Brian McEniff pays tribute to 'true gentleman' John O'Mahony

Former Donegal manager Brian McEniff has paid tribute to the late John O’Mahony, who died on Sunday morning at the age of 71. 

The 1992 All-Ireland winning manager described the Mayo native as a titanic figure in the GAA, who continued to reinvent the wheel in GAA coaching during his time in the managerial scene. 

O'Mahony guided Galway to two All-Ireland titles in 1998 and 2001 and is one of the few managers to win provincial titles with three different counties, his own Mayo and Leitrim in their landmark 1994 success, in addition to Galway. 

In all, O’Mahony won no less than eight Connacht SFC titles between 1988 and 2009. 

McEniff recalls one of his first encounters with the Mayo native being weeks out from the county’s first All-Ireland final in 1992, where the Bundoran man leaned on O’Mahony for guidance. 

“One of my first meetings with John would’ve been in 1992, a couple of weeks before the All-Ireland final,” McEniff stated. “He came all the way to Donegal just to have a chat with me on how best to prepare myself and the team for the occasion of a national final. 

“I remember he had two foolscap folders covering every inch on what to look out for, because he knew what it was like being in a final as a manger, having been there with Mayo in 1989.” 

The former Donegal boss had other encounters with O’Mahony in his time, with his son Seanie McEniff once playing under him when he was Leitrim manager in the early 90s. 

McEniff also recalled a period in the early 2000s when, as Ireland International Rules manager, he called O’Mahony to ask what was the most effective way to get the best out of Galway man Pádraic Joyce. 

“It’s funny how you can rely on people so much in your career, and John was someone who would’ve helped me a lot, particularly when I was manager of the Irish International Rules team,” McEniff pointed out. 

“I remember one year when we went to Australia, in the first game, Pádraic Joyce, who was my top star at the time, hadn’t played well in the first match and was perhaps lacking some confidence.  

“So, I phoned my son Seanie, who played under John when he was at Leitrim, to put me in contact with him, and he said the best way to deal with Pádraic was to only give him praise. Well, I remember it worked a peach because the next night we went out, Padraic ran rings around the Australians.” 

When McEniff returned to the Donegal job in 2003 after a nine-year hiatus, he remembers coming up against O’Mahony on the sideline, when the Mayo native was in charge of Galway. 

“As a manager, John was a figure who was so open minded and was always reinventing the wheel. When I went back as Donegal manager in 2003, one of my first games back was against his Galway side, who were top dogs at the time,” he said. 

“That day I remember he was marching up and down the sideline, with a stopwatch in his hand and he kept shouting ‘pressure, pressure’. I didn’t know what he was talking about at the time.  

“He wanted his forwards to pressure or defense when we had possession. I just remember thinking how much the game had changed since I was last in charge.” 

In paying tribute to the former All-Ireland winner, McEniff cited O’Mahony as a real gentleman and a good friend. 

“I think it’s a very sad day for the GAA. He was a huge figure in the game and over the years I would have considered him a friend for all he’s done to help me out. A real gentleman. 

“I think if you look at his record and what he’s done in the GAA, it was just phenomenal.”