General will draw comfort from Mayo second chance
I spent some time on the Cooley peninsula over the weekend and engaged in a bit of hiking across the mountains.
Setting out early on Saturday morning we started climbing at the Lumpers in Ravensdale and made our way up past The Round Mountain and The Castle before descending down through Glenmore.
A tough climb followed up the Golyin Pass to Slieve Foy followed by a steep descent into picturesque Carlingford.
The views both north and south from the saddle at Slieve Foy are stunning. The entire trail is steeped in legend and history and while we didn’t come across Queen Meabh, Cu Chullain or the Brown Bull on our journey, we did encounter some rival Cooley and Pats supporters as we weaved our way through both their respective territories.
After three hours of trekking we treated ourselves to some well-earned sustenance at PJ O Hares in the village where we found ourselves seated next to a distinguished looking couple from Canada.
After exchanging pleasantries we got talking and he turned out to be General John De Chastelain, who came to prominence during the peace process of the mid1990s. His role in the decommissioning of Republican and Loyalist weapons helped pave the way for the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
His command of Irish history was breathtaking and for a Roma- nian born British-Canadian soldier and diplomat he also knew a few things about Gaelic football.
A love of fishing has brought him to Ireland on many occasions in particular to Ballina and the county of Mayo. Like many other observers he is also at a loss to explain why Mayo haven’t won an All Ireland since 1951.
We discussed their chances against Kerry the following day but the General was more opti- misticmistic than I was. The very affable octogenarian is in Carlingford as special guest of the Thomas Darcy Magee Summer School which takes place from Monday to Wednesday this week.
The return trip to Ravensdale later in the afternoon took a little longer than the outward journey as aching muscles and tired limbs slowed our progress.
However members of the local golf society lifted our spirits on arrival at the Lumpers and sent us homeward in good form with some amusing tales. News of St Pats narrow defeat to Newtown Blues didn’t go down well though. THIS year’s race for Joe Ward is the most open I can remember in living memory. The quarter-finals took place over the course of the weekend and before a ball was kicked, any one of the remaining eight teams had the wherewithall to go on and lift the trophy.
Everyone knew the games would be tight but nobody could have predicted three out of the four ties finishing up all square.
An injury time Derek Shevlin goal was required to salvage a draw for Clogherhead against Monasterboice on Saturday evening at Dunleer while Dowdallshill witnessed late equalising points for Joes against Geraldines and Gaels against O Mahonys.
And it quite easily could have been four out of four only for the aforementioned Newtown Blues edging out St Pats by a single point. Blues will now face the winners of the Joes/Geraldines replay in the last four while the second semi will be a South Louth versus North Louth affair.
The replays will cause some fixture headaches for the County €20 on Conor McGregor to cause an upset against Floyd Mayweather at 3/1 Board but the gate receipts windfall will be most welcome for the coffers. IN a weekend of draws Mayo and Kerry could not be separated either in the All Ireland semi-final at Croke Park. Mayo really should have put Kerry to the sword in this one and perhaps they will live to regret those many missed chances in a game they dominated.
Kerry played well below what was expected of them with many of their key talisman failing to shine. The replay is next Saturday on another bumper weekend of action at headquarters with Dublin playing Tyrone in the other semi-final the following day. WITH all the GAA matches finishing level, I thought the omens were good for last week’s Sideline Bet.
However just when it looked like Spurs had secured a point, an 88th minute Marcus Alonso goal sealed Chelsea’s 2-1 victory at Wembley.