There’s only a rumour of Spring being in the air but already Galway and Mayo are shaping up for another ‘old firm’ clash in the first round of the National League at McHale Park, Castlebar on Sunday (2.30pm).

A planning wrangle on the revamped Mayo venue has scuppered the home county’s plans for a Saturday evening gala opening of the ground under the big lights, but the Sunday afternoon fixture will still draw a big crowd.

The appointment of Joe Kernan as Galway manager last Summer has put a bit of jazz in the early season expectations of the maroon supporters – however next Sunday, John O’Mahony’s Mayo will supply an early acid test.

Both teams have been beavering away busily in January and have qualified for the final of the FBD league – however it’s not much of a guide to form, with often over a half-score of regulars missing from action.

The call of the third level colleges on inter-county players, and injuries, has meant that neither manager has come near a first choice selection – a lot of names will go through the sieve over the next day or so, when the big calls have to be made.

Galway will take the biggest hit in terms of players being unavailable for selection, primarily due to Corofin’s involvement in the All-Ireland club series with at least half a dozen ‘possibles’ stroked out straight away.

Padraig Joyce won’t be back for another couple of weeks either as he recovers from an ankle injury while Michael Meehan is a doubtful starter with hamstring trouble. There is also a doubt over giant midfielder, Barry Cullinane, due to a knee problem.

It’s not all bad news for Galway though with the third level colleges’ contingent again available for selection after their FBD sojourns.
Paul Conroy impressed for GMIT last Sunday against Galway; Sean Armstrong was in sharp scoring form for NUI Galway against a Sligo IT side that had Adrian Faherty keeping a clean sheet between the posts. Galway selector Seán Ó Domhnaill said yesterday that despite the enforced absentees, this was a game everyone in the camp was looking forward to.

“We really have had a great response to training since Joe Kernan took over, right through from the younger members of the panel to the more experienced players.

“I suppose what better way to find out where we are than to travel down to Castlebar for a first round league match with Mayo.
“I think that we’re going to bring a big contingent of support down to McHale Park on Sunday. Galway-Mayo games are always something special,” said the former county midfielder.

Mayo will also be ‘finding out a thing or two’ on Sunday, as John O’Mahony pursues the great Mayo dream of bringing the Sam back on the plane from Dublin down to Knock. The wait now spans almost six decades.

On Sunday, O’Mahony be looking for at least furtive signs of better days to come, and the Ballaghderreen man will be heartened by the scoring form of Mark Ronaldson last weekend in the FBD win over Roscommon.

For both O’Mahony and Kernan, next Sunday is more likely to be exploratory than explanatory . . . but still a day to be looked forward to with at least a tingle of excitement by fans starved of real action since last Summer.