As the inter-county action takes a break for Mayo for a few weeks, the action in the club scene throws in earnest this weekend with the Mayo senior leagues getting down to business. The action in division 1a gets under way at 6pm on Saturday evening with six games down for decision.
The defending league champions Castlebar Mitchels will be shaking off their cobwebs after their recent All Ireland senior club final defeat when they take on Kilmaine at home. Declan Reilly and Declan Shaw will be looking for a winning start tomorrow to get their season off on the right foot against the south Mayo men. Mitchels started slowly last season in the league losing to both Breaffy and this weekend's opponents, but they were unstoppable from then on winning the other nine league games en-route to claiming the title.
Last year's beaten senior championship finalists Breaffy will open up with a home fixture against east Mayo outfit Aghamore on Saturday evening, the blue and white hooped side are themselves under new management this year with the duo of Peter Ford and Shane Conway in charge. Breaffy reached the pre-season Michael Walsh League final last weekend where they were beaten by Knockmore, but Breaffy were short of a dozen of their regular starters with seven involved with either the Mayo senior or u21 sides.
The aforementioned Knockmore will start their league season at home against a Ballintubber side who will be looking to make their way back to the top of the pile in Mayo football this year. Both sides are under new management, Lydon Reilly and John Feeney are in charge of Ballintubber this year, and Ray McHale has stepped up to take over the reins in Knockmore. The north Mayo men will be coming into this game on a bit of buzz after last weekend's Michael Walsh league title win.
Last year's intermediate champions Hollymount Carramore showed they were well able to mix it with the big boys in the league too, finishing in second place last term. Tom Connelly is still in charge of the south Mayo side, who he guided to the All Ireland intermediate club final back in February. They will start their league season this weekend with a trip to north Mayo to take on Kiltane who this year have former Mayo attacker Joe Lindsay on the line, having taken over from Martin Barrett who had a very succesful tenure in charge, bringing Kiltane back up from the intermediate ranks all the way to Croke Park a few years ago.
There is an all south Mayo derby to make sure that things get off at the right pace on Saturday evening when Garrymore host Claremorris at 6pm. Claremorris this year have former Mayo minor and Shrule-Glencorrib manager Declan Ronaldson in charge, Ronalsdon will be hoping that the underage success Claremorris have had over the last few years will start to filter through to the senior ranks as they look to build themselves up as serious contenders at the senior level. Garrymore have been one of the most consistent sides in the senior ranks over the last few years in both championship and league football, they have Kevin Walsh in charge this year and a win on Saturday would get them off and running in the right direction again this year.
The final game in division 1a this weekend is the meeting of two of the former big boys in Mayo who are both looking to re-establish themselves at the top of the game in the county. Both Crossmolina Deel Rovers and Charlestown have slipped down the contenders' table in recent years. Joe Keane is still in charge of the Deel Rovers this year, while Charlestown have plumped for former Mayo senior backroom member Paul Jordan this season, who comes in having been in charge of Ballina, Knockmore, and Tourmakeady in recent years.
