Pádraig O’Hora: A warrior’s spirit with a caring mind

Pádraig O’Hora was 27 when he made his championship debut with Mayo in 2020. The All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin was only his third championship start but O’Hora was man-of-the-match. He’s already in pole position to secure an All-Star.

Pádraig O’Hora: ‘We want to change our town and the way things operate. We hope to make physical changes for these people.’ Image: Jennifer Murphy

On David O’Malley’s birthday on March 12, Pádraig O’Hora and O’Malley had a dare to see who could endure the longest in the freezing Brusna Falls in Ballina. When they arrived, rain was falling in torrents. The air was biting and raw, but O’Malley knew it would be even more torturous because he knew O’Hora wouldn’t back down.

Their friend Anne-Marie Flynn also joined them, but the duel was between O’Hora and O’Malley. They weren’t budging. The harder the rain fell, the longer the standoff went on. They lasted 39 minutes before eventually relenting out of necessity — hypothermia was setting in.