On the night Kevin McStay undertook his first media engagement as Mayo manager the question was asked if, over the years, he had come to fear the opportunity to manage his native county had come and gone.
He’d had “a few goes at it” after all but failed to get the gig.
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McStay stepped down as Roscommon manager in September 2018, and in his parting statement he said the decision also marked his “retirement from senior intercounty football management”.
But James Horan’s decision in 2022 to end his second stint as Mayo manager created a vacancy. The window of opportunity was nudged open again for McStay.
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“I can’t tell the future,” he said on the night of his unveiling in September 2022. “But what I do know is that we are going to dedicate a big portion of our lives to giving this a massive shot.”
In announcing the appointment at the time, Mayo GAA stated that “a four-year term has been agreed with Kevin McStay”.
But terms and conditions tend to be arbitrary when it comes to GAA managerial appointments. Even as Mayo were declaring it a four-year role, McStay would have known if results and performances weren’t good enough then those words would prove to be about as binding as Blu Tack drenched in baby oil.
And so, with the county board’s review of the 2024 season taking three months to complete, the Mayo rumour mill got a decent chance to build momentum in recent weeks.
Finally, on Sunday night, the Mayo rubber-stamped McStay to remain at the helm.
A brief statement declared: “Mayo GAA have concluded their annual end of year review with the Mayo senior football management team and would like to confirm that Kevin McStay will continue as the manager of the Mayo senior football team for 2025”.
Mayo exited the championship on June 22nd. The fact it took until the end of September to bring the situation to a close only facilitated the growth of speculation, as those 92 days producing a fertile environment for tittle-tattle.
There were some understandable reasons for a delay, including chairman Seamus Tuohy having to step back from his duties during the summer for health reasons.
But there is still a sense this was a hoopla that could easily have been avoided. It didn’t need to happen. If the review was done swiftly, nobody would have had the opportunity to sharpen knives.
It is understood there was criticism from some players in the feedback attained from the anonymous questionnaire circulated but in such end of season reviews it would be surprising if all players on a panel were chirping positively.
Players and management met over the weekend, and on Sunday night the county board were happy to confirm McStay would be remaining at the helm.
Still, the three-month wait allowed for conjecture and rumour to spread. At September’s county board meeting, fresh Mayo linen was aired as some delegates raised questions about the management and the length of time the review was taking to complete.
The Mayo News provided a detailed report of the meeting, including the views of one delegate who claimed: “A lot of people are not happy, they want change. I can tell you, I go to a lot of games and the supporters, the genuine people going through the turnstiles, are not happy.”
Kieran McGeeney found himself in the firing line of some delegates last year but survived a heave by winning a vote on his future. It never quite reached that stage for McStay, nonetheless he could have done without being used as the fuel for the rumour furnace. It doesn’t make 2025 any easier for him or Mayo.
In his two years as manager, league and championship, McStay has managed Mayo in 28 matches – they have won 16, lost nine and drawn three.
The openness of this year’s championship made it a ‘what could have been’ summer for many counties – including Mayo. The margins are always small but letting three victories slip away in injury-time was akin to repeatedly getting smacked on the nose but never once heeding the lesson to protect your face.
They led Galway by two points as the Connacht final entered injury-time but ended up losing by one. Just six weeks later, Cormac Costello fisted over a 73rd minute equaliser for Dublin to deny Mayo a victory in the All-Ireland group stages.
Failure to hold on for a win over the Dubs ultimately put Mayo in the preliminary quarter-finals, where they met Derry. On that occasion it was a 76th-minute fisted equaliser from Chrissy McKaigue that denied Mayo victory. Derry ultimately won after a penalty shoot-out.
There could be additions to McStay’s back room team in advance of the 2025 season but at least now he can plan properly for a third year.
“I am at a time of my life where I am essentially retired and I have the time to give it,” said McStay on that unveiling night two years ago.
“Myself, my wife, my family, we agreed I would dedicate the next four years of my life to this challenge.”
But as events of recent weeks have shown, managerial time frames are just words written in a statement.
More than anybody, Kevin McStay knows that if he is still to be in the wheelhouse for that fourth year then Mayo’s results on the pitch in the season ahead are all that actually matter.
