Even when the inter-county season comes to an end, county rivalries around the country continue to soldier on as part of the club scene. The provincial club championships are always an interesting spectacle, but that is especially true when teams from rival counties face off, as will be the case with sides from Galway and Mayo later this week.
The Connacht IFC will reach its penultimate stage this weekend, with the two semi-finals in the competition set to take place on Sunday afternoon.
One of those games involved Galway champions Monivea-Abbey and Mayo kingpins Kilmeena, who will face off in Tuam. Any fixture involving sides from those two counties is sure to have an extra edge, although this one is set to have even more on the line as a result of comments made in the buildup to the fixture.
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Galway club boss calls out Mayo opponents on local radio
Speaking to Galway Bay FM, Monivea-Abbey manager Francis Roche called out the 'cocky' Kilmeena side ahead of the game.
The @moniveaabbey18 manager absolutely giving it to Kilmeena in an interview
"These are a cocky crowd"
Battle lines have been drawn.
I love it 😂 pic.twitter.com/KBSIV8XdYA— Ah Ref! (@RefComeOn) November 17, 2023
We were looking forward to Kilmeena coming to Tuam. Kilmeena stated in the papers there this week that they're not afraid to come to Tuam.
These are a cocky crowd. Mayo people are cocky people...
We are really ready for them. We have fear of Mayo champions whatsoever.
A Galway man (who has previously managed the county's minor team no less) is never going to miss an opportunity to throw a few digs at Mayo.
Monivea-Abbey won the Galway intermediate title for the first time since 2016 this year, although they have never tasted success at provincial level.
As for Kilmeena, this was their first ever title in Mayo at intermediate level having only been promoted to the grade in 2021. In fact, they would go on to win Connacht and All-Ireland honours in the aftermath of that junior success.
It will be interesting to see if that experience benefits them in this particular game.
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