New York’s participation in the Connacht senior football championship is assured for the next three years at least after confirmation from Connacht GAA that Mayo will travel to the Big Apple for their Connacht championship opener next April – and that the current rota of travel will continue for Galway and Roscommon in the following two years.
New York’s continuing participation in Connacht Championship had been questioned in recent months in light the spiralling costs in sending a team to the US.
Connacht GAA’s John Prenty confirmed to the Mayo News this week that Kevin McStay’s team will travel to New York for the 2024 championship – and that the current rota which sees Galway go in 2025 and Roscommon in 2026 would be completed before any definitive review of New York’s championship status is taken.
The Provincial Council says it cost Leitrim in the region of €250,000 of their own money to travel over last year – with Connacht GAA contributing €50,000 towards the cost of the trip.
Last April’s match proved an historic occasion for New York as they recorded a first-ever Connacht championship victory.
The rising costs of flights and hotel accommodation means that next year’s trip is expected to cost Mayo GAA significantly more than it did when they last travelled the United States in 2019.
The 2024 Connacht championship fixture list is not expected to be finalised until after the GAA’s Special Congress in October, at which stage the 2024 National Fixtures Plan will be drawn up.
