Connacht Senior Football Championship

Yes, it's a fabulous achievement, you know, that's fair to say that there's some Mayo supporters that will be 39.8 kilometres off the ground in terms of their Bulmers consumption after full time today if Mayo can get over the line and reach a first all Ireland final in six years.

Of course, considering the terrible misfortune that we went through over the last couple of years, of course, we were unceremoniously dumped out of the Connacht Championship a couple of years ago by the Sligo under-14 drafts team and indeed into the backdoor we went and we were sent packing up the backdoor by Longford after that.

But James Warren TJ really has turned this ship around for Mayo over the last couple of years.

He's added a real steely toughness and a ruthlessness of determination to this team and it's fair to say that Mayo are out here fisting like dogs and Dublin just can't seem to handle us here at the moment now.

That for Galway, it had to be more than that.

And by God, in that Connacht Championship in 2020, their eyes were opened later that October when Mayo ripped them asunder.

But Joyce spoke to myself, Paddy and James, about the players meeting after that game.

And there was a huge change there for me.

Uh, let's go on to a Gaelic football entry here.

Mayo versus Galway, Connacht Championship 1998.

Uh, Galway won 113 to 26.

Uh, it was Donal Manny's first year.

knockout old school knockout I wanted to bring it back to 1998 you know okay when the rules were changed and I think Galway were the first team to to win when the rules changed and they were the first ones to take advantage even though I think they actually went through I don't think they were beaten that year so 98 was still old school John

O'Mahony yeah Mayo been to two All-Irelands lost them Galway won Connacht and went on to win the All-Ireland that's right 2001 was when the back door came in so prior to that yeah so prior to that prior to so from 2000 previously it was all knockout 2001 Galway lost in the Connacht Championship and went on to win the All-Ireland so Galway became the first team Galway became the first team to win an All-Ireland having lost one game but this year Mayo made their own bit of history the first team to win the All-Ireland after losing two games so look it's funny the way things work around and to hell or to Connacht because there hadn't been an All-Ireland

winner from Connacht since then yeah that's right and of course we lost to Roscommon but I said that that was just a that was just a training match it was just a little bit of shooting practice

it's interesting too the way it's gone out that was a tough day at the office for a lot I'd say Andy more than anyone but you know something I'd say now the smile still isn't wiped off his face like it's to actually come back from that and get going it's incredible timing is everything in this new game knockout football is knockout football back in the day you just had to win you just had to win