BEATEN All Ireland finalists Mayo have seven players in Connacht's team to play Munster in the Railway Cup football semi final in Ennis on Sunday. Galway provide four, Roscommon two and Sligo and Leitrim one each.

The team is expected to benefit from Mayo's good run in last year's championship and advance to the final against either holders Leinster or Ulster, who meet in Navan in the other semi final.

Both Mayo midfielders, David Brady and Liam McHale are in the Connacht side. The other Mayo players are: Kenneth Mortimer, who plays at right corner back; Pat Holmes, who will captain the side from right half back; James Nallen, at centre half back; Colm McManamon, who plays at centre forward; and James Horan, who lines out on the left wing of the attack.

Galway's representatives are goalkeeper Pat Comer full back Gary Fahy, left half back Scan de Paor and Niall Finnegan, who plays at left corner forward Roscommon are represented by Enon Gavin at left corner back and Nigel Dineen at right corner forward. Sligo have Eamon O'Hara at right half forward while Leitrim's Declan Darcy is at full forward.

The Connacht team is managed by the former Donegal and Mayo corner back Martin Carney. The other selectors are Seamus Hayden of Roscommon and TJ Kilgallon of Mayo.

Derry with four and Tyrone with three are the most strongly represented counties in the Ulster team to play Leinster.

Donegal, Fermanagh and Down have two each and Cavan and Armagh one. Antrim are not represented in the first 15, although Ciaran O'Neill is included among the substitutes.

The four Derry players are Kieran McKeever at right corner back, Henry Downey at centre half back, Anthony Tohill, who is captain, at midfield, and Dermot Heaney on the right wing of the attack.

Tyrone are represented by Paul Devlin at left corner back, Pascal Canavan at left halfback and Gerard Cavlan at left half forward. Down's two representatives are Ross Carr on the right wing of the attack and Mickey Linden in the right corner.

Fermanagh's Paul Brewster partners Tohill in midfield and Shane King is in the right corner forward position. Donegal provide goalkeeper Gary Walsh and Tony Boyle at full forward, while the team is completed by Damien O'Reilly from, Cavan at full hack and Armagh's Martin McQuillan at right halfback.

The Ulster manager, Brian McEniff, had to cope with injuries and suspensions in selecting hid team. Ulster were stopped in their tracks last year by Leinster when they were seeking their seventh consecutive Railway Cup victory.

Retirements also robbed him of some of the players who formed the backbone of that very successful team. DJ Kane and Greg Blaney of Down have indicated that they do not want to play top level football again and so has Brian McGilligan of Derry. Tyrone's Peter Canavan is injured while Finbarr McCallan and Seamus McCallan are suspended, as are a number of Donegal players.

Meanwhile, it is believed that most, if not all, of the players recently suspended for playing in New York competitions without permission are thought to have appealed their cases. Croke Park would neither confirm nor deny that this was the case yesterday, but it is widely believed that the suspended players are to ask the Central Council to review their suspensions.

. Limerick will have to plan for the National Hurling League campaign and Munster championship series without the services of talented forward Damien Quigley.

Manager Tom Ryan said last night that Quigley had informed him that he wanted a break from the game to concentrate on his studies. The 24 year old is due to sit for his final accountancy examinations later this year.

Quigley shot to national prominence in 1995 when he scored 2-3 in Limerick's All Ireland defeat by Offaly at Croke Park.