Mayo will host two of the marquee names in Gaelic football in McHale Park in division one of the the national league next season.
Both Dublin and Tyrone will come to Castlebar in two of the four home games for Mayo next season. Mayo will open their account when Derry make the trip down on Sunday February 1, which will be followed by a floodlit game away to Donegal a fortnight later. Westmeath will be the next side to visit the home of Mayo football on March 8, before Mayo face a long trip down south to take on Jack O'Connor's Kerry on March 21, which itself will kick off a series of four very tough games for John O'Mahony's men. They will follow up the trip to the Kingdom with a clash against the Metropolitans on March 21, next up the old enemy Galway in Salthill, before the curtain comes down on the league stages with the visit of the All Ireland champions Tyrone to Castlebar on April 14.
FBD League
Mayo will get the 2008 season under way only four days into the new year, when they take on NUIG in Dangan at 2pm on January 4. In the second round of the competition they will take on Sligo IT in Ballinode on January 11, before they wrap up the group stages with a home clash against Roscommon on January 18 in Ballyhaunis.
Mayo in big apple
The date has been set for Mayo's introduction to the 2009 senior football championship. On May 10 they will take on New York's finest in Gaelic Park, New York. June 20 has been pencilled in as the date for the Connacht semi-final between Mayo, should they escape from New York unscathed, and either Leitrim or Roscommon, with the final down for decision on July 19. The Mayo U21 team, who are looking for their fourth title in a row, will open their championship against Galway in McHale Park on Saturday March 14 in a preliminary round clash, with the the semi-final pencilled in for a week later and the final on April 4. The Mayo minor side will get under way on June 28 with a semi-final clash against either Sligo or Galway.
Tough task for the hurlers
The Mayo hurlers face a tough task this year as they try to replicate the form they showed at the latter end of the season this year, when the league kicks off in February. First up is a long trip to Derry on February 8, a week later Meath will make the trip to Castlebar. A long trip to Wicklow awaits them on March 1, then after a three-week break Armagh will come to Castlebar and they will wrap up the league campaign away to Kildare on March 29.
