Tribe hype will put Mayo on the warpath

We got our first taste of real summer over the weekend, both with a brief spell of fine weather at home, as well as a blistering start to the football championship in a different country.

It sets things up nicely for the first high profile showdown of this year’s glamour competition: Mayo and Galway flex their collective muscle next weekend in MacHale Park in what will surely be a glorious arm wrestle to start the quest for Connacht title honours and their journeys towards loftier ambitions.

Galway are this year’s bolter. By pushing Dublin to the limit in the Division One final in Croke Park, they’ve made the country sit up and take notice, and given hope to their supporters that they have found a grittier substance to match their style.