Those of you who have already signed up as podcast club members on Patreon will know all about the volume of podcast content we’ve made available so far this year. We have, to be precise, put online 38 podcast episodes since we launched the service back in January, with loads more in the same vein to come over too over the next few months.

One of the highlights so far this year of our Patreon content for club members has been our ‘Here Comes the Weekend’ show. Helmed by Mike Finnerty and ably assisted by podcast regular Billy Joe Padden, this show has landed just ahead of each Mayo game in this year’s National League and it has, each time, featured a special guest from the county playing Mayo that weekend.

This has made for some fascinating discussions. Not only have our special guests provided valuable insights into our upcoming opponents – Marc Ó Sé, for example, advised podcast listeners last week to watch out for a lesser known Kerry forward by the name of Tony Brosnan, whom he said had been “shooting the lights out” at club level in the Kingdom – but they’ve also given interesting assessments on how Mayo are shaping up this year. We’ve also heard a fair few decent war stories into the bargain.

Mike’s little book of contacts has yielded a number of gems for the show over the last number of weeks. Ahead of the Donegal game, Eamon McGee was on the show and he was followed the week after by Paul Finlay of Monaghan. Next it was Coman Goggins of Dublin – whose chat with Billy Joe about their respective roles in the infamous Mill on the Hill was a particular highlight – followed by Armagh’s Joe Kernan. Here’s Joe comparing Rian O’Neill to David Clifford:

After that came the aforementioned Marc Ó Sé who, among other things, named the Mayo forward who gave the former Footballer of the Year the most trouble during his stellar inter-county career.

For this week’s show ahead of Saturday evening’s clash with Tyrone, Mike came up with another A-Lister, the great Peter Canavan. Here a snippet of what the Tyrone legend had to say on this week’s show:

All-Ireland winning captain Peter Canavan is our special guest on our bonus podcast to preview Mayo-Tyrone.

Hear the full show here: https://t.co/jewk1R1oUP#mayogaa #GAA pic.twitter.com/Slekrujrmx

— Mayo News – Sport (@mayonewssport) March 18, 2022

Another important feature of the show has been Billy Joe’s in-depth consideration on the Mayo team named for the weekend’s game. We’re obviously very grateful to Mayo GAA for the raw material in this regard, in the form of the full match day panel that has been named no later than Thursday prior to every weekend game. Mayo are currently the only county in the country to make such a detailed team announcement, one that – shock, horror! – they then tend to stick with on match day. Wouldn’t it be great if all other counties followed suit?

Our ‘Here Comes the Weekend’ show has, within a very short period, become essential listening for our podcast club members ahead of each Mayo game this year and it’s set to continue to be for the remainder of the season and beyond. The show – and loads more podcast content as well as other great features, such as our match day chats on Discord – is available on Patreon, costing €5 plus VAT per month, or, if you like, little more than the cost of a single pint each month.

If you’re interested in joining the podcast club on Patreon, you can do so here.