We won’t feel it now until Mayo return to New York to play a Connacht championship match for the fifth time in 20 years.

Sunday, April 7th is a date that has been sketched in our diaries for months as it signals the start of the GAA summer for ‘our team’ — even though the left-over Easter eggs will still be sitting on the sideboard and the kids will still have a few months left in school.

The new split-season has forced us all to think outside the box and change our habits!

Truth be told though, a lot of us have been looking forward to going back to New York since we landed back in Shannon or Dublin, ‘well shook’ and feeling tired and emotional — the morning after a lost weekend in May 2019!

Wondering where the time went, not to mention all the dollars we had left behind us!

If you were there five years ago, even the mere mention of Eugene Rooney’s Irish Pub or Old Castle Restaurant in Manhattan, or Rosie O’Grady’s across the road, or the craic in Times Square on the Saturday evening will probably bring the memories flooding back.

Maybe you were even lucky enough to be in the Cipriani that weekend? (That is most certainly a story for another day!)

Most of the memories from that long weekend are great ones; as thousands of us set up base camp around the city and watched the world go by for a few days.

Some people started their weekend at Jersey Gardens and bought enough Nike and Tommy Hilfiger gear to kit out an entire village. Others took a stroll to Times Square or Central Park to get some fresh air to try and ward off the jet lag.

And we even know of a few cultured folk who took in a few shows on Broadway.

But, regardless of where you started, you were going to end up in ‘Rooney’s’ in midtown Manhattan before too long.

We were all drawn like a magnet to a home away from home for Mayo supporters.
Which is why it’s a real pity that Eugene’s bars have closed since in the wake of Covid.
It really won’t be the same without them this time around.

I can’t recall ever going in there without meeting ‘Alf’ or ‘Ginger’ from Parke, one of the Maddens from Ballycastle, Seán Feeney or one of the O’Connor clan from Ballintubber, or some familiar and friendly faces from home. All wearing the colours, all in flying form.

It always reminded me of a cross between a great wedding and Rag Week in college. ‘Real life’ doesn’t really come into it when you’re over for the Mayo match, especially when you’re discussing some of the really important issues of our time.

Like, what is the best format for the Mayo GAA Senior Leagues? Or, who was the best Mayo footballer (with a moustache) who ever togged out? Or, name the three Mayo players that you’d most like to go on holidays with? (For the record, I’d go with Mickey Conroy, Leeroy and Anthony Finnerty, just to see what would happen if you got three of the great ‘headers’ of all-time together in the one place!)

The funny thing is that the actual match between Mayo and New York is only a small part of the story of the weekend over there.

Most of the memories from that long weekend are great ones; as thousands of us set up base camp around the city and watched the world go by for a few days.

Some people started their weekend at Jersey Gardens and bought enough Nike and Tommy Hilfiger gear to kit out an entire village. Others took a stroll to Times Square or Central Park to get some fresh air to try and ward off the jet lag.

And we even know of a few cultured folk who took in a few shows on Broadway.

But, regardless of where you started, you were going to end up in ‘Rooney’s’ in midtown Manhattan before too long.

We were all drawn like a magnet to a home away from home for Mayo supporters.
Which is why it’s a real pity that Eugene’s bars have closed since in the wake of Covid.
It really won’t be the same without them this time around.

I can’t recall ever going in there without meeting ‘Alf’ or ‘Ginger’ from Parke, one of the Maddens from Ballycastle, Seán Feeney or one of the O’Connor clan from Ballintubber, or some familiar and friendly faces from home. All wearing the colours, all in flying form.

It always reminded me of a cross between a great wedding and Rag Week in college. ‘Real life’ doesn’t really come into it when you’re over for the Mayo match, especially when you’re discussing some of the really important issues of our time.

Like, what is the best format for the Mayo GAA Senior Leagues? Or, who was the best Mayo footballer (with a moustache) who ever togged out? Or, name the three Mayo players that you’d most like to go on holidays with? (For the record, I’d go with Mickey Conroy, Leeroy and Anthony Finnerty, just to see what would happen if you got three of the great ‘headers’ of all-time together in the one place!)

The funny thing is that the actual match between Mayo and New York is only a small part of the story of the weekend over there.