The official launch of Mayo – sixty years of thrills and spills! will take place this coming Thursday evening (February 18th) in the convivial surroundings of Mick Byrne’s bar on Main Street, Castlebar.  Mick will be throwing in the ball for this event in his gaff at around 9.30 pm and a number of special guests are expected to be there on the night, including the great Joe Corcoran of Ardnaree, whose exploits as Mayo’s top scorer over the past sixty years surely puts him in line for some kind of impromptu hall of fame award on the night.  The senior team will apparently also be training in the town that night so I’m reliably informed that Johnno will pop in after putting the lads through their paces down at McHale Park and that he’ll probably lasso a few of the panel into doing likewise as well.  You’d never know, if you talk nice to him he might even put on that distinctly odd hat he was sporting up in Healy Park on Sunday.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to be there for the launch myself on Thursday evening, as work commitments mean that I have instead to spend the day over in London.  It sounds like it has the makings of a good night and so hopefully there’ll be a big turnout for it.  Donal tells me that the book is selling like the proverbial hot cakes but if you haven’t yet got a copy, I’m sure they’ll be able to sort you out on the night.  As well as the other outlets that the book is available in – such as the Mayo branches of Elverys, Easons in Castlebar and Ballina and Castle Books in Castlebar – don’t forget that it’s also available online from the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, to whom the full cover price is being donated.