A fans' guide to Mayo GAA's national league opposition
by Kevin Egan
With the Allianz National Football League getting underway for Mayo at Croke Park weekend, here's a guide to what supporters can expect from the county's opposition over the coming weeks.
Enjoy the journey.
DUBLIN
Manager: Dessie Farrell (6th Season)
County profile: The aura that enveloped the team during the Jim Gavin era is long gone. So too are a handful of players that are likely to be remembered as some of the greatest ever to kick an O’Neill’s ball.
Nonetheless it’s still somewhat jarring to listen to commentary that so readily dismisses the 2023 All-Ireland champions, a team that was still a kick of a ball off beating Galway last Summer.
It’s not like Dessie will ever have to consider picking a bad player because he’s short of options.
Key man: For so long, Dublin’s strength was that every time they took the field, there were half a dozen players that fitted this role. In 2025, however, we’ll say John Small needs to be the one to set the tone. Dublin won’t win an All-Ireland without Ciarán Kilkenny, Con O’Callaghan and Brian Howard all playing at an elite level, but Small is the type of player who will raise the bar for everyone all year long, while sending a clear message to opponents that ‘we’re not gone yet’.
Potential threat: In any other county, Killian McGinnis would have been an established starter and a key man by now, but the presence of Brian Fenton meant that he wasn’t needed. He absolutely is, now.
When they play Mayo: Saturday, January 25, 7.30 p.m., at Croke Park. Live on TG4.
How that game might go: Mayo won’t mind Croke Park, players will be chomping at the bit to get started, and predictions of the county as relegation candidates will have Kevin McStay’s troops fired up. We’ll predict an away win against the head here.
GALWAY
Manager: Pádraic Joyce (6th season)
County profile: By the time the 2024 championship rolled around at the end of a difficult league, they had a deep panel and were about to embark on a big year. The challenge in 2025 will be to work around the scar tissue from an All-Ireland title that was left behind.
Playing wise, there’s no reason they should be any weaker in 2025, but the absence of Cian O’Neill from the coaching ticket will mean a shift in emphasis.
Key man: Out of all the injuries that Galway worked around in 2024, none was more significant than that of Cillian McDaid, and there was never a time in the campaign when the Monivea/Abbey player was clearly healthy and at his best. With a run of game time, he’ll go back to be the driving force in the team this year.
Potential threat: In his first year out of U-20, Matthew Thompson is getting more game time than might have been expected, and it looks as if he might be jumping the queue ahead of players like Tomo Culhane and Cillian Ó Curraoín for playing time in the forward division.
When they play Mayo: Sunday, February 2, 3.45 p.m., at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
How that game might go: With the momentum of a victory from the previous Sunday behind them and a big crowd making their way to Castlebar for what’s always a hotly-contested fixture, there’s a realistic path to Mayo ending the day on top of the table.
TYRONE
Manager: Malachy O’Rourke (1st season)
County profile: Their 2021 All-Ireland title looked like something of a flash in the pan for a while, but they’re gradually putting the pieces back together and the recruitment of Malachy O’Rourke looks like a solid bit of business for the Red Hand county board.
Last year’s U-20 All-Ireland success added to the sense of momentum, and while they won’t lean too heavily on that group just yet, it’ll add the extra bit of zest that might make all the difference.
Key man: Following in the footsteps of a player like Peter Canavan should, on paper, be an impossible task for any young footballer. Darragh (or Ruairí!) could have been forgiven for trying to make a career as a snooker player or a surfer instead. But instead Darragh stuck to his roots, and he looks more and more like his father every time he plays.
Potential threat: By 2027, Eoin McElholm could well be one of the best footballers in the country, and will probably have justified the hype that grew following his incredible performances at U-20 level this past year.
However when it comes to making an impact in 2025, Shea O’Hare looks ready and capable of making a strong play for Young Footballer of the Year. He’s explosive, physical, strong in defence and capable of taking or creating a score, and should be a mainstay in the half-back line by the end of the league.
When they play Mayo: Sunday, February 16, 1.45 p.m., at King & Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park.
How that game might go: The Errigal Ciarán boys will be back and ready to give their county a shot in the arm.
ARMAGH
Manager: Kieran McGeeney (11th Season)
County profile: The All-Ireland champions are simultaneously running on the fuel of being dismissed as opportunist champions with no chance of retaining the Sam Maguire, while doing everything possible to make two-in-a-row seem impossible. Such obstacles range from players not showing up, to suggestions of possible criminal activity on a team holiday.
When the time comes, they’ll fall in line behind Geezer, as they always have.
Key man: At the business end of championship, Armagh’s fortunes will rise and fall with those of Rian O’Neill. In the shorter term, however, 32-year-old captain Aidan Forker will be the on-field general who will keep them (relatively) on the straight and narrow.
Potential threat: Oisín Conaty was their ‘springer’ in 2024, but 12 months ago, Darragh McMullan was earmarked by many Orchard County supporters as the player who was most likely to make that sort of impact. 2025 could be the year for the lively 21-year-old corner forward from the Madden club.
When they play Mayo: Saturday, February 22, 5 p.m., at the Box-It Athletic Grounds.
How that game might go: Statistically, Mayo are likely to draw at least one game. We’ll pick this one, just as they did the last time they met in 2023.
KERRY
Manager: Jack O’Connor (4th season in this term, 11th season overall)
County profile: The best player currently kicking ball had a down year due to physical and emotional fatigue in 2024 and has now had a rest.
The players that won a string of minor titles in a row are all coming to maturity, and that’s in a county that was still very unlucky to lose an All-Ireland semi-final to the eventual winners. Yet they’re ochóning the loss of a couple of promising young players as if they’ll be left to field 40-year-old Junior Bs in their place.
In the art of ‘yerra’ they remain unsurpassed down in Kerry, and they’re not bad at football either.
Key man: Given his ability to score from distance, it’s frightening to think of the tallies that David Clifford could rack up in 2025.
Potential threat: If you weren’t watching on Saturday, Dr. Crokes almost edged out Errigal Ciarán despite the Canavan brothers putting in mercurial displays, and the main reason for that was a performance of real grit, resolve and quality from Micheál Burns in the half-forward line. He’s exactly what Kerry need in 2025.
When they play Mayo: Saturday, March 1, 5 p.m., at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
How that game might go: By now, Kerry will be rolling and roaring, potentially on the rebound after dropping points in Omagh the previous weekend. Mayo might find it hard to keep pace.
DERRY
Manager: Paddy Tally (1st season)
County profile: It’s easy to forget that Derry are the reigning Allianz League champions, such was their fall from grace in the Summer – albeit Mayo supporters don’t need to be told that there was still a kick in the Oak Leaf County in the championship.
After a year of turmoil, amplified by word on the grapevine that they might even have been about to extend an olive branch to Rory Gallagher, they became the last county to fill their bainisteoir’s bib when they handed the reins to Paddy Tally. It’s hard to say how high the ceiling goes, perhaps not as high as they’d like - but they’ll be hard beaten in the league.
Key man: With the new kickout rules, with two-pointers likely to become all important, and a premium on leadership and maturity on the field, Conor Glass will be the talisman for this group once again in 2025.
Potential threat: Anton Tohill is back from Australia and looking like a potential All-Star in the making at midfield, based on recent challenge games.
When they play Mayo: Sunday, March 16, 1.30 p.m., at Celtic Park.
How that game might go: We’ll predict another speedbump here, with Derry winning by four or five points.
DONEGAL
Manager: Jim McGuinness (2nd season in this term, 6th overall)
County profile: The saviour has returned to the sideline, and so far, his second run at the helm of his native county is following the same script as the first. Inject belief, change the game, win an Ulster title in your first season, and now with Michael Murphy coming back on board as well, there is a real sense of destiny around the county that the final step can be taken too.
Of course, it’s not that simple and there are still areas of the pitch where it looks like Donegal might still be a little bit short relative to some of their rivals for the big national titles, but it’s hard to imagine that they’ll be far away.
Key man: Much of the talk about Michael Murphy playing in goal, which on the face of it makes no sense given the ability of Shaun Patton in that role, stemmed from the fact that Oisín Gallen has taken his game to a level where it’s impossible to imagine any other player wearing the number 14 jersey.
He’s an incredible shooter and another player who should be well in the mix for the ‘golden boot’ in 2025.
Potential threat: Personnel wise, don’t expect a lot of change in Donegal this year. It was tempting to list Michael Murphy here as a tongue-in-cheek option, and that temptation grew when an examination of the team suggested that there aren’t too many jerseys up for grabs, perhaps as few as two or three.
Ciarán Moore was a starter last year but we expect him to have a big season, possibly entering the All-Star mix, and for a dark horse, watch out for Oisín Caulfield, an athletic and strong midfielder or half-forward with a powerful boot on him.
When they play Mayo: Sunday, March 23, 3.45 p.m., at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
How that game might go: In a ferociously competitive division, it’s likely that six points will be needed for any team to be safe from relegation. So this will be a big game.
For Mayo, a point will possibly be enough to stay up, and that’s exactly the type of outcome that sounds very plausible.