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John O’Mahony and his senior management team are more than likely disappointed with Keith Higgins’ decision to play hurling for Mayo rather than travel to NY for Mayo’s championship opener on Sunday week. The Mayo hurlers will play Kerry in their championship opener on the same weekend. The talented corner- back has just returned to Ireland having spent a number of months in Australia. Keith did however line out last week in Mayo’s challenge match against Kildare in Kiltoom. I expect that the Mayo management are delighted to have their ace defender back in plenty of time for the bigger challenges ahead, but would have liked if he could have travelled to the Big Apple for the weekend. However it should not have come as a huge surprise that he declared for the hurlers as Keith has always declared his love of hurling and it is no secret that it is his preferred game. This is the first time that both codes have clashed on a championship weekend, which is unfortunate as it has forced Keith to declare his preference. Coincidentally, I met with Martin Brennan, the Mayo county senior hurling manager, during the week who told me that he was thrilled that Keith opted to play in Mayo’s Christy Ring Championship encounter with Kerry. It was not a total surprise to him either as he had been in touch with Keith frequently over the last number of weeks once he was aware of the imminent clash of fixtures.

The great summer GAA championship extravaganza is about to get underway. It starts next Sunday and will continue for 20 weeks as the football and hurling campaigns endeavour to enthrall the sporting public. From provincial to qualifier to the All-Ireland series, it promises to be a feast of exciting action all over the country as teams battle it out for the ultimate prize of winning the Sam Maguire in September. Mayo has the distinction of kicking off this year’s campaign when they play New York in the first round of the championship. Whether they will be involved at the business end of the competition is anyone’s guess at this stage? Having witnessed last Saturday’s result in Croke Park, where the complete outsiders Leinster turned in an incredible performance to beat their much fancied rivals Munster, who’s to say that a Mayo team couldn’t do something similar in this years championship? As you know the five Connacht counties play New York on a rota basis.

Fashion giant Tommy Hilfiger will jet into Galway today (Thursday) to host a public signing session at his city shop.

Dublin has ranked ninth in a league table of the world's most expensive places to have a retail business, the latest survey from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) shows.

I had the privilege of introducing the last man who captained a successful Mayo All Ireland winning minor team to my own young man and a few of the Castlebar under- 12s at their training session last Saturday morning at McHale Park. Michael Fitzmaurice, captain of the Mayo minors in 1985, approached my car with a bag of footballs on his back. I hadn’t a clue who he was until he removed his cap. Even then it took me a second or two to recognise the former star as, like a few more of us he is, by now, follically challenged. He sat into the car and we chatted football for a while. I was delighted to discover that he was a part time GAA coaching officer, travelling around to a number of national schools down around his home place, Lacken. Michael was a great footballer and I recall making a number of telephone calls to his home in the mid nineties trying to persuade him to get involved with the Mayo senior set up of my tenure. He couldn’t make the commitment at the time for a number of reasons and I have to say it was our loss. Still it was good to have the chat and to reminisce about times past. Michael had spent the morning working with a Mayo under-14 development squad and I am sure they will be better players because of his tutoring. So also will the national school kids in and around Lacken.

Mayo will host two of the marquee names in Gaelic football in McHale Park in division one of the the national league next season.

If you were watching the nine o’clock news programme on RTE One last Sunday you’ll have seen some amazing footage of flocks of starlings flying above Belfast, swirling and swooping in the darkening skies, looking more liquid than solid, twisting and turning like ink dropped into water. Starlings’ habit of congregating in the evenings is most common in winter, and the flocks’ numbers swell substantially at this time of year, when birds from as far away as Russia visit Ireland. Some flocks have been estimated to number over a million birds. Despite the huge flocks that congregate not only in towns but also in rural areas, the common starling isn’t as common as it once was: in Britain it is now officially an endangered species, its population there having declined by over half in the last 25 years.

SINGERS AND Their Songs - a celebration of songwriters, folk, roots, and acoustic blues - featuring acts from Ireland and the USA, takes place in The Crane Bar, Sea Road, from December 16 to 21.

The GAA can rightly be described as one of the greatest sporting organisations in the world – and, as we all know, it is much more than just a sporting organisation. It has had a profound impact on local communities all over Ireland, giving those communities a sense of identity and belonging.

A man from New York who was holidaying in Ireland was convicted of careless driving at Castlebar District Court last Wednesday—the day he was catching his flight back to America.