Can Mayo change their fortunes and turn MacHale Park into a fortress?

A 10-year trawl through their league and championship results in Castlebar underlines the long-held belief that Mayo don’t benefit from home comforts as much as they should.

Fri, 02 Feb, 2024 - 07:32

John Fogarty

A week after their league bogey team Monaghan foiled them again, Dublin might be buoyed by a trip west to a venue that has long had good memories for them.

Not since 2012 have Dublin come away with anything but two points from Castlebar. Four visits, four wins, their average winning margin has been over six points. Indeed, it’s a far cry from 20 years ago when Dublin mustered just three points, only one of them from play, in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park. So toxic was the fallout from that game Tomás Quinn, suffering an off-day on the frees, had to change his mobile number.