Galway and Mayo footballers together on the M6 Motorway to glory on Sunday

THE WEST’S AWAKE in sport this week: Ballybrit for the Galway Races and a trip to Dublin for many thousands of football followers on Sunday to see Galway play Kerry and Mayo vs Cork in the All-Ireland S.F.C. quarter-finals.
Galway and Mayo last shared the big stage at GAA Headquarters in late April of 2001, playing against each other in the National League final which finished Mayo 0-13 Galway 0-12. The victorious Mayo manager that day was Pat Holmes, with another Mayo man, John O’Mahony, in charge of Galway.
On September 23rd that year, O’Mahony, Steven Joyce and Peter Warren guided Galway to a sensational victory over Meath in the All-Ireland final by 0-17 to 0-8.
Sadly, no Galway senior football team has since won at Croke Park, nor reached an All-Ireland final.
In the same 13-year period, Mayo have lost four All-Ireland SFC finals at the Theatre of Dreams.
But hope springs eternal, it’s said, and Galway and Mayo will be going all-out on Sunday to lower the famous Green and Gold and Red and White colours of the two Munster giants, Kerry and Cork.