Date Published: 29-Jun-2011

CIARAN TIERNEY

THE ongoing saga over the expulsion of Connemara side Micheal Breathnach from the Galway senior football championship looks set to come to an end today, unless the Mountbellew-Moylough club lodges a shock new 11th hour appeal to the Connacht Council of the GAA.

Mountbellew-Moylough have until today (Thursday) to lodge a fresh appeal against a Galway Competitions Control Committee (CCC) decision to reject their original objection and award the qualifier tie to the South Connemara men on Monday night.

But is expected that Mountbellew will accept their defeat after the CCC heard fresh evidence about the eligibility of a substitute who featured for Na Breathnaigh in the contentious fixture on Sunday, May 29.

The CCC had originally awarded the fixture to Mountbellew, overturning the result of the game. Their decision was based on an objection relating to the eligibility of second half substitute Tommy Conneely.

The issue came back to the Galway authority this week after a hearing by the Connacht Council, brought about by an appeal from Na Breathnaigh.

“The decision of the CCC, based on clarification of a number of issues, is that the original objection from Mountbellew-Moylough has been ruled out of order and the result of the game will stand,” said the County Board Chairman, Gerry Larkin.

After the sides had both lost their first round ties, they met in the ‘back door’ qualifiers at Pearse Stadium on May 29, where the Connemara men registered a surprise 1-11 to 0-12 victory over the 2010 county finalists. The win guaranteed their senior status for next year and led to joyous celebrations in Salthill.

But, subsequent to the defeat, Mountbellew sent shock waves through Galway football when the lodged an objection to the CCC, claiming that young Conneely was not eligible to play senior football for the rival club.

Conneely and his family have a long association with the Indreabhan club and Na Breathnaigh were hugely aggrieved by the original CCC decision to award the game to Mountbellew, appealing it to the Connacht Council.

Conneely has played with underage Micheal Breathnach sides for five years, since he was U-14. His brothers and sister have also played for the club. But, because his family play in Camus (home of Na Piarsaigh), Mountbellew-Moylough claimed he needed a specific “permission to play” clearance to line-out at adult level.

The Connacht Council sent the matter back to the Galway CCC last week, asking them to revisit the issue by “reprocessing” the initial objection.

That led the CCC, after hearing further evidence, to declare the original Mountbellew-Moylough objection out of order on Monday night. The CCC awarded the fixture back to the team who had won it on the field of play on May 29.

Mountbellew-Moylough officials were due to meet last night (Wednesday) to discuss their response to the latest CCC decision, which will force them into the relegation play-off series.

“We will have to wait to see what people on the executive committee think, but time isn’t on our side as we would have to have an appeal registered by tomorrow (Thursday),” said club chairman Martin Rafferty prior to last night’s meeting.

Thankfully, the controversy has not impacted on fixtures. The club championship games which were scheduled to take place this weekend have been postponed as a result of the county team’s demoralising defeat to Mayo, in order to allow Tomas O Flatharta’s side prepare for their All-Ireland qualifier showdown with Meath on Saturday week.