O’Mahony: Kingdom hunger still there

THE old story that doesn’t seem to grow old in the telling.

Kerry’s defence is an experienced one. Aidan O’Mahony isn’t silly enough to deny that.

At 31, he is above the average age of the back-line (30.3... thanking you 24-year-old Killian Young) but he’s here, isn’t he? Preparing for a seventh All-Ireland final.

And yet nobody seems to have got enough of just how much mileage there is in the Kingdom rearguard.

Tom O’Sullivan may have taken a little offence to a newspaper article earlier in the year which suggested none of the Kerry defenders needed ID for nightclub bouncers but O’Mahony isn’t so miffed about it.

“Ah no, the media has to write about something. The age and the legs of the backs seems to be a hot topic but, no, we don’t take any notice of it.

“You look at the guys like Tomás Ó Sé and these guys are coming back year-in, year-out. The guys who were there before like Seamus Moynihan played until they were 33 or 34... fantastic footballers. I know there is talk about the backs getting slow but look, hunger counts as well and we’re looking forward to it.”

What the age factor neglects is there are 24 All-Ireland medals in that Kerry sextet. There is pain too. Last year’s quarter-final defeat to Down left them twiddling their thumbs in August, some for the first time in over 10 years, others for the first time ever.

After that, there was hardly a doubt the veterans would be back.

“There is speculation every January when there are players coming back and there are players not coming back.

“After losing the quarter-final last year, it hurt and no player wants to leave after losing a quarter-final so everyone came back and gave it a shot this year.”

O’Mahony’s Rathmore clubmate O’Sullivan was the biggest doubt, only making his return in March.

“Tom, I suppose, comes back every year,” laughed the Ballincollig-based Garda.

“I think he gets a bit of a weakness there from January to April where he hints that he is going to retire but I think that is more of a media stunt.

“Tom is a great guy, he comes back every year and he has had a great year again this year and he is a guy that young lads look up to. He has great pace, a great marker and a man you need on your team.”

Facing Dublin in an All-Ireland is the optimum for a lot of the Kerry players and O’Mahony is no different. Kerry in recent years have more often than not lived up to their side of the bargain but finally they face the county closest to them in the all-time All-Ireland titles roll of honour.

“You talk about Dublin and Kerry and every player wants to play in a Dublin-Kerry final. You talk about the Kerry Golden Years and games and books and DVDs that we’ve been reared on.

“It’s a fascinating time for a player to look forward to; a Dublin-Kerry All-Ireland final.

“It’s a different team and it’s going to be a different game but it’s a game we’re looking forward to it.

“There’s so much hype about it that it’s a player’s dream to play in it.”