Diarmuid is heading back to where it all began

To mark a 10th anniversary it’s said you should give the gift of tin. Diarmuid O’Connor would gladly settle for the gift of fitness instead as he returns to the venue where he made his championship debut in 2014.

Gaelic Park holds a special place in the heart of the Ballintubber Lionheart. O’Connor had only just helped Mayo win the All-Ireland minor championship the previous September and yet here he was, barely seven months later, having manager James Horan entrust him with a place on a Mayo senior team that, don’t forget, had contested the previous two All-Ireland finals.

Horan, or O’Connor for that matter, needn’t have worried; the teenager announced himself by scoring Mayo’s opening goal in a very comfortable 4-18 to 0-8 win.

“It’s mad how quickly the years fly by,” said Diarmuid O’Connor this week.

“I never expected to start in New York and make my debut out there. I was happy just to be going but then when [James] told me a week or two out that he was thinking of starting me, it was great. It’s up there with one of the highlights of my career.

“I’d be lying if I said it’s the same as any other championship game. It’s not. It’s a great experience but ultimately it still is a Connacht quarter-final so you still have to remain focused on the task at hand. Yet you have to enjoy it.” 

O’Connor didn’t feature in Mayo’s clash with the Big Apple boys in 2019 (but returned to action in their subsequent Connacht semi-final loss to Roscommon three weeks later) and it’s unlikely he will play any part next Sunday either, with no appetite from player or management to rush O’Connor’s return from the hamstring injury he sustained against Tyrone on February 24.

“I’m nearly there but I think New York might be a bit too soon for me. I’d love to play but I don’t think so.

“It feels good now but I don’t want it to reoccur so I just need to take another couple of weeks. It’s nothing I haven’t done before, I’m just taking a bit extra time this time to get it right. I’m looking forward to getting back.

“It’s always frustrating missing games, you want to be playing football, but maybe the bit of experience helps you get on with it and control what you can control,” said O’Connor who, ultimately, only got to play one full Division 1 league game against Kerry this season, and less than 10 minutes against Tyrone the following week.

“I would like to have played more games. It’s frustrating but that’s outside my control now. I just have to be ready for when I do come back. I’ve been working more with the medical team than the coaches,” he joked.

Mayo’s transition from league to championship seasons is this year vastly different to last. Seven days after winning the Allianz Football League crown by beating Galway, they launched their 2023 Connacht SFC bid at home to their other bitter rivals Roscommon – and lost. This time there are fourteen days between games and while a 6,000-mile round trip is required, it’s arguable their opposition rank 33rd out of the 33 counties playing senior championship football.

And yet, if Diarmuid O’Connor had his way, Mayo would have been in Croke Park last Sunday and to hell with the risks.

“I’d prefer to win the league. I know people have a lot of different opinions but within the squad we always want to win every game we play, so to be honest I’m disappointed we’re not in a league final,” he said last week.

“We played good in spells but there’s always areas you can improve on, a lot of learnings to take. A lot of players got their debuts, there were a lot of players used, a lot of players got game time, which is always great because come championship you’re ready to throw in anyone. That’s definitely a positive,” believes the teacher at St Gerald’s College who says that championship is no place for experimentation or for trying different things.

“Hopefully we’ve figured everything we needed to figure out in the league. Every game in championship is there to be won and you try and play your best squad. That’s why you try and play as many players during the league.

Once championship comes around, everyone’s there for positions and you’re going out to try and give your best performance for every game.” And for Mayo, that all begins in the Bronx on Sunday. The fact that they are the hottest of favourites to beat New York should not nor will not cloud their preparation, insists the 2015 and 2016 GAA//GPA Young Footballer of the Year.

“If you’re honest about constantly trying to improve and to be the best you can be, the opposition really is out of the equation and you’re just focused on your own prep. It’s easier said than done but if you’re finding extra motivation or better prep for other games, you have to ask yourself questions. I know it’s a cliché but we just treat every game the same, we just try and nail our prep and get our stuff right.

“Our consistency needs to improve, that’s something we’re looking to work on come championship,” O’Connor concluded.