McHale names Mayo side for National League opener

Mayo begin life under Liam McHale on his home soil in Ballina as Meath make the trip west for an attractive opening round tie.

Saoirse Lally will captain the green and red from full-back with veteran star Fiona McHale listed at centre forward for the home side.

Mayo reached the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final last year and will be hoping for another good run in 2024, with Meath aiming to recapture the heady heights of 2021 and 2022, when they captured back to back TG4 All-Ireland Senior titles.

Meath also landed the Lidl NFL Division 1 crown in 2022 but they lost their grip on their League and Championship crowns last year.

Shane McCormack is the new man at the helm in the Royal County and he’ll be anxious to make the visit to Mayo a winning one.

There’s plenty of experience in the Meath starting line-up, and on the bench, with the likes of Emma Duggan and former skipper Shauna Ennis to call upon.

Former All Star goalkeeper Monica McGuirk will captain the Meath team for the 2024 season.

Mayo: L Reid; L Wallace, S Lally (capt.), E Reape, K Sullivan, D Caldwell, J Mortimer; A Geraghty, H Reape; F McLaughlin, L Cafferky, M Cannon; T Needham, F McHale, S Walsh.

Meath: M McGuirk (capt.); K Newe, A Sheridan, N Troy; N Gallogly, M.K. Lynch, A Cleary; M O’Shaughnessy, S Melia; M Thynne, E Moyles, C Smith; M Byrne, M Farrelly, A Leahy.