Mayo GAA Appeal Controversy Completely Changed As Referee's Email Emerges
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.
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 have lodged an official appeal against the result, despite the draw for the quarter-final having already been made.
The Mayo county board are set to hear the appeal on Friday evening, but new evidence has come to light which significantly changes the discussion.
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Email from referee emerges in Mayo football controversyMichael Gallagher of the Mayo News has been an excellent source of updates in the Hollymount-Kilmaine controversy, and has delivered another major revelation on Friday morning.
In his report, Gallagher reveals 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.
Kilmaine have lodged a counter-appeal against Hollymount, stating that the referee's report had recorded the game as a draw and, thus, that should be respected. The newly-unearthed email from Corcoran would appear to cast doubt on that viewpoint.
John Fogarty of the Irish Examiner also 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.
A very messy situation.
We will have clarity on the quarter-final lineup of the Mayo football championship after this evening's appeal is heard.
Another hat-tip to Michael Gallagher of the Mayo News for his terrific reporting on this contentious story.
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