O’Mahony: Full steam ahead after ‘tough’ 2010

THE wheel has turned full circle. Last year Gavin O’Mahony was a bystander in Limerick hurling, observed a season of adverse fortunes for the county.

His frustration was exacerbated by being out of work. Unemployed in his nine to five and unemployed on the training fields at night. He had grown disillusioned at the setup in place under Justin McCarthy and sensing there was no scope for his hurling to develop, opted out on New Years Eve 2009. It was a campaign freighted with awkwardness as he watched clubmates from Kilmallock and former Limerick teammates lining out for the county.

“Last year was tough on everyone, even the lads who were playing. I was often thinking about going to talk to the lads but I decided I wouldn’t. I didn’t speak to anyone about my decision to pull out, so I let the lads do the same. I just couldn’t buy into it, couldn’t see myself improving that year, so I opted out. There were wrongs on every side — the players, the management, all comers. It was hard and I wasn’t working as well. You go from being busy 24/7 to being idle the whole time. That’s not a good place to be.”