Mayo's trials all in the past

Maybe it's all this Arms Trial stuff. Thirty one years ago when the crisis was breaking, Mayo won the National League. As the Government archives have yet to prove a link, it's obviously a coincidence but yesterday at Croke Park, with the recriminations of 31 years ago again in circulation, Mayo have regained the NFL title for the first time since.

They were admittedly helped by Galway's failure to import sufficient weaponry to score even a point in the closing 28 minutes of the match but no one was too interested in launching an investigation amidst all the celebration.

Since those heady days of 1970, Mayo have lost about 10 national senior (men's) finals between League, club and All-Ireland. But the times are changing. Yesterday before a modest crowd of 22,623, Marty McNicholas's winner added the NFL title to Crossmolina's club All-Ireland of only two weeks to make April 2001 a month of months for the county.

Few titles have been as hard earned but it was all the sweeter for that. Captain Noel Connelly told a happy crowd from the presentation dais that he hoped the trophy would make up in some small way for the disappointments of 1996 and '97 when All-Ireland finals were lost.

Opponents Galway suffered the galling experience of losing a second national final at Croke Park in the space of little over six months. Manager John O'Mahony had no complaints about the victory of his home county.

"We didn't play well enough to win," he said. "We died. There were a few chances at the end and a couple of decisions that went against us but this was a special day for Mayo and I sincerely and heartily congratulate them. When they left the pitch in Sligo (after defeat in the championship) last year, people thought they'd be gone for a few years so I'm delighted for them."

O'Mahony's counterpart Pat Holmes was happy and relieved after the nervy, one-point victory. "I'm very happy with the manner in which we won. My heart was in my mouth thinking `will he ever blow it up?'

"We've been unlucky in the past but that's football and we weren't thinking about the past today."

One of the players sharing the county's bleak history was David Brady who put in a trojan display at centrefield. By his own reckoning he had been involved in seven losing All-Ireland finals from under-age to club and senior. "I'm dying to wake up tomorrow," he said, "and realise that I've won something. This means more than anything else to me because we've been losers up to this."

Earlier in the afternoon, another of nature's losers finally came good. Westmeath footballers after patient nurturing through minor and under-21 All-Ireland success in recent years, delivered the county's first senior national title - perhaps since the 1930s, no one seemed sure. Scenes of jubilation followed the high-scoring Division Two final victory over Cork.

Next week's hurling equivalent will be a championship rehearsal between the National Hurling League's form teams, Tipperary and Clare. Tipperary blitzed a feeble Galway in Ennis on Saturday evening whereas Clare were comfortable winners against All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in Thurles yesterday.

Kilkenny's football counterparts Kerry suffered a serious blow ahead of the championship. All Star forward Liam Hassett damaged a tendon in his knee playing for his club St Anne's in a Dublin championship match against St Finbarr's on Saturday evening. The injury will keep him out of action for the whole summer.