'I'm excited' - Mayo GAA star will climb up Mount Everest

Ex-Mayo footballer Padraig O'Hora keeps finding new challenges for himself.

The Ballina Stephenites man opted out of the Mayo team last November and admitted that it took him a while to adapt to the new situation:

"Getting used of not playing inter-county football is a shock to the system. A couple of weeks over Christmas, wondering, waiting for the phone to ring or expectations of gym sessions," O'Hora explained in an interview with Off The Ball.

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Only two weeks ago, O'Hora climbed the highest peak in America and him being a trained athlete definitely helped:

"Physically I felt well able but it's more of a mental challenge. being away from home. Being away from comforts. Sleeping in a tent, sleeping at altitude. But getting to the summit was absolutely gruelling. And there is no out either, you're in it and seven days away from any comfort."

After this experience, O'Hora has his eyes set on a new target now: Nothing less than the highest peak on earth.

"Aconcagua was an acid test for me. Mount Everest has always been the dream and the ambition, to stand on top of the world. Now I have a well laid out plan for the next 15 months and the lead up to it."

O'Hora will be preparing for one of the biggest challenges, going up Mount Everest. 

"It's just exciting," he said.

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