While faith in Mayo's senior prospects in both the men’s and women’s codes has wavered and waned over the past four years, there are definitely some bright lights on the horizon in the underage ranks, if we can manage to bring them ashore.

On the men’s side, after a decade at the very top of the top table, the scale of Mayo’s ambitions has declined to provincial titles and perhaps, All-Ireland quarter-finals.

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Our performances over the last three seasons have failed for the most part to deliver even on these modest ambitions, despite strong league showings, and we have seen an alarming level of player drop-out. But despite this, it may not be all doom and gloom for Mayo.

The most recent sign of promise is the Mayo minors’ victory over Offaly on Sunday; a hard-fought and physical contest, with several twists and turns.

Mayo teams of late have come in for criticism for failing to close games out, but the teenagers answered this comprehensively at the weekend. Leading by nine points at half time, their lead was cancelled out by the Leinster champions, who, in a goal-fest, managed to edge one in front with just eight minutes to go.

David Heaney and Tom Reilly’s lads dug deep, scoring four unanswered points down the stretch to claim victory in front of a small Mayo crowd in Dr Hyde Park, and a place in the All-Ireland semi-final in two weeks’ time.

There were some mutterings among those who did attend about the lack of Mayo support in Roscommon. For years, Mayo fans have been accustomed to outnumbering their........

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