Mayo GAA has been embroiled in controversy this week after the controversial elimination of Hollymount Carramore from the intermediate football championship.
Hollymount drew their must-win final group game against Kilmaine last weekend, dramatically eliminating them at the expense of their opponents.
Recommended
However, footage of a two-pointer from Kilmaine’s Kevin Mullin shows that he was well within the arc, and that the score should only have been rewarded with one point.
Chalk it down! What a score 🔥
📺Watch: https://t.co/hvqclFUWCr@MayoGAA pic.twitter.com/siZV75gWEl
— StreamSport.ie (@StreamsportI) September 5, 2025
Had the score been awarded correctly, Hollymount would have progressed to the quarter-finals. Now, their championship appears to be over.
The club lodged an official appeal against the result, despite the draw for the quarter-final having already been made.
The Mayo county board rejected the appeal on Friday evening, but the saga may not be over just yet.
READ HERE: Ger Brennan Opens Door For Legendary Dublin Trio To Return For 2026
READ HERE: Cork Player’s Comments On Combining Men’s And Women’s Clubs Make A Lot Of Sense
Hollymount could bring Mayo championship appeal to HQ
Michael Gallagher of the Mayo News has been an excellent source of updates in the Hollymount-Kilmaine controversy, and delivered another major update after Mayo GAA rejected Hollymount’s appeal on Friday night.
Mayo’s Competition Controls Committee said:
We are satisfied that the score he (referee, Declan Corcoran) allowed was recorded correctly in accordance with rule 7.5 n (ii).
Gallagher’s report in the Mayo News on Friday night suggested that Hollymount are now preparing to bring their appeal to Croke Park, throwing next weekend’s Mayo intermediate quarter-finals into doubt.
The rule cited by the Mayo CCC is an unfortunate technicality, which had been stressed in correspondence from the GAA to county boards early last week, shortly after the Hollymount controversy emerged.
John Fogarty of the Irish Examiner reported on Friday that the GAA have sent correspondence to county boards stating that only scores incorrectly recorded or not awarded are grounds for an appeal, not scores incorrectly allowed by the referee in-game.
In light of queries received (in recent days) relating to potential objections to scores being awarded or not awarded in games which affect the outcome of the game, the Rules Advisory Committee would like to draw attention to the provisions of Rule 7.5, particularly 7.5 (n) (ii) regarding decision to an incorrectly recorded scored as distinct from the decision of the referee to allow or disallow a score: a Competition Control Committee must make decisions in accordance with the provisions of Rule 7.5.
In a report earlier this week, the Mayo News revealed that an email that was sent to Mayo GAA by match referee Declan Corcoran the day after the game. It reads:
In the 28-29 minute of the first half of this game I awarded a 2 pointer to Kilmaine. On reviewing Mayo GAA TV footage I’m acknowledging that I made a mistake and it should have been a 1 pointer to Kilmaine instead of a 2 pointer, as the player was inside the 40m arc at the time he kicked the ball.
The revelation that the referee himself accepted his error will no doubt have Hollymount fans feeling even more aggrieved.
A very messy situation that appears destined to rumble on for another few days at least.
Another hat-tip to Michael Gallagher of the Mayo News for his terrific reporting on this contentious story.
SEE ALSO: The 11 Counties That Have Appointed New GAA Managers For 2026 Season
