Mayo face Roscommon in Celtic Challenge opener

Mayo Under 17 hurling manager Sean Heneghan and his selectors have announced the team to play Roscommon in the Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge this weekend

Tom Donnellan of Ballyhaunis and Cian Fahy of Castlebar Mitchels are the joint captains of the Mayo team.

The game will be played tomorrow (Saturday) in Ballyforan GAA, Roscommon, throwing in at 12 noon. Galway's David Earls will referee the encounter.

The Mayo team in full is as follows: Noah McGrath (Claremorris); David Wooley (Claremorris), Gavin Walsh (Ballina Stephenites), Dylan Greally (Tooreen); Jack Hose (Castlebar Mitchels), Cian Fahy (Castlebar Mitchels), Niall Tracey (Castlebar Mitchels); Tom Donnellan (Ballyhaunis), Ronan Loftus (Castlebar Mitchels); Aaron Harcourt (Castlebar Mitchels), Daniel Filan (Castlebar Mitchels), Adam Jennings (Claremorris); Dylan Hunt (Tooreen), Aaron O'Dea (Claremorris), Zach Smith (Ballyhaunis).

On the substitutes' bench are: Michael Dee (Tooreen), Rian Fallon (Castlebar Mitchels), Pierce Keidan (Tooreen), Mikey Rabbit (Claremorris), Gino Nealon (Ballina Stephenites), Mark Healy (Ballina Stephenites), Charlie Swanick (Tooreen), Charlie Flynn (Ballina Stephenites), Shane Cawley (Castlebar Mitchels).

The extended panel features the following: Emmet Burke (Claremorris), Conn Delaney (Tooreen),

Mike Kayange (Ballyhaunis), Pauel Rowland (Castlebar Mitchels), Sean Quinn (Ballyvary).

This year's Celtic Challenge will see 38 teams from all 32 counties taking part in what is one of the most innovative and developmental initiatives within the GAA calendar.

The Celtic Challenge has played an integral role in expanding the games programme for top tier and developing counties since 2016. The group format provides teams with the opportunity to play three games over the space of three weekends, after which quarterfinal pairings are performance-based. Overall, depending on results, counties can play up to six games in the competition.

The Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge is named in recognition of the original juvenile hurling club known as ‘Celtic’. The divisional trophies are named in memory of six of the 14 civilians who were shot dead in Croke Park on November 21, 1920 (Bloody Sunday): Michael Hogan, Tom Hogan, John William Scott, William Robinson, Jerome O’Leary and Michael Feery.

The GAA's Director of Coaching & Games, Shane Flanagan, said: “Every year the Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge competition provides a superb programme of games for our players at all levels. As an integral part of our player pathway, the Celtic Challenge provides counties with an opportunity to face teams at their level while supporting young players making the transition to play senior inter-county in the future.”

The full list of fixtures can be found online at www.gaa.ie/celticchallenge.