Kerry legend Aidan O'Mahony will help set new standards as Macroom look to rebuild

MACROOM GAA club members have a spring in their steps heading into 2024 after the appointment of Kerry legend Aidan O'Mahony as new manager.

The Rathmore native, who won five All-Ireland titles and two All-Stars during an impressive playing career with the Kingdom, will be hoping to help improve performances and results for the Mid Cork club in the Premier Intermediate Football Championship. The bluebloods of Muskerry football have struggled in recent years and needed a victory over Na Piarsaigh to avoid relegation this season.

Macroom GAA chairman Mark O’Sullivan said the club turned to the Kingdom veteran to put new standards in place.

“What we are trying to bring with Aidan O’Mahony is standards. We want to raise the standards and raise the bar.

“We want Aidan to set the foundations for us as a club at adult playing level. That when these young promising players do come through to adult football, there is a system in place for them and there are expectations there for them. 

It's important they know what is required from them to achieve at adult level also. We just want to raise the standards. We have set no demands or no goals as such for Aidan. 

"But look all we want is to have a professional setup and just to raise the standards of everybody including the players, our other coaches and the club in general. So that is what we are hoping Aidan brings to the picture.” 

As far as the 2024 Cork PIFC is concerned, O’Mahony will be guiding a Macroom side in the group stage against Castletownbere, Kilshannig and Rockchapel. They will be hoping to emerge from the group stages for the first time since the format was introduced in 2020. He will hope to guide Macroom to the business end of the PIFC for the first time since 2017 when they were defeated by Newmarket in the quarter-final stages.

"At Premier Intermediate Level first and foremost we want to be competitive in the championship, something we haven’t been for a few years. Ideally we want to get out of the group and see where that brings us," said O'Sullivan.

“Last year was disappointing. We had a good league campaign, but the championship was disappointing. But when you take the positives from it, we had a very good display against Bantry, in a game we probably should have won. We had a good result against Na Piarsaigh as well, in testing conditions. 

"The likes of Conor Hurley did a ferocious job over the last three or four years with the Premier Intermediates. But what I suppose we are trying to bring with Aidan O’Mahony is standards.

“Other things as well, we have done up the Castle Grounds and we have spent a bit of money through Stephen Forrest. In my own opinion, it is one of the best playing pitches in the county now. 

We have future plans to develop our dressing rooms and stuff like that as well. So there is a lot going on at the club at the moment.” 

"We are hoping to push on at underage level. There has been a huge emphasis on it the last couple of years. It is reflected, our teams are competing at good levels and we are producing good footballers.

TRANSITION

“With that we are optimistic for the future. But it is not a given. We have to keep those fellas turning up and we have to make sure they transition from juvenile to adult football.

"We are putting a huge emphasis on the underage football. We have very good people involved in coaching there as well, a lot of experienced lads that would have coached or managed adult teams in the past. So it is encouraging, but you can never take your eye off the ball and you have to keep on top of it all of the time."