Under the MacHale Park lights on Saturday night, Breaffy and Ballintubber will face off in the Mayo SFC final.
Ballintubber, home of the Cillian and Diarmuid O'Connor, will be looking to win their third ever title. It was just eight years ago - under James Horan - that the club won its first.
Saturday will be just Breaffy's third-ever final. They've lost the previous two, both to Castlebar Mitchels in 2013 and 2015.
Breaffy beat Ballaghaderreen in their semi-final a fortnight ago. It took a replay to separate Ballintubber and Castlebar Mitchels in the other last four game. A point in the last minute of extra-time edged it for Ballintubber.
A victory this weekend would be a "massive" achievement for Breaffy according to one of their stars, Aidan O'Shea.
"It’s something that we’re all striving to do," O'Shea told Balls at the launch of the Heinz Sports Club last week.
We first went senior in 2001, dropped back down, came back up in the intervening years. We’ve been consistently senior for the last 12 or 13 years.
We’ve been knocking on the door but it would be a huge deal for us to get over the line.
The village itself is quite small but the parish incorporates Castlebar - it’s one part of the town and Breaffy.
The population increased significantly through the good times. Estates were built out the road from Castlebar. It’s a nice tight-knit community with everyone pulling in the one direction.
There is an extra incentive for Breaffy, one created by their memories of tragically deceased teammate, David Gavin.
The former Mayo U21 player went missing in June 2017 when he got into difficulty after jumping from a bridge at Kinbasket Lake Reservoir in Canada. His body was only recovered in April of this year.
"It’d be lovely to be able to bring the Moclair Cup up to his grave," said O'Shea.
"I’m sure all the boys are thinking about that too.
"He would have been a big personality within the club. He would have been around the same age as me.
"We have some memorabilia of his. His picture always sits in the clubhouse and rightly so.
"He's a big part of the club and was a big teammate for everybody. I’m sure he’s looking down hoping we get the job done."
Picture credit: Sportsfile
