GAA stars who played in Australia are set for Mayo return despite earlier omission fears
by Aiden Henry
AS Mayo set out on the All-Ireland championship campaign, all eyes will be on team manager Peter Leahy and his selectors to see what starting 15 they select for Saturday's opener against Tyrone in Carrick-on-Shannon (throw-in 1 p.m.).
In a radio interview last May, Leahy said that players who wanted to go to Australia would have to be omitted from the Mayo panel. This, he said, was what would be best for Mayo.
Four players in Leahy's squad – Sarah Rowe, Aileen Gilroy, and Niamh and Grace Kelly – played in the AFL Women’s League this year and the manager sent an indirect message to any others who might want to follow them.
Said Leahy to Midwest Radio in May: "We’ve made a decision that anyone who wants to go to Australia or whatever, we’d have to omit from the panel and carry on regardless because (it’s) what’s best for Mayo."
He continued: "There isn’t any sport that I know of that you can play both in the same season. The demands of inter-county football are so high.
"You can see that you can’t even be a dual player now, you can’t play football and hurling at inter-county level now, it’s just an impossibility. I believe if you really believe in Mayo and you really believe you can win an All-Ireland, then you battle it through together."
The final registration date for players wishing to play in the 2020/21 AFL was August 15 last.
The Connaught Telegraph believes that all four Mayo players mentioned have re-signed to play for their Aussie clubs and will be travelling Down Under for the new season.
When contacted last week regarding the forthcoming championship campaign, Leahy said it was decided that the management and players would not be giving any interviews to members of the media before their championship game against Tyrone.
However, when I asked if the players who had re-signed to play in the AFL were in his plans for the forthcoming championship, he told me I would have to wait until the team is announced to find out.
Has the Mayo manager had a re-think on his views? I think he may have, as sources close to the Mayo team have indicated that the four players who lined out in the AFL last season and have re-signed for the 2020/21 season are very much in Leahy’s plans for this year's championship (though we won't know for sure until we see the Mayo team named for the Tyrone game).
Hopefully this is the case as if Mayo hope to make a big impact on the championship, they will need the Rowe, Gilroy and the Kellys on board, for you can’t expect to do as well as possible without four star players like these.