Mayo Association Football League

In the autumn of 1953, a group of men that included Joe McCormack and Robert Kilkellly met to form the Mayo Association Football League. County Mayo had been denied representation on the senior and junior councils of the Football Association of Ireland as the county had no organised league and the meeting was an attempt to bring more structure to the sport in Mayo.^[6] In 1954 Westport Town, Barcastle, Quay Hearts and Castlebar Celtic became the founder members of the Mayo Association Football League.^[7][8] Castlebar Celtic finished the inaugural season as champions and, together with Westport United, they went on to become the league's most successful clubs.^[9][10] Quay Hearts secured the title the following season in 1955.^[11]

During the 1970s and early 1980s, the winners of the league played off against the winners of the other Connacht junior leagues for the Michael Byrne Cup.^[12][13] During the 1970s the league expanded to include three divisions. In 1984–85 a league cup was introduced. It was originally known as the Robert Kilkelly Cup, before becoming the AIB Cup and then the Chadwicks Cup. As of August 2018, it is known as the Connacht Gold Cup.^[14] In December 1986, 11 acres at Milebush were purchased and became the headquarters of the league, with the new ground named as Milebush Park.^[15]

The league originally operated on an autumn/winter schedule but grounds and facilities were a major problem and games were vulnerable to postponements due to weather. To resolve this, a summer season was introduced in May 1994 and kicked off the following July.^[11][2] To further assist the development of the game in Mayo, the 1990s saw new entry requirements introduced for the top division. This included coaching badges for managers and higher standards for playing surfaces and dressing rooms. The top division was also renamed the Super League from the 1999 season onwards to reflect the changes.^[11]

In 2017, Milebush Park, the headquarters of the Mayo Association Football League, was renamed 'Solar 21 Park' after a sponsorship deal was agreed with the company.^[3][16] A fifth division, the 'CMR Fire and Security League Three', was introduced in 2021 but was short lived and only lasted one season.^[17]

Milebush Park was again renamed in 2024, this time to Umbro Park, when a new sponsorship deal was agreed.^[5] In July 2025, Kiltimagh Knock United withdrew from the top division mid-season.^[18] Their reserve side had left the third tier earlier the same year.^[19]

The Mayo Association Football League has four divisions.^[20] The two top divisions – the Super League and the Premier Division – are sponsored by Elverys Sports and Welcome Inn Hotel respectively. The league also organises an over-35s league, known as the Westaro Masters League for sponsorship purposes. As of 2025, the Masters League has three divisions.^[21]

Source:^{[30][31][32][33][34]}

Milebush Park is the headquarters of the Mayo Association Football League and is an official FAI regional centre, hosting national programmes and events such as player development courses, tournaments, coaching education courses and trials for the national team.^{[15][35][36][37]} Also known as Umbro Park^[5] (and formerly Solar 21 Park)^[3] for sponsorship reasons, Milebush Park has previously hosted Connacht Junior Cup finals, inter-league, underage league and women's league finals.^[15]

The ground was purchased in December 1986, with a separate company setup to oversee development. A clubhouse was added in 1992 and a covered stand was built in 2001. The stand was named the Henry Downes Stand after the chairman of the league committee involved in the purchase of Milebush.^[15] The stand seats 300 people.

A second ground, a floodlit Omniturf all-weather pitch, was installed in 2003–04 with the first game being played by Mayo under-15s on 11 February 2004. In 2006, the clubhouse was extended to include new dressing rooms. In March 2014, the all-weather pitch was relaid with new artificial turf to meet the latest standards.^[15]

A Mayo League representative team competes regularly in the Oscar Traynor Trophy and the Connacht Inter League Cup, playing against teams representing other leagues. In recent^[when?] seasons they have also competed in the League of Ireland Cup, playing against Connacht/Ulster – based teams from the League of Ireland. As of 2016 they have never progressed past the first round. In 2015 Joseph N'Do was appointed the head coach of the league's representative team.^[38][39]

Sources:^[9][47]

• Mayo Women's Football League