by Declan Rooney

Cillian O’Connor and Seamus O’Shea are unlikely to be risked for Mayo’s Connacht championship opener in New York, but they are very close to a return to inter-county action, says Mayo manger James Horan.

O’Connor had knee surgery over the winter but only just returned to club action last week, while O’Shea sustained an ankle ligament injury during Mayo’s successful national league run last month.

Mayo’s trip to Gaelic Park will be the opening game of the championship, but despite not having chosen his travelling party, Horan thinks it might be a week too soon for the duo.

“Cillian came on for the club and he looked sharp. He has a couple of knocks and bruises as a result, but he's getting very close, along with Seamie O'Shea,” said Horan.

“I’m happy with their progress. Obviously, it's never as quick as you like but they're getting very close.

“I haven't picked the 26 yet for New York, but probably New York might be too soon for them, but we'll see. We'll see how the next few sessions go.”

And Horan says it is a massive boost for the squad to see Tom Parsons back on the training pitch as he ramps up his return from last summer’s shocking knee injury.

Parsons is unlikely to see any game-time in the coming months and he is doing some light running on his own in training, but seeing him improving is a massive lift for the whole squad according to Horan.

“Yeah, Tom is back running for a few weeks. He is a huge character around the place and is working incredibly hard to get back and it's progressing very well,” said Horan.

“The medical team are very happy with how he's going. It's hard with an injury like that with exact timings. He's making great progress. We're monitoring him very closely.”

Horan was speaking at the launch of the Connacht championship at the Connacht GAA Centre in Bekan, where the Connacht Council also revealed their plans for the GAA’s first indoor match venue.

The ‘Air Dome’ will seat 600 people and will accommodate more standing, and is expected to cost approximately €3 million. The inflatable structure is expected to be in place by the start of December this year.

“The plan is for it to be ready by that time but we’ll see how it goes. Most people thought this Connacht GAA Centre would never happen but now it’s just a matter of adding this on to it,” said Connacht GAA secretary John Prenty.

“It’s on the e-tender site at the moment for expression of interest, but we hope to start work in July and have it finished by the end of the year.

“It will be the biggest indoor building in the country. We’d hope to be able to play FBD League matches in it without any difficulty.”

A 4G artificial pitch will be housed inside the structure, with the same dimension of MacHale Park in Castlebar. There will be ten metres clearances at each side and end of the pitch to accommodate supporters.

“A lot of thinking went into it, and a lot of planning was done on it. We went round and looked at domes in London and Finland. In Finland there was ten foot of snow and big wind there so that showed us it would work here.

“We will have 600 seats and we have applied for a fire cert from the County Council. We hope to be able to have multiples of 600 in there. I could see it hosting concerts, conventions and exhibitions in it. The planning is all there it’s just about getting the contracts signed and get it done,” Prenty said.

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