THE MASTER AND THE APPRENTICE Alan Dillon, left, and Diarmuid O’Connor of Mayo arrive at MacHale Park, Castlebar prior to the All-Ireland SFC Qualifier against Kildare earlier this summer. Pic: Sportsfile
Mayo’s Alan Dillon isn’t sure what the future holds
Interview
Mike Finnerty
HE’S always been a man who tries to get his priorities right, so it’s no surprise to hear Alan Dillon say that his upcoming wedding to Ashling Cunningham is currently his only ‘focus’.
The 34 year-old from Ballyheane gets married to his fiancée from Breaffy on Friday, December 9 with a plethora of former and current Mayo footballers on the guest list.
We can safely assume that the topic of Dillon’s inter-county future will come up for discussion once ‘the first dance’ is out of the way, but for now he’s keeping his cards close to his chest.
“I’m getting married in December so that’s my focus for the next couple of months,” he told The Mayo News at a recent Bank of Ireland Enterprise Town event in Claremorris.
“We’ll see what happens, I’ll talk to the manager, a couple of the lads, and make a decision in early spring.”
Dillon broke a bone in his foot during the drawn All-Ireland Final against Dublin so was playing through the pain barrier when he came on during the subsequent replay.
However, while that injury is getting better by the day, he is the first to admit that the psychological scars of losing his fifth All-Ireland senior final with Mayo will take longer to heal.
His tone of voice betrays his emotions as he reflects on this latest defeat.
“This one hurts that wee bit more,” he admitted.
“You’re at an age now where you don’t have many more years left. You’re at a stage now where it’s decision time for yourself, so it’s especially really sore. .
“For me, the first day was really disappointing because of how I got injured,” he continued.
“We were in a good position when we got back level and not to close it out was hugely disappointing.
“We didn’t really put ourselves in a position to go on and win the game in the last ten or fifteen minutes in the replay.
“We were kind of chasing near the end which was disappointing.”
And more than a month on, the emotions are still raw? “You put a lot into it, yeah it’s tough,” he nodded.
If Dillon decides to come back and play with Mayo next year it will be his 15th season in the county senior squad.
He was a fresh-faced 20 year-old when then-Mayo manager John Maughan called him up late in 2002, and he’s been an ever-present since.
He loves playing for Mayo; the buzz, the thrill, the excitement and the endless possibilities.
“It’s a great feeling and I cherish it every time I step on the field,” he explained.
“It’s no different to when I was 20 and I pulled on the jersey for the first time.
“I enjoyed this year,” he added.
“I had a different role in terms of trying to be the impact sub so it’s always a waiting game in that role.
“Then we had the journey towards Croke Park, and ultimately the disappointment of the All-Ireland Final defeat was tough to take.
“It’s still a small bit raw today, as you’d expect.
“Overall, though, I enjoyed the year. There were ups and downs throughout the season, one or two injuries probably hampered a lot of what I wanted to do in terms of getting a clear run on the season, but overall I enjoyed it.”
Stephen Rochford’s decision to start Dillon against Tyrone in the All-Ireland quarter-final was the Ballintubber forward’s first start for Mayo in eighteen months.
It was a selection gamble that paid off spectacularly as the two-time All Star winner rolled back the years and played a blinder.
It was an opportunity, and a performance, that the man himself enjoyed immensely too.
“I hadn’t started a game for a long few months before that so, yeah, it was really satisfying.
“For any player it takes a huge amount of work to get the jersey and to actually get a starting position.
“I was very pleased to get the start against Tyrone, and I was very pleased with the way it worked out.
“The whole performance that day was very pleasing. We’d been written off beforehand, but it was great to be part of that.
“The challenge next year is, where can Mayo go?
“I don’t think we’ll be far off.”
Alan Dillon’s big decision
