Soccer role may rule Philly McMahon out of All-Ireland semi-final

Philly McMahon of Dublin during the GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Launch at Charlestown. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Philly McMahon admits his new role as a performance coach with League of Ireland outfit Bohemians could prevent him from taking part in Saturday week’s All-Ireland semi-final.

Bohs are scheduled to play PAOK in the decisive second leg of their Europa Conference League battle next Thursday in Greece, two days before the Dubs face Mayo.

McMahon has travelled with Bohs to the club’s previous games in Europe though those trips didn’t clash with any Dublin games, placing him in a quandary.

The eight-time All-Ireland medallist hasn’t featured so far in this year’s Championship though was on the bench for last Sunday’s Leinster final win over Kildare.

“I’m not sure yet,” said McMahon when asked if he will accompany the team to Greece.

“Obviously the All-Ireland semi-final is the same week. So I haven’t made a decision on that yet. I have to speak to Bohs and I’ll have to speak to Dessie (Farrell) as well.

“And obviously I’ll have to speak with my wife, Sarah, so she’ll have a lot to say on that as well, whether I can keep travelling away with Bohs.”

The defender said he isn’t sure if flying out with Bohs would immediately rule him out of Dublin manager Farrell’s plans.

“Again, I don’t have the answer for that because I’d have to sit down with the management and see if I missed a session or two, would that impact my chance of doing a job for the team.

“That’s really where it will be, I think. I have to sit down and have a chat, ask the question, ‘If I miss one or two training sessions, will that impact my role in terms of what I’m doing on the day?’”

Fellow veteran Kevin McManamon has missed all of Dublin’s Championship games so far due to his similar involvement with the Irish boxing team in Tokyo.

For both players, defeat to Mayo could spell the end of their Dublin careers.

In McMahon’s case, the 33-year-old hasn’t started a game for Dublin in either league or Championship since January 2020 though he did come on as a sub in three league games this season.

“One of the reasons why I took the job with Bohs was because I knew I was going to learn from the players. I knew I was going to learn from the management.

“Every day, from young players, from old players, you’re growing, you’re learning, you’re challenged.

“From a personal perspective, if I’m trying to help lads at Bohs to improve their performances, that makes me more conscious of how I’m feeling or how I’m acting around the Dublin lads as well.”