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FOR ALL THE heat they have taken from opposition, and even more scalding heat they have taken off their own through the past two decades, no team delivers entertainment for their fans quite like Mayo.
None of this team, not even Aidan O’Shea who came on in the second half here to make his 100th championship appearance and thereby become the first outfield player to reach that landmark, had ever played a championship game in Clones.
It was referenced in their team meetings last week. About seizing the day at the home of Ulster football.
And by God, they did. They produced some rock ‘n’ roll moments and they were an adornment on the pitch with flair and kick passing as they went in at the break having lofted over six two-point scores, 11 points to the good.
Ryan O’Donoghue’s final play of the half captured their performance.
Mayo turned over a Rory Beggan kickout. The ball made its’ way to the Belmullet man with the seconds ticking away and he raised a palm as if to say, ‘I got this.’
He made a dart to his right to try to shake off marker Ryan O’Toole. He made another dart to his left, wriggled into space and let fly from all of 50 metres. Before the ball had crested his crossbar, Beggan was already punching thin air in frustration – not the first time.
By then, Mayo had compiled 1-17, helped by their half dozen two pointers. Kobe McDonald had 1-4, his goal arriving on 25 minutes when Darragh Beirne burned Killian Lavelle along the endline and offered up a tantalising floating ball for McDonald to spike.
Referee David Coldrick initially signalled a square ball, but after consulting with his umpires, conceded that the goal was good.
While Mayo clipped over the first two points of the second half, from then on Monaghan would hit 2-10 in the final 25 minutes. Mayo would gather only 0-5 in the same period.
Moving Bobby McCaul to the edge of the Mayo square changed everything. His first chance came when he shoved Enda Hession while a long ball from Conor McCarthy was on its’ way. He got away with the foul, but his shot for goal was blocked and Beggan stuck over the ‘45’.
The exact same thing happened ten minutes later, with Beggan again profiting from the ’45.
Max Maguire ran straight through the Mayo defence two minutes later and when his shot was saved, McCaul dug the ball out from his toes and slapped it against Jack Livingstone’s crossbar.
The dam burst on 55 minutes when Mayo ironically should have had a goal. A ball squared towards championship debutant Darragh Beirne was cut out by the fingertips of Beggan. The counterattack featured another long ball from Stephen Mooney and McCaul was in a mismatch for height against Enda Hession. This time he cooly slotted home.
The pairing of the two Ryan’s; O’Toole and O’Donoghue, was a game within a game and after getting toasted at times by the Mayo man, O’Toole made an incredible strip tackle, leaping at him from behind and this was converted into a point for McCarthy.
O’Toole’s block down on O’Donoghue in the next play brought another attack but when McCarthy’s measured ball into McCaul found its’ target, McCaul twisted and turned and his knee appeared to give way.
During the long break in play, Beggan gathered the Monaghan troops in to refocus. A Jack McCarron two-pointer soon after showed their doggedness.
They then turned the heat on Mayo even further up when Mooney blasted his way through the defence and netted with a low shot to the net beyond Livingstone to leave just two points in it.
Bobby McCaul's Monaghan cameo sadly came to a premature end due to injury, but this goal in the one-point loss to Mayo summed up the impact he has had on championship 2026. pic.twitter.com/qt8EEow8ao
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 31, 2026
That possession came about because Beggan had pushed up for Livingstone’s kickout and fielded it under the Gerry Arthurs Stand with the ground going, well, nuts.
Mayo managed to gain some sort of composure when their legs looked buckled. They worked the ball up the pitch and as ever, looked for O’Donoghue’s daring to get them something.
He was being closely marked by O’Toole and might have had a free. Referee Coldrick was uninterested as the ball squirted away. Somehow, he managed to grab it again on the deck and this time he was fouled.
Despite it being tricky-ish for a right footer, he landed the free.
Back came Monaghan and Max Maguire landed a two pointer to cut the lead back to the very minimum.
There was still time for Livingstone to take a final kickout. Mayo players said afterwards that it was the kind of scenario that they had worked on in training to arrest momentum sliding away from them.
As it happened, the youngest man on the pitch climbed up and caught it clean, in Kobe McDonald. With just seconds left, he hoofed the ball into the corner as the hooter went.
Monaghan will have huge regrets from this game.
Manager Gabriel Bannigan said that the feeling in the dressing room was even worse than that when they lost the Ulster final in extra-time, due to the suspected knee injury to McCaul.
When they get to look at the tape of this game back, they will be incensed at the shot from McCaul that was waved wide in the 42nd minute. When reviewed on RTÉ, matchday analyst Conor McManus was adamant it was over the bar.
In a one-point game, well…
Scorers for Mayo: Kobe McDonald 1-4, Ryan O’Donoghue 0-8 (0-2 free, 2 free, 1x 2pt) Jack Carney 0-4 (2x 2pt), Darragh Beirne 0-4 (1 x 2pt free), Jordan Flynn 0-2, Conor Loftus, Paddy Durcan 0-1 each.
Scorers for Monaghan: Jack McCarron 0-5 (1 x 2pt, 1free), Bobby McCaul 1-1, Stephen Mooney 1-0, Dessie Ward, Andrew Woods, Max Maguire all 0-2 (1 x 2pt each), Conor McCarthy 0-2, Rory Beggan 0-2 (2 x ’45′), Aaron Carey, Micheál McCarville, Oisin McGorman 0-1 each, Micheál Bannigan 0-1 (1free).
1. Jack Livingstone (Breaffy)
2. Jack Coyne (Ballyhaunis) 3. Donnacha McHugh (Castlebar) 4. Enda Hession (Garrymore)
5. Sam Callinan (Ballina) 6. David McBrien (Ballaghadereen) 7. Diarmuid Duffy (Ballinrobe)
22. Stephen Coen (Hollymount Carramore) 9. Jack Carney (Kilmeena)
10. Hugh O’Loughlin (Kilmaine) 11. Conor Loftus (Crossmolina Deel Rovers) 12. Jordan Flynn (Crossmolina Deel Rovers)
13. Darragh Beirne (Claremorris) 14. Ryan O’Donoghue (Belmullet) 15. Kobe McDonald (Crossmolina Deel Rovers)
Subs:
18. Paddy Durcan (Castlebar) for Coen (49m)
23. Paul Towey (Charlestown) for Loftus (49m)
17. Fenton Kelly (Davitts) for Duffy (58m)
21. Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy) for O’Loughlin (59m)
24. Diarmuid O’Connor (Ballintubber) for Beirne (63m)
1. Rory Beggan (Scotstown)
5. Aaron Carey (Clontibret) 3. Killian Lavelle (Clontibret) 4. Dylan Byrne (Magheracloone
10. Oisin McGorman (Latton) 6. Ryan O’Toole (Scotstown) 7. Dessie Ward (Ballybay)
8. Micheál McCarville (Scotstown) 9. Karl Gallagher (Emyvale)
13. Conor McCarthy (Scotstown) 11. Micheál Bannigan (Aughnamullen) 21. Ryan McAnespie (Emyvale)
25. Jack McCarron (Scotstown) 14. Andrew Woods (Inniskeen) 15. David Garland (Donaghmoyne)
Subs:
20. Max Maguire (Scotstown) for McAnespie (25m)
18. Robbie Hanratty (Castleblayney) for Gallagher (28-HT)
19. Bobby McCaul (Aughnamullen) for Garland (HT)
17. Ryan Wylie (Ballybay) for Carey (HT)
24. Stephen Mooney (Cremartin) for McGorman (54m)
12. Fionan Carolan (Carrickmacross) for McCaul (59m)
Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)
Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
Written by Declan Bogue and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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