There are fixtures involving the county this weekend but there are also other matches coming up in the weeks ahead so it’s worthwhile setting out what’s on when.

Before that, though, it’s only right to report on two Mayo matches played this evening. These were in Masters football and, at the other end of the age spectrum, U16 ladies football.

In the Masters football, we opened our All-Ireland Championship campaign with a 2-12 to 1-15 draw against Roscommon. That game was played at the Éire Óg club in Roscommon.

The Mayo LGFA U16 team were, meanwhile, in Connacht Championship action this evening against Leitrim. This Round 5 game played at Aghamore ended with a big win for the Green and Red on a scoreline of 4-22 to 1-2.

This weekend there are three Championship fixtures involving Mayo, one on Friday evening and the other two on Saturday.

First up are the county’s U17 footballers who play Sligo in Round 3 of the Connacht MFC. This game is fixed for James Stephens Park, Ballina, where throw-in is 7pm on Friday. Tickets are available to purchase here and Connacht GAA are streaming the game (€10 PPV) – details here.

With two wins from two outings, a victory in this one would more or less guarantee Seán Deane’s charges a spot in at least the provincial semi-final. Under this year’s round-robin format, the group winners advance straight to the final with the second and third placed teams contesting the semi-final so the aim will obviously still be to win all the round-robin games.

By the way, if you’re a club member and you haven’t yet listened to last Friday evening’s Final Whistle podcast, then it’s still worth your while to do so. Mike is joined on it by Declan O’Reilly and the chat involved an in-depth assessment of the current crop of U17s, as well as an informative discussion on all the good coaching work that’s underway at juvenile level within the county.

Onto Saturday, where, as everyone now knows, the county’s hurlers are in Christy Ring Cup action against Sligo. They’ve asked for the game to be played at MacHale Park but it’s been fixed instead for James Stephens Park, where throw-in is 2pm. Tickets for this one are available to purchase here.

Also on Saturday, the county’s U17 hurlers are in action in the quarter-final of the Celtic Challenge Championship. Their opponents are Longford and the tie has been fixed for Adrian Freeman Park, Tooreen, with a 7pm throw-in.

Looking further ahead, the Mayo women footballers are set to face Galway in the Connacht LGFA final on Sunday week, 15th May. This provincial decider has been fixed for Tuam Stadium where throw-in is 4pm that afternoon. The match will be streamed live and ticketing information will be available nearer the date.

The weekend after that the county’s trailblazing camogie team, fresh from their League exploits, get their Championship campaign underway. This year they’re in the Premier Junior Championship where they’re in Group 2 with Munster powerhouses Clare, Tipperary and Waterford, as well as Cavan, with whom they’ve crossed swords a bit in the recent path.

Round 1 takes place on Saturday, 21st May when Mayo are away to Clare. There are no details as yet on a venue or start time for this fixture but this will no doubt be confirmed nearer the date.

Finally, the 2022 club Championship draws are set to take place tomorrow evening at MacHale Park. The draws will be held at 7pm and will be live streamed on the Mayo GAA Facebook page – details here. Ahead of the draw, the gradings for the Senior, Intermediate and Junior Championships have been published – they’re here.

We’ll be recording a podcast episode providing instant reaction to tomorrow evening’s draws. That should, as far as I know, be available for club members to listen to later on tomorrow night.