THERE’S A maturity about Eamon O’Hara these days that suggests that Sligo’s highest profile footballer is on a mission. For over a decade now he’s had to live up to a reputation of having to produce almost super-human performances in order for his native county to have any chance of ever succeeding and in many ways this season is no different. What has changed though is his attitude and his seemingly pragmatic approach to his third Connacht final appearance for Sligo against hotly tipped Galway on Sunday.
“You can analyse the pros and cons of the two teams until the cows come home but I doubt very much if you’ll get too many pundits who’ll bet against Galway winning. That’s under-standable enough when you look at the recent league performances of both sides and in particular at Galway’s track record at winning provincial titles but we won’t be fearing them this time”.
It’s direct language from the former All-Star who has had to live with the shackles of criticism from supporters and the media whenever he’s had an off day. He has been the proverbial ‘powerhouse’ at midfield now for ten years and although dogged by injury in recent years he refuses to concede that his playing career is nearing an end.
“In terms of my fitness I’m happy at where I am. I’m enjoying football now more than ever and I’ve never used injuries as an excuse for not playing well. Every single gaelic footballer has the exact same chance of getting injured as I have but thankfully I’m fully fit and raring to go”.
Although he fully accepts that Sligo will be going in search of a first Connacht title since 1975, more in hope than anything else, O’Hara is adamant that the current squad of players is far superior to that of either 1997 or 2002 - the last two occasions the Yeats county contested senior provincial deciders.
“This time I really believe we have strength in depth. The last two times we were depending on a small core of players to do the business but this time we have players all over the pitch that are doing a wonderful job for us. Similarly we have lads on the bench that can come on and make a significant impact so that’s a positive”.
Despite the Tourlestrane native’s optimism of the calibre of this Sligo team he openly admits that if the form book is to be toppled on Sunday it will require a major improvement in performances produced to date in their wins over New York and Roscommon respectively.
“New York were poor and in truth Roscommon were equally poor. There was a lot of hype about Roscommon this year but we were always confident we could beat them. The fact of the matter was they got further ahead of us than they deserved to and we had to win it the hard way but everyone knows the standard of football was poor on the day and unless we improve significantly on Sunday we really don’t stand a chance”.
At 31 years of age this writer has often suggested that O’Hara’s playing days at the highest level are numbered but he emphatically disagrees and despite his burning desire to get his hands on what many believe is a long overdue Connacht senior medal he doesn’t see Sunday’s final as a ‘last hurrah’.
“I don’t look on Sunday as being my last chance of winning a Connacht medal. Far from it. I’m training six times a week, enjoying it and still able to turn in worthwhile performances. Who’s to say how long more I’ve left representing Sligo but as long as I have something to give then I’ll definitely keep going. “I’ve played in an era of Mayo and Galway dominance and it has been difficult for Sligo to make a breakthrough. When you’ve gone through all of that it’s only natural that you live in hope but what we have to take heart from now is our own self belief ”.
Many observers believe that this may well be Sligo’s invisible trump card this time round. A ‘never say die attitude’ - somewhat similar to the one they showed under Peter Ford in 2002 - appears to have manifested itself this year and Eamon argues that if Sligo can win the physiological game on Sunday a totally unexpected provincial title might well be landed.
“A lot of our players have been around long enough to know that we’ve won nothing. Our target was to get to the Connacht final and our aim now is to win it. I’m not naive about the enormity of what’s ahead but we definitely have the belief in ourselves not to let one another down and if we can keep our game plan in check as well as believing that we have the talent to beat Galway then anything can happen”.
It’s interesting to note that Eamon refuses to compare the winning of an All-Star award with that of the prospects of collecting his first Connacht medal on Sunday although he’d relish that prospect.
“You can’t compare the two. Winning an All-Star was very special and an honour I’ll never forget. Naturally, when you look back on your career it would be equally special if there was a Connacht title or two beside it but you can’t judge yourself in that way. I’ll let the statisticians worry about that - I’m just focussed on doing my part for Sligo on Sunday”.
Few will deny that Eamon O’Hara’s dedication to football has been enormous. It’s rare for players of his undoubted calibre not to get ‘the rub of the green’ at some stage in their career. As someone who believed his best days were over I’d be thrilled to be proven wrong on Sunday and acknowledging his contribution to the game generally, his day of glory may well be about to dawn on Sunday.
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