Two powerhouses unlikely to have it all their own way in Mayo

So here we go!

The Mayo electorate gets ready to select five people to represent them in Dáil Éireann for the next five years.

The polling date of November 29.

A relatively short campaign by normal standards will be welcomed by many who simply cannot tolerate the political trumpet blowing that invariably goes on ad nauseam.

Fascinatingly, however, it's the first general election in the history of the State that traditional rivals Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are virtually contesting on the same platform.

Having served in government together for the first time since 2020, they now more or less share the same policies, aspirations and, of course, weaknesses.

With six candidates between them - four Fine Gael and two Fianna Fáil - they will dominate the canvassing fields of Mayo over the coming weeks.

It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that they will have shared the five seats between them by the time the votes are counted.

But it's unlikely despite the scope created by the fifth seat and the retirement of long-serving TD Michael Ring.

The Mayo electorate has a penchant in recent decades of electing first time candidates representing one or other of the main parties.

That statistic augurs well, on this occasion, for Fine Gael newcomers Mark Duffy, Martina Jennings and Keira Keogh.

While FF and FG are in a dominant position and market themselves well, there is a sufficiently strong enough anti-outgoing government lobby within the county to justify the view that a clean sweep by the two main parties is a tall order.

Sinn Féin's decision to add experienced Charlestown Councillor Gerry Murray to the ticket is a shrewd strategic move at a time when the party has been in the eye of a storm nationally due to a series of well-documented controversies.

The move certainly strengthens the party's outgoing TD Rose Conway-Walsh's re-election bid despite concerns that her remarkable first-preference rating of 2020, a return of 14,633, will be down.

The other significant factor relates to the south Mayo battle between Independent Councillor Patsy O'Brien, a former member of the Fine Gael stable, and the former CEO of Mayo Roscommon Hospice, Martina Jennings, now firmly ensconced in the Fine Gael ranks.

Both are expected to be strong vote-pullers and, in the final analysis, one's narrow success could be sealed by the marginal failure of the other.

An intriguing duel, indeed.