Ex-Mayo Pair Impress For Castleknock In Dublin Championship Opener

Two footballers with strong Mayo connections played important roles as Castleknock made a winning start to the Dublin Senior Football Championship.

Former Ballaghaderreen player Shairoze Akram and ex-Breaffy goalkeeper John Vahey both started as Castleknock recorded a 2-15 to 1-9 victory over St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh at O’Toole Park on Sunday.

The victory also marked Ciarán Kilkenny’s first Dublin club championship appearance since bringing his decorated intercounty career to an end. The eight-time All-Ireland winner operated in a deeper role and became increasingly influential as the contest progressed.

However, there was a distinctly Mayo flavour to Castleknock’s performance.

Ex-Mayo Pair Impress For Castleknock In Dublin Championship Opener

Shairoze Akram contributed two points from wing-forward, while John Vahey made several important interventions in the Castleknock goal.

Akram made the perfect start to his championship debut for the Dublin club, opening the scoring inside the first minute after a fast Castleknock attack.

He then added his second point shortly after the restart, as Castleknock moved into a strong position.

The former Mayo player joined Castleknock ahead of the 2026 season after spending his club career with Ballaghaderreen.

He represented Mayo throughout the underage grades and was part of the team that defeated Cork in the 2016 All-Ireland Under-21 final.

Akram also featured for Mayo at senior level and was a regular presence in the Ballaghaderreen defence and midfield before making the move to Dublin.

His fellow Mayo native Vahey was required to demonstrate his ability as Plunkett’s attempted to launch a second-half comeback.

The Castleknock goalkeeper smothered an effort from Darragh Bugler before Jack O’Shea eventually found a way through, firing home to reduce Plunkett’s deficit five minutes before the final quarter.

Vahey later helped to deny Ben McSweeney a goal, with the Plunkett’s substitute forced to settle for a point after his effort was tipped over the crossbar.

The former Breaffy goalkeeper joined Castleknock during the winter, having been his Mayo club’s first choice as recently as 2024. Vahey was subsequently called into Kevin McStay’s Mayo panel and made his senior debut at the beginning of 2025.

He had been part of a remarkable collection of goalkeepers at Breaffy, alongside now Raheny player Rob Hennelly and current Mayo number one Jack Livingstone. Vahey’s move to Dublin helped open the door for Livingstone at club level before his breakthrough during Mayo’s All-Ireland-winning campaign.

The final whistle confirmed a nine-point victory and two valuable Group 1 points for the 2016 Dublin finalists.

Akram’s two scores and Vahey’s important saves ensured it was also an encouraging opening afternoon for Castleknock’s new Mayo contingent.

Match details via Daire Walsh’s report for Dublin GAA⁠.

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