MAYO firm Elverys Sports have secured the naming rights to Castlebar venue McHale Park, meaning Mayo GAA’s home ground will be known as Elverys McHale Park in a five year deal.

THERE were angry scenes in MacHale Park, Castlebar, on Thursday night when an MHC game had to be abandoned because no one informed the caretaker to turn the floodlights on.

DONEGAL footballer Patrick McBrearty swapped the kitbag for the schoolbag yesterday as the 18-year old returned to school to begin his Leaving Certificate year.

A SHOCK Mayo defeat to London on Sunday could have resulted in a loss of up to €1m for the GAA and the business community in Castlebar.

Mayo GAA secretary Sean Feeney has said today that the county board would be open to the suggestion of Connacht playing Heineken Cup rugby in McHale Park next year.

THE Connacht GAA Council are “beginning to lose patience” over the delay in completing the Mayo GAA Strategic Plan, according to its secretary John Prenty.

THERE were heated exchanges at Monday night’s Mayo County Board meeting when delegates uncovered irregularities in the financial running of the supporters’ club.

THEY’VE had books written about their defeats, songs dedicated to their now 50-year search for an All-Ireland senior title and are depicted as the Buffalo Bills of Gaelic football but the funereal fascination with Mayo is set to go into overdrive over the next two days.

A LEADING GAA official has dismissed calls for a return to an autumn start for the National Leagues claiming such a move would cause costs to spiral for county boards and lead to a congestion of club fixtures.

The Mayo County Board has been given the green light from An Bord Pleanala for floodlit games to be held at McHale Park in Castlebar.

FORMER Monaghan boss Seamus McEnaney yesterday refused to rule out a sensational return to the helm.

Two former Dublin bosses, Tommy Lyons and Tommy Carr, have entered the race to become the next Mayo senior football manager.

GAA chiefs yesterday announced television viewer figures have increased for the first three months of this year’s All-Ireland championships, despite the competing attraction of the World Cup during June and July.

GAA chiefs have received an official request from the IRFU to play Leinster’s Heineken Cup game with Brive at Croke Park on Saturday – should the RDS be deemed unplayable.

Mayo manager John O'Mahony has given the nod for versatile forward Trevor Mortimer to continue as captain of the reigning Connacht champions.

Video evidence of the off-the-ball incident which led to the Mayo footballer Ronan McGarrity fracturing his cheekbone during a recent club match has proven to be inconclusive.

CROKE PARK bosses will take a zero tolerance approach to fans arriving late to Sunday’s Leinster SFC clash between Dublin and Meath (4pm, RTÉ Two).

THEY have been the GAA’s Celtic Tiger equivalent of the New York shopping trip: fashionable, hassle-free and, according to many, excellent value for money, but the foreign training camp is in danger of becoming another victim of the recession.

THE Mayo County Board has had further reason to rue the Kieran Donaghy ‘wooden spoon’ incident this week with the installation of temporary CCTV cameras costing them €3,000.

Mayo manager John O'Mahony's preparations for Sunday's NFL Division One final against Donegal have been disrupted by a series of untimely injuries.

REVENGE will be very far from the minds of the Mayo footballers when they face Kerry in the Bank of Ireland SFC final on September 17.

Mayo manager Mickey Moran has named an unchanged side for tomorrow's crunch NFL Division One semi-final against neighbours Galway (Castlebar, throw-in 2pm).

FRESH reports that Declan Browne is considering switching his county allegiances have been dismissed by the man himself and his supposed suitors.

John Maughan ended his tenure as Mayo manager in August, but he contemplated his resignation as far back as April, according to Mayo GAA secretary Sean Feeney.

THERE’S a powerful scene in the film of John B Keane’s play The Field where The Bull McCabe, a tenant farmer played by Richard Harris, raises his stick in angry defiance at being told that the three acres of rocky wasteland he has slaved over is about to be sold.

Mayo GAA chiefs meet tonight to decide if they will back a national rally for Padraig Nally, who was jailed for six years last week for manslaughter of a Traveller.

A NUMBER of Mayo’s senior players are likely to hold off on retirement after the appointment of Mickey Moran as manager for two years on Monday.

John Maughan has quit as manager of the Mayo footballers this afternoon in the wake of Sunday's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final loss to Kerry.

CLUB footballers in Mayo have been given a major incentive to play well in this year’s county senior championship - a clash with John Maughan’s senior team.

MAYO have no injury problems ahead of next Sunday’s All-Ireland U-21 FC semi-final clash with Tyrone in Sligo.

GRAHAM CANTY and Philip Clifford will both be fit for Cork’s All-Ireland SFC semi-final clash with Kerry in 18 days’ time, according to team medical officer Dr Con Murphy.

By Brendan Larkin and Mike Finnerty CORK selector Timmy Callaghan has reported a clean bill of health in the Cork camp as his side finalise their preparations for the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final with Mayo in Croke Park on Monday.

THE Kingdom's loss in the 1998 All-Ireland semi-final, the involvement of sons on either side and the viewpoint that Mick O'Dwyer's involvement with the Lilywhites will end with their next defeat, have conspired to attract nationwide attention for this evening's fourth-round qualifier game between Kerry and Kildare in Thurles.

MAYO County Board secretary, Sean Feeney, revealed yesterday that Pat Holmes' side would prefer to be meeting Cork, rather than Tipperary, in tomorrow's Bank of Ireland All-Ireland SFC qualifier at Cusack Park, Ennis.

FOLLOWING a player meeting on Sunday night, Ciaran McDonald returned to the Mayo football panel last night ahead of Saturday's All-Ireland qualifier in Ennis.