Is Mayo footballer about to make GAA history?

It has all the makings of one of the great GAA quiz questions: What footballer played for and against the same teams in back to back senior championships?

For that is what has every chance of becoming reality when Ballina Stephenites and North London Shamrocks face each other in the AIB Connacht Club Senior Football Championship quarter-final.

The clubs also met at the same stage of last year’s competition, with Ballina Stephenites winning that game 0-15 to 0-9 in Ruislip.

Among the players to feature off the substitutes bench for Ballina that day was Rory Morrin who has since moved to the English capital and, you’ve guessed it, plays now for North London Shamrocks. Morrin was introduced as a first-half substitute in the 3-07 to 0-13 victory of NLS over Tir Chonaill Gaels in the London SFC final on Sunday, October 19 – so it’s very possible he’ll have some involvement when the teams clash at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence on Saturday, November 8.

Rory Morrin won a Connacht MFC title with Mayo in 2019 alongside his Ballina clubmates Frank Irwin, Dylan Thornton, Niall Feeney and Ciaran Boland, and played two games at U20 level also. He is also a talented rugby player and featured for his school Clongowes Wood College in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.

There is other Mayo interest in the North London Shamrocks ranks with Balla native Niall Costello part of manager Peter Witherow’s backroom team.