10 September 1997
Tom Kelly reports
An official move is being made by the Mayo senior football team to bury the hatchet with the local Press. They are determined to avoid a repeat of the problems which occurred on the run-up to the All-Ireland senior football semi-final against Offaly.
The players are prepared to make themselves available to all media personnel before the championship final against Kerry on September 28th. A Press Night has been arranged to take place in Breaffy House Hotel on Wednesday, September 17th. . .eleven days before the big showdown.
The organiser of the event, county board public relations officer Aiden Brennan, have invited all local and national newspapers, as well as radio stations, to submit names of the journalists intending to attend.
To ensure that everybody will be facilitated in an organised and business-like manner, Mr. Brennan has also requested the names of the particular Mayo players which individual reporters want to interview.The list must be submitted by the newspapers and radio stations a week in advance of the Press Night.
This innovation is designed avoid a situation in which some players could find themselves in an embarrassing situation by being left out in the cold, so to speak, when other members of the squad are giving interviews.
Last year, before Mayo's All-Ireland final clash with Meath, the Press Night was much more informal. But players were expected to wait around for over two hours without knowing if journalists wanted to interview them or not.The situation was considered unsatisfactory, and now it has been decided to adopt a more professional approach to suit players and reporters alike.
It is expected that Mayo manager John Maughan will address the entire Press corps followed by an question and answer session.
The All-Ireland senior football final is one of the big media events of the year, contributing to the huge pressures placed on the players from both counties.
