'What am I doing here?' - James Horan on story behind Mayo debut

James Horan has seen and done it all when it comes to Mayo GAA, both as a player and a manager.

The Ballintubber man has twice collected the Nestor Cup as a player, six times as a manager, and boasts two All-Stars to boot.

READ MORE: Mayo v Donegal -Three Donegal players to keep an eye on

However, his senior inter-county journey started far from the big days in Croke Park or collecting Connacht medals.

In late 1995, when the Mayo footballers were gearing up for the 1996 season, the Mayo management were looking for people to play in a challenge game in Breffni Park against Cavan.

WATCH: Mayo v Donegal All-Ireland preview: Patton's return a worry

One of the names which cropped up among management was Horan’s. Horan was living in the capital at the time, and football wasn’t quite as religious a calling then as it was further down the line.

“I wasn’t playing it seriously, let’s put it that way,” he quipped on the ‘Raised on Songs and Stories’ podcast with Tara Doherty.

The day didn’t get off to the best start for Mayo’s soon-to-be debutant.

“I end up in Breffni Park, and I’m put into the Cavan dressing room,” said Horan. “One of the county board that were there from Mayo didn’t know who I was and put me into the wrong dressing room.

“I’m a young fella going up, I’m nervous enough. I’ve sort of impostor syndrome like ‘What the hell am I doing going up here?’, and then I’m put into the wrong dressing room.

“I wasn’t in there for long.”

With time ticking away, there was no sign of an introduction from the new manager in the door at the time, John Maughan.

“I’m not brought on in the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, and I’m thinking ‘Why did I come up?’,” he stated.

READ MORE: Mayo v Donegal - Time, TV, and ticket details ahead of All-Ireland tie

“With about ten minutes to go, the few stragglers who didn’t get a game were thrown in. I went on and I scored four points in about eight minutes.

“Three weeks later, I started against Galway in the National League.”

That wasn’t where the conversation started. Earlier in the episode, Horan touched on his earliest days playing the sport in the western fringes of the county under the tutelage of the likes of Johnny Corcoran and Christy Feeney at Ballintubber.

He also spoke of the impact of the late, great John O’Mahony on his sporting upbringing during his time with the county’s Under-21 side.

“I just thought he was brilliant, how he treated people,” Horan reminisced. “How organised he was, the way he spoke. It was very different to how a lot of managers were back in the day.

“There was a lot of shouting and telling, but John was very different. It was a very respectful, engaged, involved type of environment that John ran, and I really enjoyed it.”

READ MORE: Match Preview - Mayo Must take their chances and win the game

Before O’Mahony brought a fresh-faced Horan into the fold, football really wasn’t top priority.

“I could always play football, but maybe I wasn’t as dedicated to football when I was 16 or 17,” he said.

“I was in Castlebar then, hanging around street corners.

“Music and a bit of travel and that sort of stuff, I was maybe a bit more interested in them than football.”

Horan also spoke on his highlights during his spell at the helm of the senior football side, which can be heard below.

WATCH: Mayo v Donegal All-Ireland preview: Patton's return a worry

The full conversation between James Horan and Tara Doherty on the ‘Raised on Songs and Stories' podcast can be heard below.