Alan O'Donovan and the comfort of the constant with Nemo Rangers

“Call it institutionalised or whatever you want,” Alan O’Donovan laughs, “but I just love going training.” 

At 31, the Nemo Rangers captain is still chasing the same rhythm he’s known since boyhood – floodlights, football, hurling, and the hum of another evening on the pitch. There’s no grand reinvention here, no search for fresh motivation.

For O’Donovan, the draw of another season is exactly what it’s always been: the simple joy of showing up.

“Last year we finished up and we didn't go back training until January, but I remember saying to the lads in the house, it was the start of December, so we had about a month off. I was like, ‘if I get a text to go train tomorrow night, I'd love it’.

“Sure like I'd be bored sitting at home there doing nothing, or watching some random Champions League game on a Tuesday night! He laughs. 

I'd rather be out here and go training.

“[Play] as long as I possibly can, because it's about the only thing I do! Play football and play hurling. I still love it, so I'll keep going.” 

And all going to plan, he’ll line out on Sunday with his brother Kevin, just as he did in the 2017 county final when Nemo beat the same opposition, a second medal to go with Alan’s first from 2015. The family thread runs through the club: another brother, Conor, playing this season with the Premier Intermediates, while his sister lines out too in the green and black.

“I've been playing with both of them since I'm that high,” he says – lowering his hand to knee-height – “it’s no different to playing with anybody else, hurling and football.

“It’s enjoyable, it gives us plenty to talk about when we're at home, and it's nice. It’s probably not something you'd think about now, but they’re memories to look back on.”

There are plenty of them already.

Alan’s hurling away with the Premier Juniors, and while they didn’t make it out of the group stage this year, the last couple of seasons brought success, which Alan played a crucial role in.

“Obviously we didn't get out of the group this year, in the Premier Junior. Last year was our first year up, I actually didn't play hurling the year before,” he says. “I opted out of the hurling just to focus on the football, and then we lost the county final to Castlehaven, and I went back and I helped out there.

“I just came back in, helped out whatever way I could.

“I played fully last year, we got to the semi-final. And, like Russell Rovers, they were the better team than us, alright. But we pushed them as hard as we could, and they showed how good they were getting to an All-Ireland final.

“And then this year, we were kind of down a few lads that opted out for football only. But we gave it everything we could, anyway. And we preserved our Premier Junior status, I suppose, which is a good thing."

“That “helping out” went far beyond lending a hand. He came off the bench in the Junior A county semi-final win over Ballinora, then struck the late, dramatic goal that won the county final against Harbour Rovers and carried Nemo up a grade in hurling.

Now in his third year as captain of their footballers – unusual for a club that typically rotates leadership every two – O’Donovan’s approach is rooted in simplicity rather than symbolism.

“It's not something I've thought about or think about. There's plenty of fellas in there with lots of experience. When you're a child, you want to be captain of every team you’re playing on, it's something you have to do.

“But once I got older, as long as I got into the team and I could help out any way I could, I was just happy to be playing and coming down training,” he admits. “So whether it's captain or not, it doesn't really matter. 

There're plenty of lads in there that stand up.

For all the medals, the finals, and the years that have rolled through Trabeg, what endures for Alan O’Donovan is the habit of it all – the steady rhythm of a club that never really stands still.

“As long as I possibly can,” he said earlier, and you believe him.

Because in a club built on continuity, there’s something reassuring about a player who still just loves turning up, pulling on the boots, and going training.