COLUMN: New Mayo managers bring charisma, vision and ambition

Football is never far from the mind here in Mayo.

Whether you’re ambling in Achill, climbing Croagh Patrick, wandering in Westport, or browsing in Ballina, talk will inevitably turn to the fortunes of Mayo GAA.

This past week has been no different. The announcements of Andy Moran as Mayo men’s senior football manager and Diane O’Hora as Mayo LGFA senior football manager – both on the same night – have certainly succeeded in getting people talking.

Amidst the cynicism, tiredness and pessimism that have surrounded the fortunes of the county football teams in recent times, the common theme across these conversations is that both are bringing with them two things that Mayo football badly needs right now: leadership and belief. 

HOMECOMING

The reaction to Andy Moran’s appointment, has been dare I say, relatively muted. Which, I hasten to add, is no bad thing. When Mayo football fever was at its hottest seven or eight years ago it would have been fairly hard to keep a lid on the excitement had an equivalent announcement been made.

But in the Year of Our Torment 4AT (4 years After Tyrone), even the signalling of this fresh new era has not caused anyone to lose the absolute run of themselves with optimism or expectation. That’s not to say people don’t hope and expect Andy does well – quite the opposite. But it takes time for faith to rebuild itself. 

Andy’s appointment feels almost like a homecoming. It was always going to happen, and it is a proud moment for him, and for Mayo. His playing days were always marked by relentlessness, endurance and in his later days, reinvention. His Footballer of the Year award in 2017 at the age of 34 was the crowning glory of a career defined by leadership.

Alongside him is the highly respected and revered Colm Boyle, whose physicality and doggedness reminded people that Mayo footballers are not always just the nice guys. Both have lived through the heartbreaks and near misses that defined a generation of Mayo footballers, and if anyone understands the fine margins between glory and despair, it is they.

Moran’s managerial spell with Leitrim saw him, with limited resources, bring structure, competitiveness, and pride – three things Mayo supporters have been starved of late.

IN IT TOGETHER

Moran and Boyle have also noted the importance of the sixteenth man, and the role the crowd can play in driving on a team. At the All-Ireland banquet in Citywest in 2016, I remember someone asking Andy “Will you go again?” He paused for a moment.

“Of course I’ll go again”, he exclaimed, as if it was the most stupid question ever asked. “The question is, will ye go again?! I’ll go if ye go!” By “ye”, he meant the fans, and it was very on-theme for him; earlier that year following Mayo’s defeat of Fermanagh, he’d had his now-famous ‘We’re Mayo, we’re in this together’ moment, something supporters embraced wholeheartedly.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the 2017 final, a day in which everyone in green and red gave it their all in Croke Park – on the field and in the stands. 

Given the rapidly dwindling support since 2021, Moran and Boyle have a job to do to convince supporters that it’s worth offering their hearts again. It feels like we have been a team frozen in transition since that day against Tyrone, but Moran, a bridge between generations, looks like he could be just the man to bring us into a new era.

STABILITY

But while the men’s team looks to refresh, the women’s team is crying out for something even more fundamental: stability. That’s why the appointment of Diane O’Hora is so important.

One of Mayo’s all-time greatest players - three-time All-Ireland champion, two-time All-Star, and a leader during the county’s golden years in the early 2000s, O’Hora’s reputation doesn’t rest solely on her playing days. As a coach and manager, she has built a strong track record of intelligence, preparation, and resilience, most recently with Kildare.

She knows the county inside out, the challenges that come with wearing the green and red. 

And challenges there have been. Mayo LGFA has endured a turbulent decade, most infamously the 2018 walkout when a large group of players departed the panel amid disagreements with management. Since then, turnover in managers and lingering tensions behind the scenes have too often overshadowed the talent in the county.

Clubs continue to produce gifted footballers, but so many have decided not to don the jersey. So many others have carved out careers in Australia. So, O’Hora’s arrival feels like a line in the sand, along with the arrival of a fresh new Mayo LGFA executive.

She, too, bridges the gap between the present and Mayo’s fiercely proud past. Having blazed her own trail, she brings credibility and authority.

Like Andy, she has lived the training, the sacrifices, the glory, and the heartbreak, but she has reached the pinnacle. She knows what it takes to bring a squad together, and crucially, she has the respect of players and supporters alike. It feels like a defining moment. 

AMBITIOUS

O’Hora’s appointment also sends a resoundingly strong message to the many young women togging out around the county, hundreds of whom descended on a sunny Bekan on Sunday for the league finals.

O’Hora was present for the occasion, presenting the cups, and seeing a woman of her stature leading the county tells those women and girls that Mayo LFGA is ambitious for them and their futures in football, that what Mayo can now offer is stability and direction.

In sport, these things matter as much as talent. A settled camp, a trusted manager, and a clear plan can transform potential into achievement, and make it more attractive for Mayo to retain and nurture its talent.

Together, the appointments of Andy and Diane signal a fresh chapter for Mayo football. The absence of drama was really essential this time and both county boards should be commended on the smoothness and professionalism of their appointment processes. Both new managers bring charisma, experience, vision and ambition. Now they must be afforded the luxuries of time and patience from supporters. 

Already, though they have both achieved something important. They have given Mayo fans reason to believe again.