Pure and utter Mayo.
Absolutely peak Mayo.
No other county can match the westerners’ capacity to thrill. If it’s not their footballers winning the hearts of every soul in the country and everything else bar the Sam Maguire, it’s the county board losing their people or it’s a player stepping aside with a bee in their bonnets.
Now this is peak Mayo. This is peak Mayo but in a good way.
By this stage, even the sheep in Belmullet know that James Horan is coming back for more. From the moment Stephen Rochford was given the cold shoulder by the county board a couple of months ago, they wanted the barnstorming Ballintubber bainisteoir back.
It is widely accepted that he brought them as close as they ever have been to the holy grail and they reckon that second time around he’ll take another giant step for Mayo.
At Thursday’s county board meeting, he will take his place on the hottest seat in the county for a second time. In true Mayo fashion however, it isn’t going to be without surprise or without colour.
That’s because the word from the west on this Thursday evening was that Ciaran McDonald would be a part of Horan’s package.
Ah Ref sources believes this will be the backroom team that James Horan has assembled for 2019. #mayogaa
Conor Finn
Martin Barrett
Ciarán Mc Donald
Séamus Murray(CBE) Liason officer
Daniel Forde
Tom Prendergast— Ah Ref! (@RefComeOn) October 4, 2018
Back in the fold? Reports this evening suggest that former Mayo star Ciarán McDonald could be part of James Horan's backroom team for 2019. Horan is expected to be ratified at a county board meeting tonight – Midwest Radio will have all the details as they happen. #StayTuned pic.twitter.com/EKWZVbJdvr
— Mid West Radio (@radiomidwest) October 4, 2018
Now if you don’t know about Ciaran McDonald, you don’t know anything about Mayo and you certainly don’t know anything about football. Until the day this man isn’t able to walk anymore, Mayo folk will be calling for his dazzling flamboyance, his free style skills and his golden gun of a left foot to be brought back into the county’s half forward line.
The rumours had Mayo folk from the west will be dreaming of swervers, curlers and left footed pingers.
Horan was soon after confirmed as boss, with a five man strong backroom team, and though McDonald wasn’t named there, Mayo folk are still holding out hope that he’ll be added at a later stage.
They love Ciaran McDonald out west. They always have. And if the county’s biggest cult hero is involved for next year, Mayo eyes will be turning anxiously to the League in January already.
Predictably, they’re jumping around the place in the wild west. Because the Mac could be returning, the Mac could be back.
Think my heart jus skipped a beat 💚❤#Supermac
— 💚❤James Murphy💚❤ (@jfkmurphy) October 4, 2018
This is a top two appointment if I ever saw one!
— Cormac O'Malley (@cormacpro) October 4, 2018
