chaoimh's 4G Astro Training Pitch. The game started slowly with both sides having periods of good play. After 15 minutes both sides were level at 2 points each. This continued for the rest of the half with neither side able to get ahead, a half time score line of 0-5 to 0-5. In the second half Mayo started the game poorly missing several point opportunities before Sinead Cafferky got the first of the half. In the 40th minute Mayo got a penalty which was missed by Lisa Cafferky. Despite this, with 15 minutes to go Mayo were up by 2 points. Mayo maintained this lead for the remainder of the game, a final score line of 0-9 to 0-7. In round 6 Mayo faced
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
on 17 March at 1pm in Ballina. Both sides started the game with a wide in the first 2 minutes. Mayo got their first score via a Maria Cannon free kick in the 8th minute. After 15 minutes Mayo was down by a point, and despite a saved goal chance for Kathryn Sullivan, Armagh scored a goal in the 18th minute to make the score line 1-2 to 0-1.Armagh dominated the rest of the first half scoring another goal and several points. Mayo scored their 2nd point in the 29th minute, a half time score line of 2-5 to 0-2.In the second half Mayo started better scoring 3 points in quick succession, followed by a Sinead Walsh goal in the 42nd minute. Mayo continued the good play, and with 10 minutes to go Mayo were down by 4 points. A Saoirse Delaney goal in the 51st minute and a Cannon point left both sides level with 8 minutes to go. Armagh responded with a point leaving them ahead by 1 point with 3 minutes to go, but Mato responded with a levelling point with 2 minutes to go. In the last minute Armagh got a free kick which they converted, leading to a Mayo one point loss and a final score line of 2-9 to 2-8. In round 7 Mayo faced
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
on 24 of March at 2pm in Ballina. Mayo started the game poorly, conceding a goal in the first 45 seconds, but responded straight away with a goal of their own in the first minute by Fionnuala McLaughlin. Aoife Geraghty got the next score of the game, leading to a score line of 1-1 to 1-0 after 10 minutes. The next few minutes were cagey before Ciara Needham got 2 points in quick succession. Waterford eventually got their next score in the 27th minute with a 2nd goal and another point, but Geraghty and Maria Cannon responded with points of their own and McLoughlin got a 2nd goal, leaving the score line at half time 2-5 to 2-2. In the second half Mayo started well with a Lisa Cafferky point in the 31st minute. For the next 15 minutes both sides exchanged points, with Kathryn Sullivan and Aoife Staunton scoring, and with 5 minutes to go Mayo were ahead by 3 points. In the last five minutes both sides had chances to win the game for their sides, but Mayo maintained their 3 point lead to the end, a final score line of 2-9 to 2-6, securing their Division 1 status for next year.


Starting XV's

2024 Mayo Senior NFL Panel * Niamh Mooney (Aghamore) * Saoirse Delaney (Aghamore) * Maria Cannon (Burrishoole) * Lucy Wallace (Burrishoole) * Danielle Caldwell (Castlebar Mitchels) * Kathryn Sullivan (Castlebar Mitchels) * Fiona McHale (Carnacon) * Chelsea Doherty (Charlestown) * Alana Fitzpatrick (Claremorris) * Jenna Mortimer (Hollymount) * Laura Brennan (Hollymount) * Milly Sheridan (Kilmoremoy) * Lisa Cafferky (Kilmovee Shamrocks) * Ciara Durkan (Knockmore) * Hannah Reape (Knockmore) * Emily Reape (Knockmore) * Emma Needham (Louisburgh) * Ciara Needham (Louisburgh) * Tara Needham (Louisburgh) * Annie Gough (Mac Hale Rovers) * Sinead Walsh (MacHale Rovers) * Lisa Reid (Moy Davitts) * Rebecca Kiernan (Parke Keelogues Crimlin) * Caitlin Henry (Swinford Killasser) * Aoife Geraghty (Westport) * Aoife Staunton (Westport) * Fionnuala McLaughlin (Westport) * Nicola O'Malley (Westport) * Saoirse Lally (Westport) * Sorcha McCarney (Westport) 2024 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 1 League Campaign) vs Meath Starting Team * 1. Lisa Reid * 2. Lucy Wallace * 3. Saoirse Lally (c) * 4. Nicola O'Malley * 5. Kathryn Sullivan * 6. Danielle Caldwell * 7. Jenna Mortimer * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Hannah Reape * 10. Fionnuala McLaughlin * 11. Lisa Cafferky * 12. Maria Cannon * 13. Tara Needham * 14. Fiona McHale * 15. Alana Fitzpatrick Substitutes * Annie Gough for Hannah Reape (38') * Emily Reape for Kathryn Sullivan (42') * Emma Needham for Fiona McHale (46') * Sinead Walsh for Tara Needham (49') * Caitlin Henry for Lisa Cafferky (52') 2024 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 2 League Campaign) vs Galway Starting Team * 1. Lisa Reid * 2. Lucy Wallace * 3. Nicola O'Malley * 4. Saoirse Lally (c) * 5. Kathryn Sullivan * 6. Danielle Caldwell * 7. Jenna Mortimer * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Hannah Reape * 10. Fionnuala McLaughlin * 11. Sinead Walsh * 12. Maria Cannon * 13. Tara Needham * 14. Fiona McHale * 15. Lisa Cafferky Substitutes * Annie Gough for Lucy Wallace (H.T.) * Emily Reape for Kathryn Sullivan (H.T.) * Emma Needham for Fiona McHale (46') * Alana Fitzpatrick for Hannah Reape (51') * Niamh Mooney for Tara Needham (59') 2024 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 3 League Campaign) vs Dublin Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Emma Needham * 3. Nicola O'Malley * 4. Saoirse Lally (c) * 5. Kathryn Sullivan * 6. Danielle Caldwell * 7. Jenna Mortimer * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Hannah Reape * 10. Fionnuala McLaughlin * 11. Alana Fitzpatrick * 12. Sinead Walsh * 13. Tara Needham * 14. Fiona McHale * 15. Lisa Cafferky Substitutes * Maria Cannon for Tara Needham (H.T.) * Emily Reape for Alana Fitzpatrick (38') * Niamh Mooney for Emma Needham (43') * Ciara Durkin for Kathryn Sullivan (47') * Chelsea Doherty for Danielle Caldwell (54') 2024 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 4 League Campaign) vs Kerry Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Alana Fitzpatrick * 3. Nicola O'Malley * 4. Saoirse Lally (c) * 5. Kathryn Sullivan * 6. Sinead Cafferky * 7. Erin Murray * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Hannah Reape * 10. Fionnuala McLaughlin * 11. Lisa Cafferky * 12. Maria Cannon * 13. Tara Needham * 14. Fiona McHale * 15. Sinead Walsh Substitutes * Jenna Mortimer for Erin Murray (42') * Emma Needham for Sinead Cafferky (44') * Emily Reape for Alana Fitzpatrick (51') * Ciara Doherty for Tara Needham (56') 2024 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 5 League Campaign) vs Cork Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Alana Fitzpatrick * 3. Nicola O'Malley * 4. Saoirse Lally (c) * 5. Kathryn Sullivan * 6. Danielle Caldwell * 7. Jenna Mortimer * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Hannah Reape * 10. Fionnula McLaughlin * 11. Lisa Cafferky * 12. Maria Cannon * 13. Tara Needham * 14. Fiona McHale * 15. Sinead Walsh Substitutes * Chelsea Doherty for Tara Needham (24') * Ciara Durkin for Kathryn Sullivan (H.T.) * Emma Needham for Lisa Cafferky (47') 2024 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 6 League Campaign) vs Armagh Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Danielle Caldwell * 3. Nicola O'Malley * 4. Saoirse Lally (c) * 5. Kathryn Sullivan * 6. Erin Murray * 7. Jenna Mortimer * 8. Aoife Geraghty * 9. Hannah Reape * 10. Fionnula McLaughlin * 11. Alana Fitzpatrick * 12. Maria Cannon * 13. Sinead Cafferky * 14. Lisa Cafferky * 15. Sinead Walsh Substitutes * Ciara Needham for Jenna Mortimer (H.T.) * Saoirse Delaney for Alana Fitzpatrick (H.T.) * Ciara Durkan for Kathryn Sullivan (45') * Éilis Ronayne for Erin Murray (45') * Aoife Staunton for Lisa Cafferky (49') 2024 Mayo Starting XV (Rd. 7 League Campaign) vs Waterford Starting Team * 1. Laura Brennan * 2. Eilis Ronayne * 3. Nicola O'Malley * 4. Danielle Caldwell * 5. Kathryn Sullivan * 6. Erin Murray * 7. Ciara Needham * 8. Aoife Geraghty (c) * 9. Hannah Reape * 10. Fionnula McLaughlin * 11. Saoirse Delaney * 12. Maria Cannon * 13. Sinead Cafferky * 14. Lisa Cafferky * 15. Sinead Walsh Substitutes * Alana Fitzpatrick for Hannah Reape (H.T.) * Ciara Durkan for Erin Murray (36') * Aoife Staunton for Lisa Cafferky (44') * Emma Needham for Sinead Cafferky (48') * Fiona McHale for Ciara Needham (48') * Tara Needham for Saoirse Delaney (57')


Group Results


Scoring List


2024 League Statistics


All-Stars


Captains


Managers


AFLW

In recent years, the Women's Australian Football League (AFLW) has recruited several former and current players from Mayo to play in the Australian league.


Kit

Though the design of the Mayo kit changes each year, certain features remain. The colour scheme of Mayo is green, red and white. Mayo jerseys are mostly green with a red banner on the front, where the main sponsors logo is seen, and white, usually on the collar or shoulder area. The colour of shorts are red with small sections of white and green, which differ from the men's white kit. This is to address period concerns for female players. Socks are usually red with green stripes. The away jerseys differ vastly year to year, as do the goalkeepers jersey. Mayo LGFA, Mayo GAA and Mayo Camogie all use the same kit, with the exception of the difference in shorts colour. The 2024 home jersey can b
seen here


Sponsors


Mayo Senior LGFA Clubs


Championship Results


League results


Honours

*
All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship () is the premier inter-county competition in the game of ladies' Gaelic football in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and are played during ...
** ''Winners'': 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003. ** ''Runners up'': 2001, 2007, 2017. * Ladies' National Football League Div. 1 ** ''Winners'': 2000, 2004, 2007. ** ''Runners up'': 1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2018. * Ladies' National Football League Div. 2 ** ''Winners'': 2012. ** ''Runners up'': 1991. * Connacht Senior Ladies' Football Championship ** ''Winners'': 1976, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2023. * All-Ireland Intermediate Championship ** ''Winners'': 1993. * All-Ireland Junior Ladies' Championship ** ''Winners'': 1987. *
All-Ireland Under-18 Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Under-18 Ladies' Football Championship is a "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played by women in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association The Ladies' Gaelic Footb ...
** ''Winners'': 1987. *
All-Ireland Under-16 Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Under-16 Ladies' Football Championship is a "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played by women in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association The Ladies' Gaelic Footb ...
s ** ''Winners'': 1976. * All-Ireland Under-16 B Ladies' Football Championships ** ''Winners'': 2010, 2018. *
All-Ireland Under-14 Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Under-14 Ladies' Football Championship is a "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played by women in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association The Ladies' Gaelic Footb ...
s ** ''Winners'': 1994. * All-Ireland Under-14 B Ladies' Football Championships ** ''Winners'': 2008, 2018.


References


External links


Mayo LGFA Facebook

Mayo LGFA Twitter

Mayo LGFA Website
{{All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Gaelic football in County Mayo Sports clubs and teams established in 1975 1975 establishments in Ireland