Ballina Stephenites won their 38th Mayo senior football title on Saturday night, defeating Knockmore by 1-12 to 0-8 in the final.
Victory number 38 moves Ballina Stephenites up to second on the list of Gaelic football clubs with the most county titles.
By far and away Mayo's successful club side, the town team surpassed Monaghan's Castleblayney on the overall list to reach second place, nine behind Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh.
The Stephenites had gone sixteen years without a Mayo senior football title before ending that drought last year, following it up with back-to-back titles.
Niall Heffernan's side won a drab renewal last year against Breaffy by 0-6 to 0-4 but they were much more comprehensive, with a stunning goal from Evan Regan putting them in the driving seat early on.
Conor McStay and Frank Irwin kicked further points as they pressed home their advantage to win by seven.
Mayo GAA senior footballer Sam Callinan said tonight’s victory in the Mayo GAA Connacht Gold senior football final at Hastings Insurance MacHale now puts the North Mayo club as one of the most successful GAA clubs in the country. He praised the unbelievable spirit in the team… pic.twitter.com/wS3nE7N8eV
— Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) October 26, 2024
Ballina Stephenites were beaten by Corofin in the Connacht club championship last year and they have another crack at a provincial campaign, with a trip to London to take on North London Shamrocks in a fortnight's time.
Centre back and Mayo star Sam Callinan spoke passionately after the game about 'building a legacy.'
"It's just a fantastic feeling. We spoke at the start of the year about building a legacy, and the importance of that crest on our chest," said Callinan, joint-captain of the team.
"The win puts us second most county titles of any club in Ireland. We didn't want to be a flash in the pan, one and done.
"We wanted to go two-in-a-row, we wanted to show we're here, we're a young team, we want to be here and we want to win more titles. Winning two-in-a-row is hard done but the lads put everything out there today and here we are."
26 October 2024; Ballina Stephenites joint-captains David Clarke, left, and Sam Callinan lift the Paddy Moclair Cup after their side's victory in the Mayo County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Ballina Stephenites and Knockmore at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar, Mayo. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Ballina had their injury concerns before throw-in with question marks about the availability of Padraig O'Hora and Mikey Murray but both men played from the start, with O'Hora winning man-of-the-match. Manager Niall Heffernan said the performance highlighted the growth in the team.
"To do back-to-back is unbelievable," he told Mayo GAA.
"When we lost our last game last year (to Corofin), we talked about going one step further, going back-to-back, going one step further to see where it brings us. That performance out there showed the growth in our team."
Gaelic football Clubs with the most county titles
Armagh – Crossmaglen – 47
Mayo – Ballina – 38
Monaghan – Castleblayney – 37
Laois – Portlaoise – 35
Wicklow – Rathnew – 34
Offaly – Rhode – 31
Dublin – St. Vincent’s 29
