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It will be six weeks since Mayo last took to the field in competitive action in the Connacht final against Galway this weekend. The long lay off is nothing new for this bunch of ladies, who had a similar layoff after their league final defeat to Cork before their championship opener against the Tribeswomen. Going into both of those games Mayo were the underdogs, but on Saturday afternoon they are warm favourites to book their place in the last four of the All Ireland series against beaten Leinster finalists Westmeath.

The All Ireland quarterfinal is where Mayo wanted to be when the season threw in and they have got back there, they have taken a somewhat more circuitous route than they would have hoped, but that goal has been achieved. Mayo's championship form has been patchy all year, no more so than last weekend when they mixed the good with the bad, but they still got the result if not the full performance, they wanted to get there.

The reputation of Connacht football rests firmly on Mayo's shoulders after Galway's no show at HQ last weekend against a rampant Tipperary. The scoreline was flattering for Galway but it should have been a lot worse had Tipperary taken all their chances, they ripped Galway asunder. In a year that promised so much for Connacht football it all boils down to Mayo's performance against Tyrone on Saturday evening.

It will be 501 days since Stephen Rochford stepped out on to the field in Croke Park and raised his arms in celebration after guiding Corofin to glory in the All Ireland Senior Club Championship on Saturday. Tomorrow will mark his return to GAA headquarters as a manager, this time with the hopes of a whole county resting on his and his players' shoulders.

The Snug's weekend of entertainment kicks off on Thursday night, July 28, with Adrian Hyney taking to the stage from 9.30pm.

Westmeath suffered a second successive Leinster SFC Final defeat when losing against All Ireland champions Dublin at Croke Park on Sunday.

Mayo are through tot he last 12 of the All Ireland series after a big win over Kildare on Saturday night, but there is still plenty areas for them to improve on over the next few weeks said Stephen Rochford after the game. “The challenge for us over the next two weeks coming up against a provincial looser it’s to turn our performance into a 70 minute consistant performance, we’re probably at 40 or 45 minutes and the level of opposition that we’re playing against isn’t going to be good enough” he said,

Last Saturday saw Mayo move their historical record in the All Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifers into the black with their two point win over Fermanagh. This coming Saturday, they will be looking to move that win/loss record a little bit further into the black when they welcome Kildare to MacHale Park.

Mayo qualified for a round three qualifier clash with Kildare after coming from six points down at half time against a very well organised and fired up Fermanagh in Castlebar. It was a nervy affair which had us on the edge of our seats throughout. The game had incidents aplenty, none more so than the awarding of a controversial penalty to Mayo when the game was in the melting pot, near the end of the game. The coverage this incident has received in the media is similar to the coverage given to the passing of David Bowie or Prince, it went viral and was scrutinised in every forum, totally uncalled for in my opinion.

It's time for the talking to be done on the pitch. Leaving MacHale Park after Mayo's lethargic performance against Galway, disillusioned and bewildered, I now find myself with a nervous excitement as Mayo have to navigate their way to Croke Park via the qualifier route. Who knows where it will take us. It's a new experience for some of the team and an experience some of the others have only been through once (the nightmare loss to Longford in 2010), which brings its own pressure, lose and you're out. Defeat will mean it will be the first time in six years Mayo won't be making the trip east to play in Croke Park. To coin a phrase from Sir Alex Ferguson “it's squeaky bum time”.