Kevin McStay’s third year as Mayo manager begins at Croke Park on Saturday evening, as this new season stuffed with uncertainty begins with a meeting of some old familiar foes.
In the very recent past the Mayo-Dublin rivalry captivated Gaelic football and for the best part of a decade it defined the game. The counties contested four All-Ireland finals between 2013 and 2020, one of which went to a replay. There were also All-Ireland semi-final meetings in 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021, plus a quarter-final clash in 2023.
The most recent meeting was last June’s All-Ireland group stage fixture at Dr Hyde Park, which finished 0-17 apiece following Dublin’s last-gasp equalising point.
Mayo beat Dublin by the minimum when the sides met in the league in Castlebar in February 2024, but nobody is quite sure where either team currently stands in the early-season jostling for positions.
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There is little sense around the build-up to Saturday’s Division One encounter of this being a clash of the titans. But for Sam Callinan, the low-key promotion of the game does not indicate a downgrading of the rivalry.
“I suppose they’re two very different teams to what they were when they had those huge battles back in the day,” says the 21-year-old Mayo defender. “But whatever the public perceive it as, I can guarantee that back in Mayo it’s still the prime fixture that lads have circled on their calendars all year. I love going out and playing against Dublin whenever you get the chance.
“In my eyes, they’re still the pinnacle of Gaelic football teams, especially in Croker. Any chance you get to play in Croker, you have to savour it. We’re looking forward to it big-time and I bet it’ll be a fantastic game of football.”
It wasn’t quite a winter of discontent in Mayo, but rumblings over McStay’s future bubbled until finally it was confirmed in September that he would be remaining at the helm. And though they came up short at provincial and All-Ireland level in 2024, Callinan feels there were positives for Mayo.
“While last year was very frustrating, we are drawing a lot from the fact we were within a kick of a ball of beating Dublin and a kick of the ball of winning a Connacht final.
“We have a really strong team of players with a young core we can develop and grow off, and there is no reason for us not to be optimistic this season.
“If you look at the transitions that are happening all over the country with different teams, there is a wide-open competition, especially with the implementation of these new rules, and I think they play to our strengths in Mayo.
“I don’t think there is any reason not to be optimistic, we as a group are looking forward to the season ahead, to go and push ourselves and compete at the highest level and be right there in the mix.”
Callinan, who is studying economics and finance in UCD, has emerged as a real find for Mayo since making his senior debut in 2022, delivering consistent performances whether it be in the full- or half-back line. Indeed, Callinan’s versatility and skill set could allow him excel around the middle third of the pitch under the new rules.
He picked up a minor toe injury earlier this month but was fully recovered to line out for UCD in their recent Sigerson Cup fixtures against UCC and DCU. He also suffered four broken ribs during Ballina’s Connacht club SFC semi-final defeat to Coolera-Strandhill last November.
“I went two or three years without any kind of injury before the ribs,” he recalls. “It was kind of a shoulder gone awry. I was up reaching for a ball, took my eyes off the man and he came in and cleaned me. It was a fair enough tackle, he just hit me in the right spot.
“I was fortunate enough, though, they [broken ribs] were up near my collarbone so I was grand sleeping. I know lads who broke them down lower and it is very painful. I had two or three rough weeks where I just sat in the bed doing nothing.
“But it was a blessing in disguise in the fact that I got six weeks to reset mentally and physically, which I think is important for the season ahead.”
Both Mayo and Dublin have lost significant players over the winter: Cillian O’Connor and Pádraig O’Hora have taken a year out, while among the Dubs not returning are Brian Fenton and James McCarthy, who have both retired from inter-county football.
Dublin will have Davy Byrne available again this season after his year travelling, while former Dubs hurling captain Eoghan O’Donnell is now part of the football squad. Ex-AFL player James Madden has also returned to Ireland and will be part of what is set to be a new-look Dublin panel in 2025.
“We’ve gone through a fairly extensive trialling process for club players over the last few months. We’ve 16 new players in total,” Dessie Farrell told Dubs TV.
Despite the absence of McCarthy and Fenton, Callinan still sees Dublin as a significant force.
“They’re obviously two huge losses but Dublin, of all teams, have fantastic players in every position on the pitch so I have no doubt that they have lads who will slot right in there.
“They’ll be as formidable as ever and definitely up there in the mix this year, if not amongst the favourites.”
On Saturday, Mayo get an early season opportunity to stress-test that theory.
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