Medicine, rugby and football – Aghada’s Diarmuid Phelan keeps all plates spinning

If Aghada’s run to the Premier Intermediate Football Championship semi-final has surprised people outside the parish, Diarmuid Phelan is happy to see them remain underdogs.

Progress, he says, didn’t happen by accident – it came from hard yards on cold nights, a few home truths, and a collective decision that this group didn’t want any more excuses.

“Between the two codes now, we both had fairly poor league performances with a few senior players missing a bit of the league, just to injuries and whatnot,” Phelan begins. “We’re a small club, losing lads every year to immigration. At the end of the leagues, both teams sat down, their respective management and code and asked what do we actually want from this year?

“I suppose we got to the fitness and strength levels over Christmas, and then I suppose we were like why are we slogging away in Christmas if we're not going to put it to use?

“So I think it was just kind of a few hard conversations had with the group and as individuals, just to pull a finger out and get going.” That shift in mindset made a difference. They battled through their group, with a slice of fortune along the way – and on the hurling front, reached the semi-finals of the Intermediate A Championship, only bowing out to Aghabullogue after extra-time.

“It's always nice going well in fairness,” he says. It's nicer winning than losing anyone will tell you that! I suppose the footballers more so than the hurlers, we got lucky getting through the group.

“A lot of people see it as kind of we're on borrowed time, so we'll keep borrowing as much as people are giving!” He laughs. “Obviously, Uibh Laoire are heavy favourites and rightfully so, past few years they’ve put serious performances together.

EXPECTATION

“We played them last year, we know what they're about, they know what we’re about. We know it's a huge task in front of us, but it's a bit of a let loose on them because none of the pressure’s on us, no one outside of our club really expects us to do much.” Football may have always held his focus, but it’s not the only sport to do so. Hurling and rugby both had their turns, too.

“I stopped playing hurling when I was in Leaving Cert, never picked it back up, unfortunately.

“With football I was in with Cork at the time, Leaving Cert as well. Parents probably had a bit to do with it. I had rugby going on, so I had to drop one of those.” College saw rugby sneak back in – not as a career move, but an outlet.

“I'd left it for most of college, but my roommate actually got me back into junior rugby, just a bit of social thing to keep fit over winter.

“Last year now I was playing Sigerson and before Sigerson I was playing a bit a rugby and then after Sigerson stopped,” the 24-year-old explains. “I was playing rugby again and it's just, when you're studying, it's nice to have a bit of an outlet and it's always nice to hit a lad!

I'm the big midfielder in football and then in rugby, I'm the kind of the small one that gets protected. So it's nice to get a few lads protecting you and a bit of rugby.

The study in question was medicine, another balancing act.

“I finished last year. I finished medicine last year, so I'm working up in Mallow as a junior doctor there now for the last three months.

“I've only had a small taste of it. Mallow’s very good now, in fairness. It's fairly relaxed, I eased into medicine and it’s a small group of doctors, so you get to know everyone. It's nice to not go into the pits of CUH that quickly!” And with Aghada manager Mick Kiely tipping him for a call from John Cleary after their win over Glanmire in the quarters, Phelan had his say on the matter.

“Kiely put that on it!” he smiles. “To be honest, I'm just to kind of playing my own football. There's people up in senior positions that make decisions and I respect them, I was enjoying playing Sigerson football the past few years.

“The injury came at the wrong stage, just as I was kind of going with seniors, and since then, I suppose it’s been a bit of a stunted restart, but I've enjoyed playing. So it's good to kind of just concentrate on the club this year.”