This clash in Crossmolina on Saturday lunch-time will see the ball thrown in on football final weekend across the county.
Kilmeena have been waiting for this game to come around since last summer when they were pipped by Kilmaine to the title and, having watched how well the south Mayo men have excelled in the intermediate grade this year, they'll feel they can do something similar next year if they get over the line.
If - because standing in their way is a Cill Chomáin side who despite being the outsiders for this final, will have full faith and belief that they have the right stuff to get over the line and claim the junior title.
The west Mayo men have been impressive all year in the championship, blazing their way through the group stages against Ardagh, Tourmakeady and Kilfian. They kept that up in the knock-out stages running through Ballycastle in the quarter-finals and being even more impressive against Islandeady in the semi-finals, in a game they should have won by more than the 16 points they did win by.
John Reilly's side have been building towards this for the past number of years and will feel that this is their time to get the job done, much like Kilmaine did last year. But they won't be taking anything for granted - because they know Paul McGarry's Cill Chomáin men will be ready for battle on Saturday lunch-time and have enough quality in their own ranks to get over the line if they get the chances. They've also had to dig deep in games such as against Shrule-Glencorrib in the semi-final and Ardagh in the last eight to get to this stage, so they know they can go the distance.
For Kilmeena, Jack Carney, Niall Feehan, Keith Joyce, Seán Ryder, Conor Madden, Stephen Staunton and John Ryan will all be expected to do the leading on the field and drive them on a long-lusted for victory. But they will have stiff competition with players of the quality of Justin Healy, Joe Mason, Seán Murphy, Eoin McGrath and Darragh Murphy, all capable of having big influence on the game come Saturday.
Cill Chomáin are coming, but Kilmeena have been chipping away at this particular piece of ground for longer and that could be the difference come Saturday.
Verdict: Kilmeena.
Gaeltacht men take on the Gaels of the east in Junior B decider
Eastern Gaels were the last team to claim the old Mayo GAA Junior B Football Championship in 2019 before the junior championship system was ripped up and started again last year. This year they find themselves back in a Junior B final - this time the Exclusive Junior B championship (teams that failed to make it out of their group in the Junior Championship proper, entered this knock-out competition ) facing off against Tourmakeady in Claremorris on Sunday morning. While neither side would have wanted to be in this competition when the championship started, the chance to pick up a county title and take some momentum into next season is something that neither will want to give up. Tourmakeady actually already played in a Junior B final this year, with last year's delayed final taking place in July this year, where Kilfian emerged as victors on a score of 0-15 to 0-11. They booked their spot in the final this weekend with a 2-8 to 1-9 win over Ballycroy a fortnight ago, while Eastern Gaels were 1-15 to 0-6 winners over the defending champions Kilfian in their semi-final.
