We’ve had plenty of action to look forward to over the past number of weeks but this will change shortly – by full-time on Sunday, to be precise, if we don’t get a result down in Tralee – as we enter the becalmed waters of the mega-lull between the conclusion of our league campaign and our first outing in dish ear’s championship on that distant shore known as 24th June.

Which means that before too long we’re likely to be gnawing our knuckles wondering when the next challenge match is on. In this respect, there’s already a date in the diary that you might want to take note of, which is Sunday, 6th May, where we’re due to meet Donegal at Swinford where throw-in is set for 2.30pm.

The match is being held to coincide with the re-opening of the East Mayo club’s all-weather pitch but the main reason it’s taking place is in order to dedicate the club’s pitch to the memory of Swinford native Garda Robert McCallion who lost his life in such tragic circumstances in April 2009 while on duty in Donegal. Fellow Swinford native, the great Dr Padraig Carney, will be reprising his “Flying Doctor” routine for the occasion by flying in from California to perform the official re-opening ceremony. What a great gesture by a real Mayo legend in tribute to a real Mayo hero.

The action will start on 6th May at 12.30pm with a match between Swinford and a Garda selection. The official re-opening ceremony is due to take place at 2pm, with the senior challenge then getting underway at 2.30pm.

Further details are available on the Swinford GAA website (from where I also sourced the above photo).