Darkhorses Ballaghderreen upset the odds yesterday to book their place in a first Mayo SFC final since 2012 when they beat Castlebar Mitchels at MacHale Park.

Collateral damage or a typically tigerish season? This evening’s all-or-nothing duel with a county they have not beaten in five league and championship games will go a long way to defining Mayo’s 2019.

Not one for watching recorded sport, especially if the result is known in advance, but an exception was made for this year’s Division One football league final between Mayo and Kerry.

Holders Castlebar Mitchels were held to a draw by rivals Ballintubber in Saturday night’s thrilling Mayo SFC semi-final at MacHale Park, Castlebar.

Moran played 13 seasons for Mayo and in five All-Ireland finals, through the ups and downs of Mayo's luckless pursuit for Sam Maguire.

As has been their habit since the innocent summer of 2011, the Mayo football team hasn’t been short of takers lining up to bury and praise them in recent days.

AS a Mayo fan, Sunday was incredibly difficult to watch, writes Dr Ed Coughlan.

One of the tactical moves of the year?

Poor decision making invariably leads to poor results.

February 3rd, and suffice to say that spring has not exactly yet sprung.

Mayo may not have beaten Dublin in a competitive fixture for almost six years, but Stephen Rochford says that his team ‘certainly don’t fear’ the three-in-a-row All-Ireland champions.

Connacht Club SFC quarter-final: Castlebar Mitchels (Mayo) 0-16 - Mohill (Leitrim) 0-11 - Seven points without reply in the final quarter propelled Mayo champions Castlebar Mitchels into a provincial semi-final against Sligo’s Tourlestrane next weekend.

Castlebar Mitchels 0-15 Ballintubber 0-13: It was no surprise to hear the Castlebar Mitchels squad described as a “phenomenal bunch of men” after winning their third successive Mayo SFC title yesterday on home ground at MacHale Park.

History was made in today’s Mayo SFC Final as Castlebar Mitchels retained their title and claimed the Moclair Cup for the third season in a row.

Mayo’s decision to deploy Aidan O’Shea at full-back to man-mark Kieran Donaghy isn’t the first rabbit from the tactics hat that the westerners have employed 2017 – Lee Keegan, drawn All-Ireland quarter-final v Roscommon.

Mayo will be taking on “the form team in the country” when they cross swords with Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Park on Sunday week next.

Mayo boss Stephen Rochford says his team are ‘expecting a backlash’ from Cork in next weekend’s All-Ireland SFC Qualifier in Limerick.

Mayo fatigue is being experienced across the country but this team doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. That belligerence has to be respected yet the question is, can they transform doughtiness into dominance? John Fogarty looks at the arguments for and against.

Mayo manager Stephen Rochford doesn’t believe his team are under any more pressure this season than any other year as they once again try to end an All-Ireland famine going back to 1951.

Castlebar Mitchels 3-13 Knockmore 0-10: Their failure to perform in the All-Ireland club final last March was a major driving force for Castlebar Mitchels as they retained their Mayo SFC title on Saturday night at MacHale Park.

Dublin 1-15 Mayo 1-14: In the battle of pragmatism and poetry, there was only going to be one winner. And Dublin it was.

Mayo’s misery will extend to a 66th year after Dublin’s excellent bench scored them a second successive All-Ireland title this evening, their hero in the drawn final Cillian O’Connor widing a last gasp free to force extra-time.

Seamie McGeown, the Crossmaglen trainer, and myself run five or six days a week in Markethill. Seamie would be regularly on the phone with Tony McEntee, whom he worked alongside when the club won the All-Irelands in 2011 and ‘12. Tony and myself? We’d always talk when we see each other but I wouldn’t be bothering him on the blower and he wouldn’t be bothering me.

Before we compliment the wizardry of Stephen Rochford, some words of praise for one of his predecessors, Pat Holmes, who successfully pulled off a trick or two in his spell at the Mayo helm.

Has there ever been a more anticipated Kerry line-up? 

Some of Mayo’s biggest names face a race against time to be fit for Sunday’s Connacht SFC quarter-final against London in Ruislip.

A Dublin man who showed gardaí how he burgled a credit union but later turned aggressive and spat at an officer’s eye has been jailed for three years.

There are key elements that build belief and confidence once an All-Ireland final gets underway. It could be a block, a free, a moment of high fielding, a surging run — something that boosts a team’s morale and makes them feel invincible. All the talk of winning big starts to become a reality in front of your eyes.

Are Michael Daragh McAuley or Barry Moran the most important people in Castlebar and Ballyboden this week?

A point two minutes from time from Mayo midfielder Barry Moran clinched Castlebar's place in the AIB All-Ireland club SFC final for the second time in three years.

They may only have had a six-day turnaround between matches, but it’s been a long week in many ways for the Mayo footballers and their new manager Stephen Rochford.

New Mayo manager Stephen Rochford says his team will be “looking to write their own history, game by game, performance by performance” next year.

Castlebar (Mayo) 3-8 Clann na nGael (Roscommon) 0-13: Castlebar Mitchels managed to keep Clann na nGael at arm’s length to set up a mouth-watering provincial final against Corofin in two weeks’ time.

Redemption. Reformation. Rehabilitation.