New York v Mayo, Gaelic Park, NYC, 7.30pm
New York v Mayo, Gaelic Park, NYC, 7.30pm
Sunday, May 4
Connacht GAA Senior Football Championship Quarter-FinalNew York v Mayo, Gaelic Park, New York, 7.30pm (2.30pm local time)
Here we go again. This Sunday evening, 223 days will have passed since Mayo were defeated by Dublin in last year's All-Ireland senior football final, and it's then they begin their 2014 campaign - taking on the Exiles of New York City in heart of the Bronx at the iconic Gaelic Park.
Mayo have had to travel a long way for the traditional opening match of the Football Championship. They flew from Shannon Airport into New York City on Thursday morning, and will face the unique surrounds of Gaelic Park on Sunday evening for the first time since 2009, when they recorded a 2-19 to 0-10 win under the management of John O'Mahony.
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While the annual match between New York and their Connacht opponents always attracts a considerable amount of attention due to it being the first game of the championship, that shouldn't blur the harsh reality of things - New York have been beaten 15 years in a row since the tradition began in 1999, and anything less than a big Mayo win on Sunday would represent a shock to rival any in the history of the GAA.
Nonetheless, the county beaten in the last two All-Ireland finals have a job to do, and James Horan named a strong side before flying out to New York . It includes 11 of the team that started last year's All-Ireland final, with Kevin Keane, Jason Gibbons, Jason Doherty and championship debutant Diarmuid O'Connor the four exceptions.
O'Connor (Ballintubber) is a younger brother of established senior player Cillian O'Connor, who is named in the full-forward line alongside Andy Moran and Kevin McLouglin. Diarmuid O'Connor played on the Mayo minor team which won the All-Ireland last year. Alan Freeman, Alan Dillon, Ger Cafferkey and Chris Barrett are those who started the 2013 senior decider who aren't starting on Sunday.
"It's a nice trip," Mayo star Aidan O'Shea said recently. "I made my debut over there a couple of years ago (2009). The only thing is they seem to have two very big midfielders this year, Brendan Quigley and Ross Wherity from Donegal. It's kind of difficult to talk about because you don't want to disrespect the fact that New York and the people of New York make a great effort."
New York manager Ian Galvin, new to the role this year, has, as O'Shea mentioned, two established inter-county players to call on in Quigley and Wherity. Quigley, a carpenter by trade, played in midfield for Laois for a number of years before moving to New York last year in search of work. He captains New York on Sunday.
Wherity was a member of the Donegal senior panel in 2013, having impressed for St. Eunan's in the 2012 Donegal Championship, and he too is available to Galvin, who has named the Letterkenny man in his half-forward line.
As it is most years, the New York team is much changed from their 4-19 to 0-7 defeat to Leitrim this time last year. There are just five survivors from that loss - they are goalkeeper Gavin Joyce (Down), defender Keith Scally (Westmeath), midfielder Alan Raftery (Galway) and forwards Jason Kelly (Offaly) and Gary O'Driscoll (Kerry).
New York have been preparing for this game all spring, and those preparations included a trip for Galvin over to Croke Park in March to see Mayo take on Dublin. Nonetheless, he says pulling a decent panel together remains a big challenge.
"The hardest thing for lads working in the bar industry is that we train on Sunday mornings," Galvin said in an interview with GAA.ie this week . "The bars here close at 4am and by the time a barman finishes up it's 6am. We are training at 8am or 9am sometimes so that's tough going - you could do it a week here or there but to do that constantly is very difficult.
"Unfortunately some guys haven't been able to commit because they are working seven days a week in that industry For the most part the guys have given us excellent commitment. We would love to have everybody but with the priorities of work over here it is impossible really."
This fixture hasn't been kind to New York in the last few seasons - Leitrim beat them by 24 points last year, the same margin as Sligo won by in 2012, and just a little more than the 16-point win Roscommon recorded in 2011. The closest they have ever come was in 2003, when Leitrim took a narrow two-point win, 0-14 to 0-12. A similar result is hugely unlikely on Sunday, but that is the dream for Galvin and his players.
And if you can't dream in New York, where can you?
Click here to read our interview with Ian Galvin ahead of the game
Click here to see our picture gallery - New York and the GAA
NEW YORK: Gavin Joyce; Ronan McGinley, Gerard McCartan, Kieran O'Connor; Keith Scally, Paul O'Connor, Denis O'Sullivan; Brendan Quigley, Alan Raftery; Paddy Boyle, Jason Kelly, Ross Wherity; Johnny McGeeney, Keith Quinn, Gary O'Driscoll.
MAYO: Robbie Hennelly; Tom Cunniffe, Kevin Keane, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Colm Boyle, Donal Vaughan; Jason Gibbons, Aidan O'Shea; Diarmuid O'Connor, Seamus O'Shea, Jason Doherty; Kevin McLoughlin, Andy Moran, Cillian O'Connor.
Preview: Arthur Sullivan
