Connacht Council secretary John Prenty believes that the cost of sending Mayo to New York next week is money well spent.

There have been many who have openly criticised the fact that a Connacht team goes to New York every year to play in the opening round of the provincial football championship.

The official travelling Mayo party consists of 41 people and it is believed that the cost of the trip for the Connacht GAA Council and the New York GAA board is $65,000.

However, Prenty told the Mayo News that GAA stateside was as strong as its ever been and in this their centenary year, it was important for a big team like Mayo to travel over there.

"It's the New York Board's centenary year so they're obviously very excited and really looking forward to the weekend," said Prenty. They held a huge official function earlier this month to mark the occasion of their centenary so the main focus on the Bank Holiday weekend will be on Gaelic Park for the Mayo game.

"We're expecting a crowd of around 5,000 people to be there on the day, and a lot of Irish people, and Mayo people, from right around the United States and Canada will travel.

"We're twinned with New York so it's a very important fixture for us. Our twinning is based around that weekend every year really." Tweet

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