John O’Mahony believed ‘rivalry was the heartbeat of the GAA’, funeral told (2024)

All-Ireland winning football manager John O’Mahony’s loves, “apart from football and politics”, included “his homeplace and the places that adopted him, especially Ballaghaderreen”, his daughter Deirdre said at his funeral Mass on Thursday.

Recently, he had talked about “how much he loved the town, the countryside, the roads he pounded for miles every day, meeting people along the way. Most of all he loved the people, their generosity, their loyalty and deep community spirit. He loved his friends, his Monday night card games,” she said.

She was speaking on Thursday afternoon at St Nathy’s Cathedral in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, following her father’s funeral Mass, which was celebrated by John’s two brothers, Fr Stephen O’Mahony and Fr Dan O’Mahony, as well as his brother-in-law, Fr Tommy Towey.

John O’Mahony (71) died following a long illness at University Hospital Galway last Saturday, July 6th.

“His great love, of course, was Ger” who “called Dad her ‘present husband’, as if the arrangement was subject to good behaviour and change at any moment. The reality, of course, for anyone who knew them, was that they had this incredible bond.”

Her father grew up at Magheraboy, near Ballaghaderreen, where the O’Mahony home was the last in Mayo next to the border with Roscommon, which was marked by a stream. “He said that when he was growing up it may as well have been a 10ft wall,” she recalled.

“That was what fuelled his passion for football. He said ‘rivalry is the heartbeat of the GAA’ and it pumps evermore furiously the closer you get to the border. I think it probably fuelled his competition full stop. John loved a game, any game.”

What defined him “much more than the wins, were the losses”. He would “hunker down for a few days, walk the roads around Ballagh, put in a few long days in the bog, before coming back with a plan, a strategy”, to find a way through. “At his core, John had this belief in the plan, the project, the people and in himself as well.”

In his homily Fr Stephen O’Mahony remembered his brother as “a man of faith” who also had “a fiercely competitive spirit”. Yet “he was a team player. The resulting plaudits when success came he didn’t take upon himself but, rightly, acknowledged everyone’s contribution because no one man achieves anything on his own.”

It was the case that “in recent years illness was his lot, but it was not his whole life”.

He had “always been immensely proud to be known as John O’Mahony’s brother”. Yet, “John wasn’t perfect, he was human like the rest of us, he made mistakes”. As an example, Fr Stephen remembered an experience from more than 50 years ago when he was playing in a football match, with John as referee. “He sent me off. So he didn’t get everything right.”

John’s “life’s work is done and we hope and pray that he rests in peace”, Fr Stephen said.

Symbols brought to the altar included jerseys representing O’Mahony’s own football career, a geography book representing his years teaching at St Nathy’s College, his Oireachtas card representing his years as a TD and senator, a family photograph to represent his “great love of family, and finally a crucifix blessed for John by Pope Francis which he had with him for the last few weeks of his life”.

Chief mourners were his wife Gerardine O’Mahony, their five daughters Gráinne, Niamh, Rhona, Deirdre and Cliodhna, and his brothers Fr Dan and Fr Stephen.

The large attendance included Capt Paul O’Donnell, representing President Michael D Higgins; Taoiseach Simon Harris; Minister for Justice Helen McEntee; EU commissioner Maireád McGuinness; TDs Alan Dillon, Michael Ring, Bernard Durkan, Frank Feighan; former TDs Jim Higgins and Beverly Cooper Flynn; GAA president Jarlath Burns, director of Connacht GAA John Prenty; former chief of staff of the Defence Forces, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett; Galway county senior football team manager Pádraic Joyce; former Leitrim county senior football team manager Andy Moran; and journalists Seán Moran, Seán O’Rourke and Martin Carney.

Burial took place afterwards at Kilcolman cemetery.

• Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
• Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
• Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis