Daniel O'Mahony: Vital for Cork football that John Cleary stayed on as manager

WITH all the focus lately on the Cork hurlers, memories have become a little faded regarding the ups and downs of Cork's football season.

However, one regular recollection of most fans will have been the outstanding consistency of Knocknagree man Daniel O'Mahony who was a pillar of strength in the Cork rearguard. His form did not go unnoticed and recently he was in the spotlight, as winner of the monthly 96FM/C103 sports award held in association with co-sponsors Rochestown Park Hotel. His family along with Knocknagree personnel and Cork County Board representatives were at the hotel for the recent function.

"There have been a lot of peaks and troughs over the past few months. In the league we started really poorly with those three defeats and then gradually picked up a bit of momentum.. We finished out the campaign well, getting some really positive performances, including the draw with Armagh in our final game," recalls O'Mahony.

"I thought we had a nice crack off Kerry, before that really good win over Donegal. Unfortunately, we then finished off on a downer with the Louth display.

"The game against Donegal was the high point. They had given us a good beating in Ballybofey back in January and were absolutely flying after. We knew they would be really tough, but with home advantage the belief was always there that we could really put it up to them. 

"It was just a fantastic game to be involved in, the atmosphere, the crowd , the weather... everything was just right. The fans coming onto the pitch afterwards made it a real highlight of the year for all of us I think. It's obviously easier to generate that type of atmosphere at Páirc Uí Rinn, as opposed to a bigger stadium like Páirc Uí Chaoimh."

FINE LINE

Next up were Tyrone, a game of small margins which went against Cork and left regrets for the Rebels.

"When you look back at our season, that was probably a bit of a watershed moment, as we were denied the opportunity of going straight to a quarter-final against potentially a weaker team coming out of a provisional quarter-final. To lose the Tyrone match was particularly tough, especially when we had to go again the week after against Louth. 

It's a match we will look back on with many regrets, because we were definitely in the game for a large portion of it, but couldn't finish it out.

"One could say something similar with regard to the Louth game. It played out the way we expected it, in that Louth are a pretty defensive team and were always going to try to hit us on the counter-attack. 

"Tactically we were fantastic, but when it came down to the last 15 minutes, we just couldn't execute what we wanted. I thought we lost our way a bit. It was a hugely disappointing game and one which I have not managed to rewatch since and I don't know can I ever."

O'Mahony has been happy to play his part at both ends of the field this season and certainly caught the eye when moving all the way forward to finish off a fine team movement and net his side's goal in that Louth encounter. He will be hoping to continue that trend when the new season begins again early in 2025 and manager John Cleary will again be at the helm.

"It's very important that John is with us as manager. He has made tremendous progress with us over the past few years. He has put in place a really important environment, with the best people around, resulting in fantastic training sessions in fantastic facilities. 

"John's heart and soul is in the job and it's massive to see him staying on. Hopefully next year, we can drive on again and bring something home." 

O'Mahony was previously selected as the Sigerson Cup Player of the Year in 2023 and is now a crucial figure in the Cork set-up.

In the meantime, Knocknagree takes centre-stage as O'Mahony lines out in the club jersey with friends and teammates for the weeks ahead in the McCarthy Insurance Senior A Championship.

Following last weekend's derby clash with Newmarket, Knocknagree will travel to Ballyclough to meet Clyda Rovers on August 18 and then conclude their group campaign in Clondrohid against Bishopstown on September 15.