Pádraig O'Hora: It's full-on competition to keep that Mayo jersey

Another year and no doubt somebody will mention 1951. No, it's not John Ford, John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara fiming The Quiet Man in Cong, it's Mayo desire to end what is now a 73-year wait to bring Sam Maguire back to the county.

It's now just part of the noise that goes with being a player in the green and red.

Mayo defender Pádraig O'Hora was asked about whether the added pressure that goes with that wait impacts the current squad.

Speaking at a SuperValu event, he said: "Can you block stuff out? Maybe you just don’t pay a whole pile of attention to it. It doesn’t bother me, to be honest. I’m more focused on the here and now, really.

"Wherever we are, we’re on our little journey here now. The ball is rolling, it’s championship football, nothing matters bar Galway in two weeks', really nothing else matters. The noise I hear outside of football is always non-football related, to be honest. I’m too busy at home, my work is all community-based. It’s all of that stuff, to be honest, I get to see a lot of the really nice stuff.

"I get to see what Mayo GAA means to the people, where the real impact on the ground is, the hope and the desire to win, the connection. All of that good stuff. That’s what I focus on outside of football, really.

It is Galway on the first weekend in May in the Connacht final at Pearse Stadium. Mayo booking their spot after a five-point win over Roscommon on Sunday last.

O'Hora came on as a sub on 66 minutes, fully fit again after picking up another ankle injury. All systems go now for the Ballina Stephenites player.

"I came back from the club injured; it just took a while. You're injured for a while, you come back and you're nearly fresher again. You have no bumps or bruises or little niggles.

"I've been in