Oughterard club revelling in the celebrity spotlight

Oughterard’s Séamus O Máille GAA Club will look to put the recent disappointment of their county intermediate decider replay defeat behind them when they head to Parnell Park on Friday night for the final of RTE’s Celebrity Bainisteoir.

For captain and full-back Christopher O’Toole, and his Oughterard team-mates, it was not easy to return to football duty following that heartbreaking loss to Kilconly last month. Not easy at all. Yet, O’Toole says they felt there was a certain onus on them to right the wrongs of that defeat in some small way and Celebrity Bainisteoir afforded them that opportunity.

“It was difficult at the start to get my head around it, to come back playing football after eight months of work heading into a county final, which we lost. We worked really, really hard and made a big effort this year. We all stayed home from America; we had all left last year after the U-21. So, it was hard to accept that the hard work and sacrifices had not paid off.

“However, we felt we owed it to the parish to give them a good day out. They have followed us all year and what they haven’t given us! We really did owe it to our families and the parish to give them a good day out and put the parish back on the map.

“Although the first training back after the county final was the most difficult of the year – everyone was down and a bit depressed – the lads have put it to the back of their minds for the time being. Hopefully, we can push on now and win this competition.”

Having accounted for comedian PJ Gallagher’s St. Patrick’s GAA Club of Donabate [Dublin] in the opening round, Oughterard, under the supervision of former Green Party TD Paul Gogarty, powered beyond Lissan of Derry on a scoreline of 0-15 to 0-6 in the semi-final.In the context of the season that has gone by, the 22-year-old defender says it is now important to claim a victory over Tony Cascarino’s Killeshin of Laois in the final of the tournament in Parnell Park on Friday (7:30pm).

“I think it is important that we get some sort of silverware out of the season. As I said, we have dedicated eight months of the year to this [season] already and it has nearly been a full-time job with both competitions going on. So, if we finish the season now with nothing, it will be awful hard to take.

“Then again, there is less pressure going into this final. With the intermediate, it was all about going up and playing senior football [in 2012] and that was what we were depending on achieving and hoping that we would do it. Now, though, we can go into this game with a lot less pressure on us and enjoy the occasion. It is not often you get to play an All-Ireland of sorts in Parnell Park.”

Then again, it is not often you would have a former Green Party TD as manager. Initially, the players thought they would get someone with connections to the area – funny man Tommy Tiernan, sexy TV presenter Síle Seoige or, even, the country’s newly elected President, Michael D. Higgins!

“When Paul [Gogarty] walked in, though, we hadn’t a clue who he was!” laughs the NUI Galway physiotherapy masters student, who also works part-time, locally, in Welby’s Filling Station.

Still, the players have got to know the Dubliner pretty well over the last number of months, with O’Toole noting a relationship has now built up between the celebrity manager and his charges. “Over the two or three months, he has shown great commitment, coming down to trainings and he has come down to league and championship games as well. He has been very dedicated to us, I must say that.”

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.