Connacht have named the football panel that will contest this weekend's Railway Cup series in Kerry. The province is something of a reluctant competitor having considered withdrawing from the competition. "We've decided we're in it, now we'll try and win it," was the euphonious explanation of Connacht Council secretary John Prenty.

He explained that the proposal not to enter the competition for the first time since it began over 70 years ago was triggered by last year's suggestion by the GAA's Games Administration Committee that the interprovincial series should be scrapped. Central Council rejected that idea and a space in the calendar had to be found for the competition.

"After the GAC recommended that it wouldn't be run, we felt that you'd have to wonder about the future of it, has its race been run," said Prenty. "We put it to the Connacht Council on that basis and the decision was to go ahead."

According to Prenty the Railway Cup - which hasn't resided in Connacht since 1969 - has frequently caused awkwardness in recent times.

"Every year there's a problem with it, whether it's because of club commitments or, up until this year when you had the National Football League before Christmas, county training."

This year's preparations have been hit by the decision to move the football forward a week to accommodate next weekend's special congress on Rule 21. As a result several Galway players are in Boston and unavailable to manager John Tobin.

The decision to participate in this year's competition was principally based on the belief that withdrawal would be a "drastic thing to do".

Prenty emphasised that the reservations extended only to the football competition as the hurling equivalent has in the past proved quite useful to the province's standard-bearers. "Galway don't get that many games," he said, "and we'd no objection to the county getting some use out of it."

Also on the subject of hurling in the west, it is believed that Matt Murphy is on the verge of being appointed manager of the Mayo hurlers. Murphy had two spells in charge of Galway, both of which ended controversially when he was forced out of the job despite having won the National League in both years. He also managed the county's minors to an All-Ireland in 1994.

Mayo certainly represent a challenge. They will spend next year's league in Division Three and, unlike Roscommon, have never been in a position to be even vaguely competitive at senior level. Now Mayo are anxious to get to the stage where they can consider reviving the now defunct Connacht championship and giving Galway a decent game.

CONNACHT (SF panel v Ulster): A Keane, K Fitzgerald, R Fahey, T Joyce, K Walsh, J Bergin, P Clancy, D Savage, P Joyce (all Galway); J White, F Grehan, C Connelly, D Gavin, M Ryan, S O'Neill, F Dolan (all Roscommon); J McKeown (Leitrim); E O'Hara, D Sloyane (Sligo), P Burke, N Connelly, T Mortimer, C McManamon (Mayo).