Aidan O Mahony taking time out

[jackiel]

I'm sure you will all wish Aidan well and hope that we'll see him back in the Kerry jersey some day in the future.
Ciarraí Abu.

[veteran]

This is disappointing news. It is no secret to say that he he has been playing very poorly for a while and would struggle to command a first team place, particularly with the the return of Michael McCarthy. Still, I assumed that he would continue to try to regain his form and be at least a useful member of the panel.

It is not easy explain Aiden's fall from grace. I suppose there are a myriad reasons. This man was man of the match or near man of the match in a couple of All-Ireland finals. He was particularly masterful in 2006 against that supreme footballer, Ciaran McDonald. In a short time, in footballing terms, he has become friendless. A mystery. Aiden, I am not what inter county football holds for you in the future, possibly bleakness. It would appear that football held little happiness for you over the past few years. Accordingly, it is prudent to pack it in, for a while at least. The appetite may return. In the meantime, thanks for your contribution ,particularly for that man eating display in the 2006 final.

P.S. Any news of the scan on Tomas O'Se's knee? No flowers please, just prayers!

[Mickmack]

He was beginning to show flashes of his old self in the league till that rush of blood to the head against Tyrone.

I am surprised and disappointed to read this.


Hopefully, this doesnt spell the end of Aiden in the Kerry jersey.

[kerrygold]

There was no rush of blood in Omagh, just incompetent refereeing from that person that reffed last sundays league final. Totally out of his depth at this level.

The panel continues to weaken and the odds lenghten as every player leaves, decreasing options from the bench.


Aidan has stood up to the plate on many occasions for kerry and has been counted, never afraid to put his body on the line for the kerry jersey. Best wishes.

[Deleted]

Aidan has had a fantastic Kerry career and regardless of whether he plays for Kerry again can be proud of his achievements. For four years Aidan was as good as any defender in the country.
The pressures on the likes of Aidan who have played every all Ireland final since 2004 are enormous and it is hard to maintain this level.
Hopefully a few months out will give Aidan his appetite and form back and we will see him in a Kerry jersey soon.

[sullyschoice]

I said it many times here over the years, Aidan O Mahoney was one of THE most influential players on the team over a good number of years and served his county exceptionally well.

He seemed to lose a yard or two of pace recently and may have contributed to a degree of excess fouling of late.

I dont agree with KG above about his sending off against Tyrone. It was sloppy. (however I do share his opinion in general about that particular referee).

Good luck Aidan. Re-charge the batteries and then come back when you have the desire to do so.

[misteallaigh abú]

We are really shorn of defenders in the panel at this stage, this is very disappointing news. Really hope he can be persuaded to return at some stage this year. He has too much quality not to be on the panel.

[seaniebo]

Very difficlut to see what happened to Aiden, he was the be all and end all in 07. I was certain he was going to grab the bull by the horns this year and nail down the number 6 spot like most people. However it was not to be despite a somewhat improvement in his performances. He seems to have really bulked up and has lost a bit of pace.

Hope to see him back very soon

[barrystea]

Aidan gave our u21s a session before a championship final. The training session was fantastic, fast hard and full of commitment. But the talk he gave after the session was unreal! He took aside our full back and had a good one to one chat with him. our full back went on to keep the cork u21 captain scoreless in the final which we won. a couple of years later and the lads still talk about him-the only kerry man they wont give out about!! He gave great service to kerry. Best of luck to ya Aidan boy!!

[smellUlater]

could possibly be not football related decision. missed the training session in spain too.

[hugh20]

I would agree with misteallaigh abu...we cannot afford the loss of aidan due to the lack of numbers in quality or competent defenders..granted aidan has lost a bit of form of late but he is certainly good enough to nail down the CB spot!

Anyway all the best aidan!!

[Kingdomson]

It is disappointing news for Kerry football. I really was hoping a refreshed Aidan would return to form in 2010. Aidan has been a fantastic servant and a real whole hearted player in the Kerry jersey and as a supporter I thank him and wish him the best of luck for the future. This man owes Kerry football nothing and he is well deserving of his personal space. Hopefully, we will see Aidan return again someday as he is still a young man at just 27.

Meanwhile, a lot of wise old heads with long journeys behind them for the most part remain in the Kerry defence for this year. Killian Young is possibly the only player under 29 among the most likely starting six defenders for Kerry this summer. OK, this may be just fine in 2010 but it is worry for the future that young defenders of the same calibre seem to be thin on the ground just now in Kerry, indeed - if they are there at all at the moment?

[patinkerry]

There was certainly signs of his form returning this year. He is a sound fella and I hope we will see him back in the green and gold again. Thanks Aidan for all the decent work that you have done for Kerry and all those AI medals as well as some man of the match performances. Good luck to you.

[raheen]

if truth be told and sometimes the truth hurts..O Mahony was fouling far too much. Coming out of defence constantly looking to go into contact first and then playing ball second. There is aggresive and there is common sense. Charging around like bull all time is not effective. Also something no one seems to allude to is the incident against Cork when he dived. Ever since then things have been on a downward spiral for the Rathmore man. That just not the Kerry way and perhaps this has affected him unknownst to him. As he took fair flak for that and deservedly so. Yes he had great career and fair play to the man. But call a spade a spade he would not have made the starting team on current form.

[BA]

Just to clarify, I think that article got his age wrong, he will be 30 this year, he was a minor up to 1998 and U-21 up to 2001

[glengael]

Best regards to Aidan . Whatever the reasons for his departure, he has been a great servant of the Kerry Football . Hopefully after a break, maybe for this season, he will re-discover the appetite for action.

The defence and the options for it are looking even more bare now. Where are all the defenders in the County or if they exist, why are they not coming to the notice of the County selectors ?

[bigjack]

No matter what way you look at his departure, if your a fan of his tough playing style or not, it must be seen a blow to the championship panel. Even if he wasn't going to start he would have most certainly played a part in most games at some stage or other. Do we now have enough adequate cover in defence?

[kerrygold]

Its a massive loss, certainly as he is in the top 15/16 players in kerry at the moment. This year is very disappointing as one would have strongly fancied a full contingent of last years panel if available to have a real good cut at winning this years championship.

The numbers game is starting to catch up as regards to defections and retirements. Contrary to popular belief the well of talent is not bottomless in kerry.

[chrism]

I would have been worried about our defence even before Aidan went. Goulding is on fire this year. They now have this Sheehan guy as well. At this stage Jack does not know what kind of a forward line Cork will play.Anytime Nicholas Murphy is playing now they are trying him at full forward. At least Tomas has come through ok .

[Billy]

he's a big loss. in my opinion he should have been kept wing back coz he played his best county football there eg. 2006

[lorr29]

Sad news I enjoyed watching Aidan when hexwas in top form. Wish him all the health and happiness for the future. A big loss lads...

[MrRasherstoyou]

Not surprised, has looked like a man with a troubled countenance for the past couple of years. Was looking like he could go on to go down as one of the greats before that

[whitefire]

I've a feeling this is going to be the end of O'Mahony. His fall from glory since the 08 final has been massive. He'd a great chance to banish the ghosts in this years league and he couldn't manage it. The fouling was becoming a problem, nor did i see any glimpses of his old self.

I'd love if he took time to do his own thing and came back ala Mike Mac, refreshed.

[popeye]

Ok aidan has decided to leave the panel for a while as every person in the country knows mike mac will fill the centre back postion on the kerry team this year.......Is there any up and coming players to replace Aidan on the bench and maybe play a part off the bench durin the championship??

[crokesbd]

Aidan O' Mahony was a very good player but he has declined since '08 . To me he looked like he just was not happy playing for Kerry anymore I wish him well but I don't think we will see him again .

[thepope]

no point in talking about strengths/weaknesses in AOM's game when referring to this decision to withdraw from the panel. the reasons have been given as personal, so no point in trying to read any more into it than that. and every man is entitled to his personal life.

best of luck to the guy and hopefully he'll return to the fold.

[JOAN]

ahhh dont go aiden!!! Serious player and has givin some service to Kerry down through the years.. Wish him well no matter what he does.. Hope its a break he needs and we will see him again very soon in the green n gold!!

[nicoshea]

Sorry to see him go, but best of luck to him with whatever he does

[peanuts]

In the last year or two he has looked like a person who has lost a yard of pace but hasn't compensated for it - a case of the mind being willing but the body not being able which I think has led to a lot of the fouling. We shouldn't forget what a huge player he was for us from 2004 - 2008, probably the best back in the country over that time. Best of luck to him.

[kerrygold]

By Jackie Cahill


Thursday April 29 2010

KERRY legend Seamus Moynihan is confident that the Kingdom can cope without a host of key players from last year's successful assault on the All-Ireland Football Championship.

Aidan O'Mahony's decision to quit the squad has left another gaping hole for manager Jack O'Connor to fill, with just over two weeks to go before the Munster SFC quarter-final against Tipperary on May 16.

From the team that started last September's All-Ireland final against Cork, Diarmuid Murphy and Darragh O Sé have retired, while Tadhg Kennelly and Tommy Walsh left for Australian Rules Football.

O'Mahony appeared as a last-minute sub for Killian Young against the Rebels but tasted plenty of game time this year at centre-back.

compensate

Mike McCarthy's decision to return will compensate for O'Mahony's departure but the versatile Rathmore man would have been a useful player coming off the bench.

Kerry County Board chairman Jerome Conway insisted yesterday that the door is open for O'Mahony's possible return in a number of weeks as the player attends to "personal issues."

And Moynihan is optimistic that his former Kerry team-mate will return to the fold at some point during the summer.

Moynihan, a four-time All-Ireland senior medallist, said: "First and foremost, it's very disappointing to hear that Aidan has left the panel or opted out. He's been a great servant and played fantastic football from 2004 on. He was man of the match in the 2004 and 2006 All-Ireland finals but he would be aware himself that his current form wasn't up to his normal levels. But his form could have come back at some stage it might be a little bit premature to write Aidan off.

"Whatever is going on with him, I'm not privy to it but the door will always be left open for Aidan.

"A guy with experience like that is invaluable for the championship. You need players with experience and he has buckets of it."

In addition, Kerry are also without the retired Sean O'Sullivan who called time on his inter-county career.

The turnover rate is high but Moynihan insisted that Kerry's starting 15 come championship time is still as good as any.

New goalkeeper Brendan Kealy has acquitted himself well during the National League and the decision to abandon the square ball experiment will benefit the Kilcummin shotstopper.

The defence remains anchored by sheer quality in the form of Marc and Tomás O Sé, McCarthy and Tom Sullivan while at midfield, Anthony Maher and Micheál Quirke are vying for a place alongside All Star Seamus Scanlon.

And in attack, Colm Cooper, Declan O'Sullivan, Paul Galvin and Kieran Donaghy are four of the best forwards in the country.

Moynihan reflected: "It's hard to replace players with experience but we have to move with it and Jack didn't wake up one morning and suddenly realise that all these faces were gone off the panel.

"He's been preparing for this for the last four or five months and has changed the set-up accordingly.

"The flipside is that fresh faces have made training more interesting, with a fierce competition for places, and it's like the man looking at the glass and wondering if it's half full of half empty.

"Obviously we bemoan the loss of such great players and if any other team lost them they would struggle but Kieran Donaghy is back and that will cancel out one of Tadhg or Tommy so in essence, you're looking at being without three of the team."

Moynihan added: "You just have to look at Cork's team last year The rejigged it and introduced a lot of the U-21 team that won the All-Ireland.

"They could have won the senior but the one thing that caught them was experience. Last year will stand to players like Colm O'Neill, Daniel Goulding and Paul Kerrigan.

"All those players will be better again, Paddy Kelly too, and they will have learned from that experience.

"Kerry will have to bite the bullet now and start introducing new players. It's a cycle you have to go through. We were fortunate enough that the panel was very solid and very strong. A few have been waiting on the bench for a few years, looking forward to getting their time in the sun.

"You wouldn't want to see four or five U-21 players coming straight in and that won't be the case. What we have are players at a proper age who have served their time."

Meanwhile, there was good news for Kerry yesterday when it emerged that ace corner forward Colm Cooper has resumed training with his club Dr Crokes and will feature against Austin Stacks tomorrow evening in the local championship.

Cooper underwent surgery after sustaining a serious eye injury in the recent league match against Monaghan but has made a swift recovery and is now on course to face Tipperary at Semple Stadium on May 16.

- Jackie Cahill

Irish Independent