Welcome to "We Need To Talk About Mayo" - a brand new series on the Mayo Football Podcast.

There is often an obsession with who the next Mayo manager will be, something we are witnessing right now. We feel that is but one part of the jigsaw and that now is an ideal time to step back and look at the wider picture relating to Mayo GAA.

This involves thinking about things like structures, coaching, people, money and the bricks and mortar. In this podcast series we aim to dive into the issues that have the potential to shape the future of the game in Mayo and to ask the questions grassroots volunteers tell us do not often get the time of day.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll shine a light on those areas that seem to be working well and those on which honest reflection is needed. Most people working at the coalface of Mayo GAA do so with the best of intentions but any organisation which has had repeated issues cropping up needs introspection and to ask itself how can things be done better. What can we learn from the past to improve our decision-making on current issues?

At its heart, this podcast series is about a shared ambition in us all: success for Mayo football across the board off the back of a thriving, purposeful, cohesive GAA community.

Whether you’re spilling out footballs for a training session, lacing up the boots for your next game, painting the dressing rooms, chairing the meetings, driving the county’s roads with a car full of future Mayo hopefuls or trekking through the local pub on a Saturday night with a lotto book in hand and tickets to sell, this is a conversation for you!

Everyone who cares deeply about the Green and Red and the great game of Gaelic football in Mayo, everyone who cares about the long-term viability of communities that express themselves through the sport and yes, whisper it, everyone who shares the elusive dream of one day seeing Mayo lift Sam for the fourth time. This is a conversation for you!

Over the last few weeks, series co-producers Rob Murphy and Edwin McGreal have been speaking to dozens of people with a huge amount of collective knowledge, insight and experience about what they feel are the issues that most need addressing and where the potential for improvement lies.

We’ve broken these topics into four main categories - coaching, infrastructure, governance and culture. This will frame our conversations and we’ll be asking for feedback and ideas from our podcast listeners as we go along.

We begin today with a scene-set from our regular Mayo Football Podcast crew of Rob Murphy, Mike Finnerty, John Gunnigan and Edwin McGreal.

To get in touch with us and to become involved in this discussion, club members can contact us on the Mayo Football Podcast's Discord server or on Patreon at patreon.com/mayopodcast. We're also looking to stimulate discussion on the Mayo GAA Blog (mayogaablog.com) and anyone who wants to contact us directly about the issues raised in this podcast series can email us at themayofootballpodcast@gmail.com.

This is a discussion for everyone with an interest in the future direction of Gaelic football in the county. We really do need to talk about Mayo.

The Mayo club football championships will begin in a matter of weeks and the leagues are nearly over.
Balla’s Ger Flanagan and Aghamore manager Paddy Finnegan join Mike to chat about the season so far and to look ahead to the championship.
The lads discuss a range of topics, including which teams are moving well, what impact the new rules are having, the issue of players going to the US for the summer, and how teams prepare for championship.

As the search for a new Mayo manager begins, there are still more questions than answers.
Billy Joe Padden and Nigel Reape join Mike and Rob to look at the lie of the land and to chat about where things could and should go from here.

The lads talk about the type of person that Mayo GAA should be looking for, the sort of structural change that is required, and the kind of other appointments that should also be on the agenda in order to change things for the better.

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Next month marks 48 years since St Colman’s College, Claremorris became the first Mayo school to win the All-Ireland Colleges Senior ‘A’ championship title.
Next Monday, St Colman’s will compete in the Hogan Cup Final at Croke Park trying to emulate the achievements of the 1977 group.
Mike sat down with three members of that famous team, Eugene Macken, the captain, and Charlie Gilmartin and Padraic Coyne for a stroll down memory lane.

The EirGrid Mayo Football Podcast Club Stars awards were a great success back in December.
This week the Club Stars’ charity partner - Down Syndrome Mayo - were presented with their proceeds from the night.
Colm Boyle and James Carty from DS Mauro joined John, Mike and Rob at Knockranny House Hotel for the cheque presentation, to reflect back on the night and talk some football.

There were emotional scenes at Croke Park on Sunday as Crossmolina beat Ballinderry in the All-Ireland Intermediate club final in the most dramatic of circumstances.

A penalty from Conor Loftus six minutes into added time won the day and sparked scenes of bittersweet emotions and celebrations.

Mike and John were there to witness history being made, and we also hear from Crossmolina manager Brian Benson, man of the match Níall Coggins and Fionan Duffy.

Our decision to bring back the Club Stars awards was well and truly vindicated on Friday night when a capacity crowd turned up at Knockranny House Hotel in Westport.

This show brings you behind the scenes and into the midst of a great night’s entertainment.

Rob and John caught up with some of the award winners over the course of the night, including James Maheady, Conor Loftus, Janette O'Malley and Sam Callinan. They also chatted to special guest, Oisin McConville.

You can also hear some audio from Aidan O'Shea, Sam Callinan, Niall Heffernan, Justin Healy, Alan Dillion, Tommy O'Malley and Liam Breheny.

Books are always a good Christmas present choice and Edwin McGreal's 'Our Finest Hour', in which over 50 Mayo GAA clubs reflect on their own individual day of glory, has the makings of a fine festive gift. Ed joins Rob and John on the pod to chat about the book and the many stories and photos it contains within its covers.

Also on this pod, ahead of Friday's now sold-out Club Stars event Mike chats with Seán Regan of Ballina Stephenites and Tooreen. Seán will be presented at the Club Stars event with an Outstanding Achievement Award (sponsored by Connacht GAA), having won back-to-back county medals in football and hurling with Ballina and Tooreen respectively.