Diarmuid O Connor was named EirGrid GAA Football Player of the Month for April.
By Cian O'Connell
Important challenges are arriving thick and fast for Diarmuid O’Connor. Mayo’s stirring EirGrid All Ireland under 21 adventure concluded with national glory last month.
Now the focus has quickly shifted to Sunday’s Connacht Senior Championship opener against London at the Irish TV Grounds, Ruislip. That Mayo avoided relegation from Division 1 of the Allianz Football League following victories over Roscommon and Down offers an injection of momentum.
“It was a good finish, but we had a disappointing start,” O’Connor told GAA.ie. “The wins we got will certainly help instill confidence and with some of the lads going back with All Irelands that is a boost too. At the moment, though, we are simply focusing on London.
“You have to prepare for every Championship game in the exact same way. It was a very tight game the last time Mayo were in London so definitely we will have to have our full focus on it.”
Five members of the victorious Mayo under 21 squad are currently training with Stephen Rochford’s senior panel and O’Connor expects more to follow in future years. Definitely more guys will wear the Mayo senior jersey,” is O’Connor’s assessment. “The skill levels and the character was huge in the group, they will have a lot to offer Mayo at senior level.
“Maybe winning those games at minor level gave us confidence. We were lucky because we had such a tight knitted squad. It is one of the tightest squads I’ve been involved with. Lads were always there to pick you up, to drive us on, maybe that was the most important factor of all.”
Diarmuid O Connor netted a goal for Mayo in the EirGrid All Ireland under 21 final.
Considering O’Connor’s hectic recent schedule the Ballintubber native is merely concentrating on what promises to be an interesting Connacht Championship with Galway and Roscommon showing signs of improvement. “Being honest you don’t have time to look too far ahead,” O’Connor admits.
“The year so far was getting the balance between the League and the under 21 campaign so I didn’t have time really to think of any long term goals. You just have to adopt a more short term approach at times.
“The gap is getting smaller, I’ve no doubt about that. The margins are tiny. I know it is a cliché, but in the Championship the small things really matter. We cannot be thinking about or looking at a Connacht final we have to focus fully on getting over London to get into a semi-final.”
The spirited manner in which the Mayo under 21 side defeated Leitrim, Roscommon, Dublin, and Cork demonstrated a steely resolve. “They were all tough games,” O’Connor reflects. “We had to show huge character in every game, we were seven down against Roscommon, we then let a seven point lead slip against Dublin.
“We never panicked, though, and we had a really special group of lads. Our motto all year was to just focus on the next ball, we never panicked at all, and we were rewarded.”
Diarmuid O’Connor won the EirGrid GAA Football U21 Player of the Month award for April.
