Mayo’s New York tour of duty ticks all the boxes for Dillon

The Mayo senior football squad returned to Ireland this morning after their busman’s holiday to New York last Sunday and there were plenty of reasons for the travelling party to be cheerful.

A comprehensive 22-point victory over the Exiles has helped to kickstart Mayo’s defence of their Connacht championship title, and there was also some valuable team­building done over their long weekend visit.

The return of Alan Dillon to competitive action after a six month lay­off was also one of the highlights from Sunday’s game for the Westerners.

A veteran of three ‘tours of duty’ to New York for Connacht Championship games, the two-time All Star is well placed to assess its value to the tourists.

“We’re away for the last three or four days as a team, I wasn’t involved for the National League, and it’s nice to get a chance to know each other as a team,” he explained.

“You have to take it for what it is.

“There’s great excitement over here, there’s a huge Mayo diaspora, and we enjoyed our few days. We visited a few local GAA clubs, like Shannon Gaels, and we took in some sights. Overall, it was a brilliant trip.”

“We’ve been on the road for three or four years now but games like these are great to kickstart a championship. Hopefully we can built on this and get some momentum for the semi­final.”

Mayo captain Andy Moran is also a veteran of these New York weekends and made his championship debut at Gaelic Park 10 years ago.

The 30-year-old admitted he took a slightly different approach to the build-up to the game than in previous years.

“I remember coming out here in 2004 and I could walk around and we could do whatever we wanted, as a young lad of 19 or 20.

“But the three or four days before the game were spent in the hotel room. I wanted to rest the legs, make sure I didn’t pull anything.

“The process was good on Sunday, and we got the job done. When you come out here it’s about getting past step one and we’ve done that.”

Meanwhile, New York manager Ian Galvin was understandably disappointed with the outcome of Sunday’s one sided quarter­final.

The Waterville native, who is in his first year in charge of the Exiles, felt the final scoreline didn’t do justice to his team’s efforts and was keen to focus on the positives.

“People will look at the final score and say, ‘New York were hockeyed again’ but we feel we put in a performance that maybe we weren’t expected to, and that the scoreline didn’t reflect.

“But it was great to watch the kids afterwards meeting the stars over from Ireland, stars they see on TV, and it’s very important that this tradition continues.”