James O’Donoghue: I’m a bit nervous, but also excited

He was the perfect fit for the TV GAA ad of the summer. Remember that funky Rothco Ad agency-inspired piece commissioned by AIB?

A 30-second compendium of the life of James O’Donoghue from the cradle to Croke Park, childhood photographs, archives, live action shots all complemented by quirky 2D animations and motion graphics and backed with the catchy Oddisse number, “That’s Love”. It showed O’Donoghue as a “six-trick” pony, O’Donoghue as a street footballer, the type Eamon Dunphy says is on the wane in the pundit’s soccer domain.

The 2014 footballer of the year honed his skills on the streets around Killarney and other places. Radio Kerry’s Weeshie Fogarty, (himself a Legion clubman) says James’s father, Diarmuid, kept after him in the back garden to improve his so-called weak right leg and “now he is equally prolific with either foot”.

There are many sides to James O’Donoghue, but what makes the 24-year-old the darling of the media, the poster-boy for a new generation of GAA followers is his almost laissez-faire attitude to all the fuss and noise created around him as one of the top three footballers in the country. He smiles during interviews, he winks at cameras; he has a cockiness but not an arrogance and is a welcome antidote to the seriousness that accompanies the Championship.

But after a summer of disappointment in Kerry colours, this weekend is all about his club, Killarney Legion. O’Donoghue has had his troubles during 2015 — a shoulder injury sustained against Kildare in the All-Ireland quarter-final might have ended his season, but he has been in a position to inspire Legion in the latter stages of the Kerry Championship.

“Being in a county senior final feels great because it’s such a new feeling for us,” he smiles. “The last county final I was in was U21. We won it. It was basically this team as well that won the U21 county and is now in a senior county. It’s a new experience, although we’ve had success with this team already so we’re trying to transfer this to senior level. That’s going to be a real challenge for us especially against an experienced South Kerry side. I’m a bit nervous but also very excited.”

The group that lines out in the green and white of Legion tomorrow is a tight-knit entity. They stood together on the terraces of Fitzgerald Stadium and watched South Kerry overcome Kenmare District in the semi-final before retiring to their clubhouse in Farranaspig. The beauty of tomorrow’s final, says O’Donoghue, is he’s playing with the lads he grew up with.

“That’s the beauty about the team we have at the moment because we’re all the same age. Basically we’re all great friends so it’s really easy for us to come back to the club scene and fit in because the craic, the joking, the banter is great.

“It does make it extra special because basically we enjoy it so much and everyone enjoys it so much and then when we have a full team together — with the Kerry lads — there’s a great bond in the team and that’s what makes it so special.”

Though his Kerry team-mates Brian Kelly and Jonathan Lyne are hugely important cogs in the Legion wheel, it is O’Donoghue who drives the car.

He speaks insightfully of dealing with the pressure as the man who must deliver.

“I’d never think of it as pressure. The reason I play is to score goals and points and contribute in big ways in matches — I don’t think that’s pressure; that’s just the route I went after in football, try being closer to goal and try doing something that might change the course of a game.

“I’ve been lucky enough in this championship to score a few goals and a few points. It definitely doesn’t bring pressure — it brings a bit of expectancy. But I think with the quality of player we have at the moment everyone can chip in a with a few and I think that’s going to be key in winning the final.

“All of us have to chip in with scores; all of us have to chip in with big plays. That’s the only way you’ll get over the line against an experienced South Kerry team.”

O’Donoghue has yet to make up his mind regarding possible post-season surgery to his shoulder, but he has learnt to cope with it.

“It’s only because it’s an irregular injury. If it was a hamstring injury, well one can deal straightaway with that. It’s a shoulder injury, and it’s the one I have to deal with at the moment, something I have no problem dealing with.

“If my injuries are going to be defined by shoulders, fine, I know how to deal with them. I know it’s an incredibly painful injury if it goes wrong. But that’s fine — there are ways and means of dealing and coping with it, but the trick is to not let it affect your game in any way, and if the injury happens, the injury happens.

“I’ve been incredibly lucky that’s I’ve surrounded myself with good professional people that have been able to wrap me in cotton wool at different stages and that has been a huge plus.”

James’s father is Legion to the core and, in his day, was an outstanding forward winning two All-Ireland medals during the Mick O’Dwyer era. Like his son he was a “ciotóg” from the corner-forward position and, like his son, he’s giddy with the excitement Legion’s final appearance is creating.

“I suppose the Legion is coursing through the O’Donoghue blood so it’s definitely something that’s in my mind alright that I want to win one for my family. That would be one of my main motivations. Diarmuid loves Legion — he’s like a giddy child.

“Unfortunately we’ve left people like that down in the past but hopefully we’ve a chance to do the great club people proud this time. We have a team capable of winning one so. Is a motivating factor? It definitely is and hopefully we can sit down and have a pint on the 8th and I’ll have a county championship medal — that will be a huge goal.”