Latest news with #Omagh
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
First Pride parade since 'politician ban' to take place
The first Pride parade in Northern Ireland since the Stormont Executive parties were banned from attending will take place in Omagh later. Organisers from Omagh Pride have said politicians from Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Alliance and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) are "not welcome" after they voted to introduce an indefinite ban on the sale or supply of puberty blockers to under-18s. Belfast Pride and Foyle Pride have also asked those parties not to attend their events later in the summer. Daniel Waldron, the chairperson of Omagh Pride, says he does not want political parties using the event as a "photo opportunity" after "attacking" LGBT rights. In February Green Party leader Mal O'Hara called for the four parties in the executive to be banned from walking in Pride parades, saying they had "betrayed" the LGBT community. Shortly afterwards a number of Pride events including those in Lurgan, Causeway, Mid & East Antrim and Foyle all announced the parties would not be invited. Belfast Pride consulted with their community before announcing they would also be doing the same. Omagh Pride is the first pride of the season in Northern Ireland and will the first parade that those parties will not be present at. Sinn Féin, Alliance and the UUP have all previously had representatives attend and walk at Omagh Pride. "I don't think that we can allow politicians to use pride as a photo opportunity when in practice they are attacking the rights of LGBT people," Mr Waldron said. "If they get away with driving back the rights of trans and non-binary people then they will want to attack the rights of the LGBT community as a whole and other vulnerable and marginalised groups." It is understood individuals have not been banned from Omagh Pride, rather political parties are not permitted to walk in the parade as a formal group. Omagh Pride told BBC News NI there will be a group of council staff marching in the parade and and that a council officer will be "saying a few words before the start of the parade". Omagh Pride also told BBC News NI that Fermanagh and Omagh District Council awarded them £1,000 funding. In May Fermanagh and Omagh District Council apologised for "causing hurt" by a statement in which it said it would develop guidance for the use of toilets and changing rooms. It followed a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of gender, which applied in Britain but not Northern Ireland. Mr Waldron said the "backlash globally and locally" means this year's event was more important than ever. "Pride is a celebration of identity of culture and so on, but also it is a protest and it is about standing up for our rights and fighting for genuine equality and also resisting any attempts to push us back to the dark days," he added. The Omagh Pride parade has been running since 2021 and Mr Waldron said the event had been transformative for the LGBT community in the county. "Omagh Pride has contributed to a changing atmosphere in the town," he said. "There is more LGBTQ+ visibility and we're developing a really strong local LGBTQ+ community with things like book clubs, board game nights, cinema nights that create a bit of a social space for LGBTQ+ people to come together and to socialise." The door is still open if the political parties wanted to attend the parade in future, he said. "If Stormont and the executive rescind their decision and reinstate access to gender affirming care then we'll look at it again and if they change their position those parties may be welcome again in the near future," Mr Waldron said. Until the ban in Northern Ireland, puberty blockers were only available on NHS prescription for under-18s for young people who were accepted onto the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Gender Identity Service endocrine pathway prior to March 2020. Puberty blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty happening and have sometimes been prescribed to children questioning their gender. Hormone suppressors also remain available for patients receiving the drugs for other uses, such as early-onset puberty. The move to ban puberty blockers came after a report into children's gender services - the Cass Review - said there were "gaps in evidence" around the drugs. The review was led by leading paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass and prompted the previous UK government to ban the use of puberty blockers for under-18s questioning their gender – a move which was then supported by Labour when they won the election. Council chief apologises after gender ruling statement Political parties banned from some NI Pride events Puberty blockers to be banned indefinitely in NI Political parties banned from some NI Pride events
BBC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Omagh Pride: Politicians 'not welcome' at County Tyrone parade
The first Pride parade in Northern Ireland since the Stormont Executive parties were banned from attending will take place in Omagh later. Organisers from Omagh Pride have said politicians from Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Alliance and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) are "not welcome" after they voted to introduce an indefinite ban on the sale or supply of puberty blockers to Pride and Foyle Pride have also asked those parties not to attend their events later in the summer. Daniel Waldron, the chairperson of Omagh Pride, says he does not want political parties using the event as a "photo opportunity" after "attacking" LGBT rights. In February Green Party leader Mal O'Hara called for the four parties in the executive to be banned from walking in Pride parades, saying they had "betrayed" the LGBT community. Shortly afterwards a number of Pride events including those in Lurgan, Causeway, Mid & East Antrim and Foyle all announced the parties would not be invited. Belfast Pride consulted with their community before announcing they would also be doing the same. Omagh Pride is the first pride of the season in Northern Ireland and will the first parade that those parties will not be present at. Sinn Féin, Alliance and the UUP have all previously had representatives attend and walk at Omagh Pride. "I don't think that we can allow politicians to use pride as a photo opportunity when in practice they are attacking the rights of LGBT people," Mr Waldron said."If they get away with driving back the rights of trans and non-binary people then they will want to attack the rights of the LGBT community as a whole and other vulnerable and marginalised groups."It is understood individuals have not been banned from Omagh Pride, rather political parties are not permitted to walk in the parade as a formal group. Omagh Pride told BBC News NI there will be a group of council staff marching in the parade and and that a council officer will be "saying a few words before the start of the parade".Omagh Pride also told BBC News NI that Fermanagh and Omagh District Council awarded them £1,000 May Fermanagh and Omagh District Council apologised for "causing hurt" by a statement in which it said it would develop guidance for the use of toilets and changing rooms. It followed a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of gender, which applied in Britain but not Northern Ireland. Mr Waldron said the "backlash globally and locally" means this year's event was more important than ever."Pride is a celebration of identity of culture and so on, but also it is a protest and it is about standing up for our rights and fighting for genuine equality and also resisting any attempts to push us back to the dark days," he Omagh Pride parade has been running since 2021 and Mr Waldron said the event had been transformative for the LGBT community in the county."Omagh Pride has contributed to a changing atmosphere in the town," he said."There is more LGBTQ+ visibility and we're developing a really strong local LGBTQ+ community with things like book clubs, board game nights, cinema nights that create a bit of a social space for LGBTQ+ people to come together and to socialise." The door is still open if the political parties wanted to attend the parade in future, he said."If Stormont and the executive rescind their decision and reinstate access to gender affirming care then we'll look at it again and if they change their position those parties may be welcome again in the near future," Mr Waldron said. Until the ban in Northern Ireland, puberty blockers were only available on NHS prescription for under-18s for young people who were accepted onto the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Gender Identity Service endocrine pathway prior to March blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty happening and have sometimes been prescribed to children questioning their suppressors also remain available for patients receiving the drugs for other uses, such as early-onset move to ban puberty blockers came after a report into children's gender services - the Cass Review - said there were "gaps in evidence" around the review was led by leading paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass and prompted the previous UK government to ban the use of puberty blockers for under-18s questioning their gender – a move which was then supported by Labour when they won the election.
Irish Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Stephen Rochford the right man for Mayo with the season on the line
Stephen Rochford stood outside the dressingrooms in Healy Park a fortnight ago looking like he'd just invented the chocolate fork. His team had been four-point underdogs against Tyrone but came out on top by seven , a typically confounding way to end one of those weeks where the Mayo footballers feel like the cause of, and solution to, all of the county's problems. 'Mighty,' he gurgled. 'Well, feck it was mighty.' As battlefield promotions go, Rochford's elevation to a second stint as Mayo manager was a no-brainer. When Kevin McStay had to step back from his role after taking ill at training just seven days previously, Mayo were in the unique position of having a plug-in replacement. Plenty of managers across the country have able deputies but none of them have Rochford's CV. An All-Ireland club title with Corofin. Three All-Ireland finals with Mayo, one of them drawn, the other two lost by the kick of a ball, all against the greatest team of the age. Four seasons as head coach with Donegal , who just so happen to be Mayo's next opponents. There isn't an AI generator in all of Silicon Docks that could come up with a better fit for the moment. Standing there deep in the thicket of press phones in Omagh, Rochford looked every inch a man who would agree with such an assessment. There was no poor-mouthing, no bashful batting away of the responsibility that was on him now. Tyrone were beaten, the season was saved for now, Donegal were coming in a fortnight . Time to get after it. READ MORE 'Rochy isn't afraid of things,' says former Mayo footballer Lee Keegan. 'He definitely divides opinion in Mayo anyway and maybe in general. I have good time for him. One thing I like about him is he's not your typical run-of-the-mill GAA guy, he doesn't stick to the typical Irish oh-I-have-to-do-it-this-way thing. 'He doesn't deflect and he's not afraid to make big calls. And that has probably gone against him at times, especially when it hasn't worked. But I'm not surprised to see him step up. Rochy would make no secret of the fact that he would love to be over Mayo again. It's not something he'd shy away from. The one thing is, he'd have a lot of respect for Kevin.' When McStay brought him on board in late 2022, he was officially put down as assistant manager. Given that GAA teams usually go with selector or coach or some variation thereof, the title struck some people as slightly odd. So much so that Rochford was actually quizzed on it by the mighty Ah Ref podcast later the following year. He's a deep thinker on the game and he wasn't shy about coming up with a different way to do things — Lee Keegan 'Well, I don't know,' was his reply when asked where it came from. 'I'm not distracted by titles or labels. Possibly, it was there to ensure that everybody's quite clear that Kevin is the boss. And that, although I may have managed Mayo at a period and been involved more recently in a coaching role, that probably somewhere in between is where my experience has the best benefit.' Experience is the word. Rochford is still only 46 but he's been involved in coaching teams in Mayo and beyond for over two decades at this stage. He put down three seasons as a selector with the Mayo minors in the mid-2000s, including an All-Ireland final in 2005 when he was only a few years older than the players in his charge. He went for the Mayo under-21 job in 2012 but didn't get it. He was 36 when he steered Corofin to the 2015 All-Ireland. By the time he was appointed Mayo manager later that year, the county was going through the usual rumble-tumble on and off the pitch. The 2015 season had ended with a replay defeat in the All-Ireland semi-final and a player-heave against the management. Rochford came in to clear all slates and wipe all debts. Nobody has come closer to paying off the longest one of all. Mayo manager Stephen Rochford with Cillian O'Connor after the 2017 All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin. Photograph: Tommy Dickson/Inpho Facing Dublin in their imperial era ought to have been a hospital pass for anyone, not to mind a first-time intercounty manager still in his mid-30s. But Rochford took that Mayo group and repeatedly tested them with new thinking and fresh ideas. Most of them worked, too. According to Keegan, even the occasional one that didn't still impressed the players for their sheer ballsiness. 'Aidan O'Shea playing full back on Kieran Donaghy – that was 100 per cent Stephen Rochford,' Keegan says. 'Changing the 'keeper between the final and replay, that was 100 per cent Rochy. Go back to 2016, we beat Tyrone in the quarter-final, he started Alan Dillon and used Kevin McLoughlin as a plus-one, which we had never really done that much by then. And it worked a masterstroke – Alan Dillon was man of the match in the first half. So there was so much good stuff. 'But in a way, some people in Mayo will never forgive Rochy for certain decisions. The goalie thing will be held against him, changing out David Clarke after the draw in '16. I think it's harsh but a lot of the Mayo public made their decision on it. When it doesn't go your way on the biggest day of all, people are quick to point it back at you. 'We respected the fact that he was up for trying things. He's a deep thinker on the game and he wasn't shy about coming up with a different way to do things. That's not to say you always agreed with him. We were getting ready to play Kerry one year in the league and I was going, 'Yes, finally I'm going to get to mark the Gooch' who was out playing centre forward at that stage. 'But he put me in at full back and switched Ger Cafferkey out. I was inside on Darran O'Sullivan and I got absolutely toasted. And Caff got run ragged too! I was going, 'You bastard'. But it worked okay in the end – we used it later that year at times. He knows what he's talking about.' The end of the road with Mayo came in the 'Newbridge or Nowhere' game against Kildare in 2018. As is often the case with Mayo managers and their county board, the dealings were messy and filled with he-said-they-said. Rochford was keen to keep going and had proposed a fully new backroom staff. The county board weren't sold on the names he put forward and so Rochford walked away. When news of his departure came out, Declan Bonner's ears pricked up. In truth, the then Donegal manager had been nursing the kernel of an idea ever since Mayo's defeat to Kildare that summer. He and Rochford were on good terms, as the two counties had regularly facilitated each other on the challenge match circuit, away from prying eyes. Bonner presumed Rochford would stay on with Mayo but when that didn't turn out to be the case, he wasted no time. 'The funny thing was, they relegated us in the league in 2018,' Bonner says now. 'Kevin McLoughlin scored a point in injury-time – he took about 12 steps for it. But myself and Stephen were always chatting on and off and I just sensed that the coaching end of it was something that he might be very interested in going back to. 'That was how it came about really. I was looking for an experienced coach at the time. Someone to work alongside Gary Boyle and Karl Lacey, who were only in their first year. So it kind of all fitted very well.' At the time, it was seen as a serious coup for Bonner and Donegal. They won Ulster in Rochford's first year and were unbeaten after their opening two Super-8 games against Meath and Kerry. But they faltered in, of all places, Castlebar. On a wet night against his former charges, Mayo kept Donegal at arm's length throughout and progressed to the All-Ireland semi-final. Stephen Rochford (right) in 2022 during his time on Donegal manager Declan Bonner's (centre) coaching team. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho Rochford stayed for the remainder of Bonner's time in charge, four seasons in total. Two of those were the Covid years, which at least cut down on the mileage involved for a while. But as Donegal's star waned and they became less of a factor at All-Ireland level, it wasn't always obvious why Rochford kept signing up for the five-hour round trip. 'I think he definitely found Ulster interesting,' Bonner says. 'He wanted to get a better insight into Ulster football and all the madness that it involves. It was definitely an eye-opener for him. Because it's so competitive between all the counties up here and everything is such small margins. 'We lost two Ulster finals in that period but probably losing the 2021 semi-final to Tyrone was the one that really stuck with us. We just felt we were on the cusp of making a really big breakthrough that year. 'But unfortunately, events in Brewster that day – we lost Michael [Murphy, to a red card] and we missed a penalty – it went Tyrone's way. Ultimately, they went on and won the All-Ireland and because there was no second chance during Covid, our year was over. But that championship had so little between the teams.' Keegan likes to razz Rochford that he's won more titles in Ulster (one) than in Connacht. But those four seasons heading up and down the northwest coast give him enormous insight going into this weekend's all-or-nothing clash. Of the 15 who started Donegal's last game against Cavan, the only new players since Rochford's time are Finnbarr Roarty and Ciarán Moore. Nothing Donegal do will surprise him. Rochford's instinct, always, is to make sure it's the other way around. 'I don't think Donegal's game plan has changed all that much under the new rules,' says Keegan. 'They're still a running team. I don't think they're going to suddenly become a kicking team in the space of a fortnight. So Rochy will have a fair idea of what they're going to bring. 'But you can be sure he will have something up his sleeve for them. That's the way he thinks about games. Whether it be match-ups that wouldn't occur to someone else or something to disrupt their running game, he will definitely try something.' Mayo and Donegal. Donegal and Mayo. To borrow from Joni Mitchell, Rochford has seen these teams from both sides now, through so many dreams and schemes and circus crowds. With the season on the line, no better place for him than right in the centre of it all.
The Courier
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
Sheku Bayoh inquiry told chair's independence is 'torpedoed' by family meetings
Meetings between Sheku Bayoh's family and the chair of an inquiry into his death have 'torpedoed the independence of the chair', a hearing was told. The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Roddy Dunlop KC said 'secret' meetings held several times since Lord Bracadale was appointed to head the £50 million probe in 2020 were 'spectacularly ill-advised'. He is representing the Scottish Police Federation – one of a number of groups calling for Lord Bracadale to step down – and two of the officers involved in Mr Bayoh's death. A public inquiry running since 2021 is investigating the circumstances of Mr Bayoh's death in Kirkcaldy in May 2015 and whether race was a factor. Mr Dunlop said Mr Bayoh's family had made 'inappropriate' remarks during these meetings, with Lord Bracadale claiming to have ended the meeting as a result. He said this was contradicted by the minutes of the meeting, which showed further conversation taking place. He said: 'These meetings were, almost in their entirety, completely inappropriate. 'They were doubtless well meaning, they were doubtless arranged out of the best of intentions but – and with the greatest of respect – they were spectacularly ill-advised and they have torpedoed the independence of the chair.' Mr Bayoh died in custody after a group of police officers involved in his arrest in Kirkcaldy responded to multiple reports of him in the streets with a knife. Mr Dunlop also said Mr Bayoh's family were as positioning him as 'Scotland's George Floyd'. 'The arresting officers, on the other hand, argue this was a man bent on violence, heavily intoxicated and armed with a knife – creating a clear and present danger. 'The attempt to equiparate this inquiry with, for example, the Covid inquiries or the Omagh bombing inquiry is entirely specious.' He added the fact Lord Bracadale had written to Mr Bayoh's family stating he was 'humbled and honoured' to hear from them was 'alarming'. He said it showed clear bias and that the officers were not afforded any opportunity to similarly meet with the chair. Claire Mitchell KC, representing the family, said they had the 'utmost confidence' in Lord Bracadale. She said: 'There is a preliminary matter I'd like to address and that is the idea that the meetings that the chair and others had with the family were secret – they were nothing of the sort. 'The chair mentioned in open hearing that he had met with the family, matters were stated publicly, indeed, it was even recorded in the national press. 'But perhaps rather than being surprised that the family met with the chair a question might be asked, why did other core participants not expect it? 'Because meetings with families is common place in public inquiries.' She listed a number of such, including the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, the Grenfell Tower inquiry and the Omagh bombing Inquiry. She added the legislation that governs public inquiries states not all core participants have the same rights. 'The family of Sheku Bayoh have an Article 2 right, which this inquiry as a public body itself in terms of Section 6 of the Human Rights Act must not breach. 'That duty is not held to any other core participant and it places this family in a unique position. 'It follows from that that any and all suggestions that the core participant should be treated equally is wrong. It falls into the same error as those who say they don't see colour and therefore they treat all people the same, can't have issues of race. 'The inquiry has duties to the family of Sheku Bayoh that it does not have in respect of others and the chair has made that clear repeatedly from the outset of this inquiry.' Father-of-two Mr Bayoh, died after he was detained and lost consciousness on Hayfield Road by police officers at around 7am on May 3, 2015. The public inquiry into his death, the actions of police, and whether race was a factor began in Edinburgh in May 2022. The hearing heard from members of the public who reported seeing Mr Bayoh on the streets of Kirkcaldy with a knife, including a nurse who would go on to treat him in A&E. He wasn't carrying the knife when officers arrived at the scene but a violent confrontation followed, with up to six officers restraining the 31-year-old on the ground. Former police officer Nicole Short told the inquiry she was attacked by Mr Bayoh and believed his death was 'unavoidable'. But nearby residents refuted the claim he had 'stomped' on PC Short, with a doctor noting she was not in pain. The officers were allowed to stay together in the cafeteria of Kirkcaldy police station while family members claim they were given conflicting accounts of events.
Irish Times
02-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Stephen Rochford's influence was all over Mayo's strong display over Tyrone
With the admittedly pretty significant exception of the 2021 All-Ireland final, Mayo 's record against Tyrone hadn't been too bad going into the weekend's All-Ireland Group 1 fixture in Omagh. The counties were honours-even from the six matches played until Saturday. In the absence of Kevin McStay, happily recovering from a health scare, the reins were taken by his assistant, Stephen Rochford. Nine years ago, Rochford was manager when Mayo sprang a tactical coup on Tyrone, then Ulster champions. In his column for The Irish Times, now Donegal manager Jim McGuinness was impressed by how Mayo had shut down their opponents in the opening quarter before posing a conundrum by forcing them to choose between sweepers marking inside forwards where Aidan O'Shea was causing havoc and staying farther out to prevent the extra men being used as kickout options. READ MORE 'The fact that they had first pre-empted what Tyrone were going to do until the dust had settled and they had a good read on the game was also interesting,' he commented. There were similarities on Saturday in that Mayo contained the home team in the early stages before turning the screw as it became clear that they were bringing more energy to the encounter than Tyrone. As Malachy O'Rourke said of his team's disappointing display: 'They came and hit the ground running. 'We were hoping to do the same thing ... it was a flat performance. We didn't get to the pitch of the game at all. At half-time we were whatever, six or seven points [actually, eight] behind. It was always an uphill task.' Mayo manager Stephen Rochford and Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke after the game. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho The contest came within a week of superb result for Tyrone, the defeat of Ulster champions Donegal on their home patch in Ballybofey for the first time in McGuinness's management. That was never really an influence on expectations though, as Mayo's most recent match had ended in a catastrophic home defeat by Cavan, which still threatens their progress. For most, the halfhearted insistence that 'you never know with Mayo – when least expected, they can produce a result," sounded like whistling past the graveyard. Instead, the Connacht finalists rolled back the years and produced a major performance. Where did it come from? There were extraneous influences. O'Rourke referenced Kevin McStay's health issues but nothing that had happened looked likely to move the dial on two desperately disappointing if not demoralising performances, the Connacht final against Galway and the opening group fixture against Cavan. There was, however, a fortnight to reset and take the sting out of the setbacks. They had been focusing on Tyrone for the previous fortnight, since the Cavan defeat whereas their opponents had to focus on Donegal for half of that time. Pressure also eased with underdog status, as apart from the 'wouldn't be surprised' constituency, most people with a view on it, would definitely not have been expecting what happened. For a team in that situation, a good start – as mentioned by McGuinness in 2016 – is very important. It steadies the nerves and also sows seeds of doubt in the opposition. Mayo were lively and alert in defence, challenging the ball carrier and winning the vast preponderance of their 12 turnovers in that area. Tyrone's Rory Brennan and Conal Dawson of Mayo. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho David McBrien's patient tracking of Conn Kilpatrick and the deft tackle to dispossess him was an exemplar. Mayo still effectively had to win the match twice. Thanks to Darren McHale's fortuitous goal before half-time after Niall Morgan had spilled a dropping ball, they led by eight, 1-9 to 0-4. It was a curious mirror image of the previous week when Tyrone were clearly the better team but looked to have been caught by Donegal before they finished more strongly. Mayo looked better on Saturday but after Darragh Canavan had been allowed approach goal a little too closely and duly raised a green flag for Tyrone, Morgan's two-point free cut the margin to one. Like in Ballybofey a week earlier, momentum looked to have switched completely. Instead, the visitors looked like they had got their second wind and stretched the margin nearly all the way back again, to seven points by the end. As well as the constant energy that Mayo brought to the task, they were able to supplement it off the bench, most eye-catchingly in the case of Davitt Neary , who earned the penalty that killed the contest and looked at times to be existing in a different dimension to the Tyrone defence, so easily was he speeding through the tiring defence. Ryan O'Donoghue hadn't been having the best of matches, turning over ball and missing kicks but when the penalty was awarded – despite its awakening obvious memories of the 2021 All-Ireland final – O'Donoghue stepped forward, underlining the view of him that he has no memory. He simply moves from one task to another with no thought of what has gone before. His kick gave Morgan no chance. Mayo's Rory Brickenden and Mattie Donnelly of Tyrone. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho One oddity of the win is that some of Mayo's stats were those of a team that could have lost. Their conversion rate was poorer and players got blocked down when kicking, on seven occasions. It didn't happen even once to Tyrone. The big difference was that like Limerick hurlers most days they go out, Mayo amassed a big shots count. They had 35 against a very low 17 for the opposition – which meant they could comfortably carry a lower conversion rate. This was made possible by a very impressive attack-to-shot ratio, which touched 90 per cent, meaning that Mayo were getting shots away with nearly every sortie forward, something that Tyrone were unable to do. That's hard work. There were also old-fashioned, big performances from leadership figures such as Paddy Durcan on his return from a year's absence with a cruciate injury. Understandably rusty after such a lay-off, he was one of the players blocked but he compensated with 0-3 from play and was the GAA+ man of the match although Aidan O'Shea was surely in that conversation as well. Tirelessly available whether on the inside where nearly everything sent his way stuck or around the middle for kickouts or simply orchestrating the sustained possessions that are so much a part of the new rules, he was still going at the end – shooting one of the last points and hustling all around the Tyrone half. Seán Morahan and Conal Dawson made debuts, the latter shooting two points. The performance and especially the result must have created massive confidence in the camp, presumably undisturbed by the engaging reality that if they can't get something out of Donegal, the season is likely done. But for a fortnight, Mayo will be back to what they do best – living in hope.
