From time to time the honour of the little parish can be greatly expanded, both emotionally and geographically, beyond the parish boundaries and this will be the case in Ballinasloe on Sunday when a player who works as a barman in Boston will line out at right half forward for Ballina Stephenites in the All-Ireland club football semi-final against Doonbeg.

Brian McStay is expected to arrive in Ballina later today and will be making his sixth trip home in Ballina's run to their first appearance in at this stage of the competition following their Connacht victories over the reigning All-Ireland champions, Corofin, after a replay, and over Roscommon Gaels in the final.

McStay, brother of the former Mayo star, Kevin, has been working in Boston for four years but his commitment to Ballina and his value to the team is such that funding for his trips home have been readily provided by Ballina supporters and the club itself. The Ballina team manager, Noel O'Dowd, says: "Brian's contribution has been huge. His commitment to the side has been total. It wasn't easy for him to get the time off to train on his own in Boston but he has been such a devoted clubman that we simply could not leave him out." Some older observers of Mayo football will remember that, back in the 1950s when Mayo were regarded as one of the top teams in the country, winning All-Ireland titles back-to-back in 1950 and '51, Padraig Carney earned the title of "The Flying Doctor" when he returned from the United States to play for the county.

There is a possibility of three brothers lining out for Ballina. Dave Brady partners Liam McHale at midfield and Ger Brady will play at left corner back. The right corner forward position has been left vacant, and Liam Brady, a twin brother of Ger's, may be given the nod. Others in line for inclusion are Shane Barrett and Kenny Golden, who has served a period of suspension.

The Eire Og team for the other semi-final, in which they face Crossmaglen Rangers at Navan, is the same as that which beat Kilmacud Crokes from Dublin in their second semi-final replay at Newbridge.

The Eire Og selectors have not been tempted to include any of the experienced Hayden brothers, Brendan, Colm or Joe, or Peter Kingston, but all four are included in the list of substitutes. The Armagh champions will not name their starting line-up until Sunday morning.

St Joseph's, Doora-Barefield will have three of their All Stars in action for their hurling semi-final against Athenry in Thurles on Sunday - Seanie McMahon at centre back, Ollie Baker at midfield and Jamesie O'Connor at left half forward. There is some doubt about the fitness of Greg Baker, who is recovering from a hand injury suffered in the match against Toomevara. The hand was in plaster for a time and he has undergone a course of physiotherapy, but will wait until a test on the injury tomorrow before a decision will be made.

Meanwhile, a number of changes have been made to the National Hurling League fixture list for the weekend. Sunday's match between Laois and Wexford has been switched to Rathdowney and is timed for 2.0. Roscommon and Carlow will play at Athleague and the Mayo-Sligo match will be played at 11.30 on Sunday morning to allow Mayo supporters of Ballina Stephenites to travel to Ballinasloe for the Ballina-Doonbeg All-Ireland club football semi-final.

Offaly and Galway have, however, failed to agree on a rescheduling of their fixture which had been fixed for Sunday in Birr. Galway wanted the match brought forward to tomorrow to avoid a clash with the club semi-final at Ballinasloe.

The possibility that more National Hurling League matches might be played on Saturday has taken a knock following talks between Kilkenny, Tipperary and Wexford. All three counties have rejected the idea, mainly on the grounds that Saturday matches would attract smaller attendances. All three were impressed by the attendances at some of last year's league matches on Sunday - the Clare v Cork game attracted a crowd approaching 20,000. It is believed that Saturday fixtures would not prove as attractive to the hurling fans.

Kilkenny's option to play Tipperary at Nowlan Park on March 27th and Wexford on April 10th have been rejected and the matter has been referred back to the Games Administration Committee.

BALLINA STEPHENITES (SF v Doonbeg): J Healy; D Leyden, J Divinney, G Brady; B Ruane, B Heffernan, S Sweeney; L McHale, D Brady; B McStay, D Coen, M McGrath; AN Other P McGarry, K Lynn.

EIRE OG (SF v Crossmaglen Rangers): J Kearns; B Hayden, A Corcoran, J Dooley; J Murphy, P Doyle, A Callinan; T Nolan, J Morrissey; B Carbery, G Ware, K Haughney; W Quinlan, L Turley, A Keating.

ST JOSEPH'S, DOORA-BAREFIELD (SH v Athenry): C O'Connor; G Hoey, D Cahill, K Kennedy; D O'Driscoll, S McMahon, D Hoey; O Baker, J Considine; J O'Connor, N Brodie, L Hassett; G Baker, C O'Neill, A Whelan.