GAA legends remember the late John O'Mahony

The St Nathy’s College theatre hall was packed to capacity as GAA legends from past and present spoke about a true GAA icon, the late John O’Mahony.

Audience members arrived from all parts of Connacht and beyond to celebrate the Kilmovee native’s legacy and the future of Gaelic football in a sellout event called A Life Lived on the Line as part of the Ballaghaderreen Arts Festival.

The school was a fitting place to host the event, given O’Mahony taught at the school for many years and his good friend, RTÉ’s Marty Morrissey, was the MC on the evening.

In his introduction, Morrissey spoke of his excitement at meeting John for the first time at his house when he started out with RTÉ to talk football but joked he was just at interested meeting his daughters to much laughter from the crowd, who were in the audience along with John’s wife Geraldine.

Touching video tributes from past friends and colleagues from his school days to his playing and managing career were aired, including former Leitrim Connacht winner Fergal Reynolds, former Galway All-Ireland winners Ja Fallon and Sean Óg de Paor, two-time Connacht title winner Finian Hanley, iconic Meath manager Sean Boylan, Mayo legend David Brady and two of Ballaghaderreen and Mayo’s finest in Mike Solan and Andy Moran, all who shared a special relationship with John O’Mahony.

There were also two star-studded panels. The first panel reflected on the legacy of O’Mahony and had former Mayo and Donegal footballer Martin Carney, former Leitrim player Declan Darcy, former Roscommon and St Brigid’s star Fergal O’Donnell and two-time All-Ireland winner with Galway and current manager of the Tribesmen Pádraic Joyce leaving the audience hanging on their every word with tales from John O’Mahony’s career.

Careny, whose relationship with O’Mahony went back to their college days playing Sigerson Cup football, described O’Mahony as a man of integrity and honesty, and in addition to bringing Mayo to an All-Ireland final in 1989, a first since 1951, he helped bring belief to the county after winning the All-Ireland U21 title in 1983.

Declan Darcy was part of the historic Leitrim side that won the 1994 Connacht SFC title, defeating Mayo in the final. He said O’Mahony gave the players confidence and belief and backed it up with exceptionally hard work.

“His attention to detail was massive,” said Darcy.

Rsocommon’s Fergal O’Donnell, a Connacht SFC winner in 2001 as a player and in 2010 as manager, saw O’Mahony’s influence on St Brigid’s when he was involved in 2005 and 2006, helping them to a senior county title and a first provincial title. He recalled how other players spoke so highly of him and how respectful he was when on the line.

Pádraic Joyce was an integral part of O’Mahony’s Galway side that won All-Ireland titles in 1998 and 2001 and also reached the All-Ireland final in 2000. The Galway manager said he changed him as a footballer and left a huge legacy behind in Galway, with many seeing first hand the effect O’Mahony had on Galway in the documentary ‘A Year ‘Til Sunday’ which covers Galway’s 1998 All-Ireland win.

The second panel, in addition to speaking about O’Mahony, looked at Gaelic football’s present and future, with Armagh’s Kieran McGeeney, All-Ireland winner as a player and manager with Armagh, four-time All-Ireland winner Kieran Donaghy, current Galway player John Maher, Ballaghaderreen captain and Mayo defender David McBrien and Off The Ball’s Tommy Rooney.

McGeeney’s first encounter with O’Mahony was during a challenge game between Armagh and Galway in 1998 and described O’Mahony as a man of great empathy who had done wonders for GAA.

Both men now share title of All-Ireland winners as managers following Armagh’s success in 2024. Describing the feeling, McGeeney joked that ‘before it, he was a gobshite and then I was Alex Ferguson overnight!’ Donaghy was a member of his backroom team that year and looking back at that success, Donaghy called McGeeney the ‘leader of the army’.

Maher, who played for O’Mahony in one of his last managerial gigs in 2022 and 2023 with Galway club Salthill/Knocknacarra, recalled that he almost opted out before a conversation with O’Mahony convinced him to commit.

The Galway star described the dedication O’Mahony had to the role, recalling that he would meet Maher before training to personally strap Maher’s ankle following an injury he picked up.

David McBrien had first-hand experience of O’Mahony as a youngster, with O'Mahony coming in to help train the Ballagh’ under-14 and under-16 side and his enthusiasm was the same as it would be for a senior or county team.

Tommy Rooney remembered O’Mahony in the media, bringing up the way he motivated his Galway team in 1998 holding up a newspaper that had written off his side.

There was also plenty of discussion on the effect the new rules are having on the game, with all agreeing it had done plenty for the image of the game, but a few tweaks could help, while there was also chat about who would be the Footballer of the Year. McGeeney picked out Kerry midfielder Joe O’Connor, while the rest of the panel chose his Kerry teammate David Clifford.