For those still in the hunt for provincial honours, last weekend’s fare in Leinster stands as a warning.
Some Kildare people got slightly upset with me last week (I think the Spurs analogy probably got their back up) but in fairness they got the job done against Laois, in what was a potentially tricky game.
Who would have guessed that it’d be Meath who’d make a mess of their provincial championship tilt?
Not I, for sure. Although we had flagged their defensive openness in the wake of the league final. They’ve been fairly cavalier and been content to go for a ‘you-score-we-score’ approach.
Usually, they’ve had the attack to overwhelm opponents. But on Sunday, they were rocked by the concession of too many goals and couldn’t pull it back. Their long wait for a Leinster title stretches into another year.
So, who knows what to think about Leinster anymore? Dublin had an incredible scare in Aughrim. Louth have been the most consistent and impressive side from the province over the past couple of months and they made very light work of Wexford at the weekend.
They’ve nudged into the favourites slot in the province. Though wouldn’t it be just typical if the most open Leinster championship in years somehow ends with the Dubs getting their act together to sneak over the line for another title? Perhaps, that’s just more of my scar tissue from our era of playing.
Westmeath’s Brian Cooney celebrates at the final whistle
Mayo and Roscommon will have another ding-dong in Castlebar on Sunday in the televised game.
At the time of writing, Roscommon are set to be without Daire Cregg, whose appeal against his red card in New York was rejected by the Central Hearings Committee.
For me, it’s a crazy call. The red card in Gaelic Park was extremely harsh and the common sense approach would be to overturn it. I don’t know if this is a new stance from the disciplinary authorities when it comes to appeals, given that Ger Brennan was unable to overturn his ridiculously severe 12-game ban.
Either way the thing has gone draconian and Cregg, unless he appeals further, will be a huge loss to Roscommon.
It’s a rivalry with plenty of needle, particularly among the supporters. Compared to the Mayo-Galway rivalry, which is better known nationally, it’s a different kind of hatred (if that’s not too strong a word).
In my view, a lot of it is powered by the Roscommon belief that they’re painted as the third wheel in Connacht and their sense that they don’t get the respect they deserve.
Arguably, that is justified seeing as we’re talking about a Division 1 team, who’ve won Connacht regularly enough over the decades.
And whenever they do win the Nestor Cup, they’re never slow in reminding you that they have it – on a weekly basis, usually, for the next 12 months.
I expect the Roscommon players and supporters to bring a characteristic intensity to the game against Mayo.
It’s actually remarkable to think there hasn’t been a Mayo-Roscommon Connacht final since 2011.
I sat on the bench that day. It was dreadful weather and a bit of a dog of a game. The Rossies had won Connacht the year before and fancied themselves at home. A teenage Cillian O’Connor kicked a load of frees and we won it by two points. It was a big win for us and for James Horan in particular, following the trauma of Ruislip a month earlier.
Roscommon had an excellent league under new management. We can forget the league meeting in Castlebar in the final round, where Mark Dowd picked a second string team and Mayo won easily.
Their loss to Dublin was a bit of an aberration in the context of this year’s league. The Dubs started well with a gale force wind and Roscommon were quickly playing catch-up and probably mis-managed the situation. They blazed a truck-load of wides and the game got away from them.
Mayo got knocked backwards by Roscommon in the 2023 Connacht clash in MacHale Park
Their most impressive display was clearly against Donegal. It’s a match which showcases how dangerous they can be this weekend. Donegal were unbeaten and brought a powerful team down to the Hyde.
Midway through the second half, with a storm at their back, and only trailing by a point, it seemed like Donegal had to win the game. Somehow Roscommon managed to see out the rest of the game. It highlighted their game intelligence and their forwards’ ability to work scores even in adverse weather conditions.
They have their usual array of quality forwards, though Cregg, if he is suspended, is a major loss.
The one stat that jumps out was their goals tally. They hit 15 in total, comfortably more than any other team across the four divisions. And this, against the most advanced defences in the country.
And Mayo have been susceptible to conceding goals, leaking 11 over the course of the league, the most of any in the top division aside from Monaghan.
Mayo’s strengths are at the other end. If Roscommon are to win the game, they need to curtail Ryan O’Donoghue’s influence.
He’s been comfortably Mayo’s best player in 2026 and looks rejuvenated under Andy Moran’s management.
He’s been both chief creator and chief marksman for Mayo, pulling the strings at centre-forward but also the one getting on the end of moves. He’s been the central cog in the attack. It’s possible we could see Brian Stack being assigned to track him this, there and everywhere.
Home venue, as we never tire of saying, is an irrelevance in Connacht. Roscommon have won their last two championship games against Mayo in Castlebar, both of which were played in wet conditions.
The weather is beautiful here at the moment but you can never be guaranteed a nice day in the west of Ireland. It could yet be blowing a gale down here come Sunday.
Mayo will always fancy themselves to beat Roscommon in championship, even if that is always tinged with wariness.
Leitrim are in bonus territory after their great win over Sligo. No one seriously expects them to beat Galway this weekend. But they can definitely make it awkward. People forget they were extremely competitive for a long time against Mayo in Carrick 12 months ago and it wasn’t really until the last quarter that Mayo shook them off.
With Galway, you’re always waiting for the team-sheet to see which new player is injured this week. There are rumours down here that there are more… Either way, they’ll be in another Connacht final.
It’s been a theme of the early rounds of the championship that teams who’ve had good leagues have tended to struggle.
Two league champions meet in Letterkenny and they can’t both lose. I fully expect Donegal, under Jim McGuinness’s astute direction, to avoid the trap that snared both Meath and Carlow, and book their spot in the Ulster semi-final.
Watch Mayo v Roscommon in the Connacht Football Championship on Sunday from 3.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1