Conor Mortimer: The thriller still missing from military modern football

Ex-Mayo star Conor Mortimer was the archetypal marquee forward, something he thinks is still lacking in today's game.

Conor Mortimer celebrates a Mayo goal against Galway by lifting his jersey to reveal his tribute to Michael Jackson.  Picture: Ray McManus / SPORTSFILE

Sixteen years ago, Conor Mortimer rang this writer the morning of the Connacht final.

After breaking his hand three months earlier, Mortimer was returning to full fitness and was named on the bench for the clash against Galway in Salthill. But he had a plan. “If I score a goal today, I’m going to have a celebration. Can you let a photographer know?” 

A call was put into Sportsfile doyen Ray McManus to be ready and sure enough Mortimer delivered, palming the ball to a net after receiving a pass from his brother Trevor. Wheeling away in jubilation, he pulled his jersey over his head to reveal “RIP Micheal (sic) Jackson” scrawled on his undershirt in tribute to the musician who had died the previous month. McManus was poised to picture it.

Then Mayo manager, the late John O’Mahony, was irate with Mortimer. He told his player he had taken away from the win, a game won by a late Peadar Gardiner point, and made it all about himself.

What was lost in the aftermath was how full sure Mortimer was he was going to score a goal. Isn’t visualisation and projection supposed to be applauded? “I would have thought a lot about games,” he says now. “Thinking ahead and seeing myself scoring, doing the right things. Positive affirmation.

“But I would have that streak of boldness in me too. I was confident as a player. I did an awful lot of practice and training, a lot of repetition to kick the ball over the bar. I always felt I had the work done and that’s where it came from.

“I played for the enjoyment of the game. That t-shirt, any stuff like that was fun, a bit of craic. Would you see someone doing it nowadays? No, you wouldn't. We've probably morphed into, I won't say boring, but very introverted in terms of playing the game. It's very military-like on the field.

“You can see crowds at the minute. They're a little bit lower than they would have been. You want to go to a game to really enjoy the game and enjoy what you're seeing on the field from certain players.

“You go back to my time – Ciarán McDonald, Pádraic Joyce, Colm Cooper. You're going to see what magic they're going to do on any particular day. I don't think that's as prevalent now as it was back then across the board, outside of probably David Clifford, who obviously has magic in him. But they’re few and far between.” 

Conor Mortimer is the manager of Glenroyal Leisure Club and Noa Spa in Maynooth, Co Kildare. A leading wellness and recovery destination, the hotel’s club this week opened a new, state-of-the art cryotherapy unit. It offers a number of therapies including their extreme cold chamber, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HbOT), EMSculpt NEO and EmFest. Visit www.cryoclinic.ie for more information.

Ah yes, the fabled marquee forward. How that tag continues to haunt Mayo. Thirteen years ago, Mortimer was where Cillian O’Connor found himself last season: the county’s all-time top scorer but lacking game-time and ultimately deciding to exit stage left.

Like Mortimer, O’Connor was also living and working in the capital. O’Connor, who turns 33 later this month, has not officially retired from inter-county football but Mortimer doesn’t see him returning.

“You cross paths with a lot of managers over the years. You get a feel for them, he fancies me or he doesn't. Now Cillian’s had injuries that haven't helped him but he's obviously busy with his recruitment business.

“I think he's weighed up the pros and the cons. He's based in Dublin as well. It just makes it harder. And if you're not going to get the game-time that you may feel that you think you should be getting, it probably makes the decision a little bit easier.

“The fact that he hasn't retired, I wouldn't read too much into it. The older you get, taking a year out makes it very, very difficult to come back in no matter how well kept you may be outside of the game.

“It’s unfortunate for Mayo, as you can see. Okay, he may not have the pace that he once had, but he can certainly kick a point from outside the arc. We’re one of the teams that haven't kicked a high proportion of two-pointers and that will probably make it a little harder for us on Sunday. We probably only have three or four guys capable of kicking them. So it’s not just a case of Cillian will be missed, he is being missed.”

It's 11 years since Mayo last beat Galway in Castlebar in championship. Aside from Galway aiming for a fourth straight provincial title, Joyce’s men are gunning for a fourth consecutive win in McHale Park.

Mortimer knows if Mayo are looking for comfort in being home, they are looking in the wrong place. “Our record has not been good enough there in the last 10 to 12 years and it really should be helping us more than it is but the only people who can resolve that are the players.

“It’s what everybody in the Mayo dressing room should be talking about this week, that ‘we can’t let this happen again’. After the free David Gough gave last year, Mayo should have more of a want regardless of everybody saying Galway are going to win. The minimum required for Mayo is a big performance.”