Kevin McStay managed Stephen Rochford on Mayo U21 football team

Of all the storylines going into Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final between Mayo and Roscommon, one of the more interesting is also one of the least known: Kevin McStay once managed Stephen Rochford.

It was back in 1999 when McStay was in charge of the Mayo U21 footballers and Rochford was his right corner-back on a team that lost a Connacht championship semi-final replay to Sligo. It was a short and unremarkable campaign for a team that had been tipped for greater things, but it was also an experience that helped to shape the careers of two men who will meet as equals on the sideline in Croke Park on Sunday.

Former Mayo footballer Ger Brady missed out on that U21 campaign due to his involvement with the Ireland rugby team in the Under-19 World Cup that spring.