At the start of this year’s football championship Mayo and Galway were probably joint favorites to lift the Nestor Cup in Connacht. But following Roscommon’s big win over Mayo in Castlebar 10 days ago, the Rossies will probably go into Sunday’s Connacht final against Galway in Dr. Hyde Park as favorites to win their first final since 2019. That was also the year that Padraic Joyce was appointed Galway manager and he has led the Tribesmen to four Connacht titles in a row.
Sunday's encouneter will not have any bearing upon the All Ireland championship, Round 1 of which features Galway at home to Kildare and Roscommon hosting Tyrone. Both games are due to take place on the weekend of May 23/24.
Galway will be bidding for five in a row on Sunday to equal the achievement of the great Galway team of the 1950s and ‘60s, who won the Connacht final every year from 1956 to 1960. The legendary Seán Purcell, who was the first player to receive the famous Nestor Cup in 1958 when Galway beat Leitrim, Jack Mahon and Mattie McDonagh played in all 14 of those championship games from 1956 to 1960.
Joyce has won Connacht titles as a player and manager and also won two All-Ireland finals as a player. Meanwhile this is Mark Dowd’s first season in charge of Roscommon, after replacing Kildare-born Davy Burke last year. He is from Strokestown and up to this year had impressed at club level and was the Rossies' manager when they won the All-Ireland minor title in 2006.
Roscommon were very impressive against Mayo, who as we all know have gone 75 years without winning Sam. Roscommon supporters say that whenever they beat Mayo they are never given credit, with pundits saying instead how poor Mayo were. Mayo were rudderless against the Rossies and their new manager Andy Moran is not the first manager to fail to get out of Connacht while in charge of the Green and Red of Mayo. On Sunday the Roscommon team from 2001, the last team from the county to lift the Nestor Cup in Dr Hyde Park, will be honored on what is the 25th anniversary of that 2001 win. It’s going to be close and if the Rossies can reproduce the excellent fielding and point-scoring they showed against Mayo then the Nestor Cup will be theirs.
