Door still open as O'Mahony departs

GAELIC GAMES:KERRY FOOTBALL manager Jack O'Connor has refused to rule out the possibility of Aidan O'Mahony returning to the All-Ireland champions' panel this season, although it appears highly unlikely ahead of the opening Munster championship game against Tipperary on May 16th.

O’Connor informed O’Mahony’s team-mates of the two-time All Star’s decision at Tuesday’s training session.

“He wanted to opt out for personal reasons, and we the management must respect that,” O’Connor said yesterday. “Remember it is an amateur game and people should be afforded some privacy when necessary.

“Naturally, we are not happy to be losing someone of Aidan’s quality but we are by no means closing the door on him. If he still has the appetite down the road, he is still young enough to come back in.”

Kerry county board chairman Jerome Conway echoed O’Connor’s sentiments.

“We will always welcome Aidan O’Mahony back when his personal situation is sorted out.”

Conway indicated it was not any conflict with O’Connor that led to O’Mahony taking his leave of intercounty football at just 27 years of age.

O’Mahony did not travel to the recent training camp in Portugal despite featuring regularly during the national league at centre back but his place looked in jeopardy following the return of last season’s number six, Mike McCarthy.

“He was also unable to go on the warm weather training trip to Portugal for the same personal reasons,” Conway explained.

“We as a board know that Aidan O’Mahony is a very dedicated, talented and committed player with both club and county and he has played in a variety of positions for Kerry.

“He has always played in a wholehearted manner and he is a Kerry man through and through. He is a player who doesn’t make decisions lightly and when he does like on this occasion, we accept them totally.”

This latest departure brings the exodus of frontline Kerry players to five following the retirement of Darragh Ó Sé and Diarmuid Murphy, while Tadhg Kennelly and Tommy Walsh took up professional contracts with AFL clubs the Sydney Swans and St Kilda respectively.

“We are now coming into championship time, and that is very evident with the intensity of training at the moment. There are a number of players missing from last year’s campaign and it certainly sets a challenge for our management team. However, there is no better management team to bring in players and there is now an opportunity for younger players to step up to the plate and they will be given their opportunity as they face into the meeting with Tipperary in just over two weeks’ time,” Conway continued.

“We are taking the game very seriously, we were beaten by Tipperary in the under-21 championship and we are totally focused. I am sure we will still be very competitive”

On a positive note, Colm Cooper has recovered from minor eye surgery and lines out for Dr Crokes against Austin Stacks tomorrow night and O’Connor expects him to be available for selection against Tipperary.

Meanwhile, both the football and hurling championships can be seen through a variety of outlets and television stations around the world.

“From April 16th, an agreement between the GAA and MSK (to be Premier sport), sees GAA matches available in Britain on Channel 433 on Sky Digital,” read a GAA statement. “The channel will be available to approximately 10 million homes. Initially, it will be free to air but will revert to a subscription channel by mid-summer. All matches will also be available online at www.setanta.com/i/global.

“In North America, all matches will be available on the Premium Sport Pub and Club network. This network has exactly the same distribution as the old Setanta network. Delayed coverage of championship matches will also be shown on Setanta Sport Canada and on MHz Worldwide.

For a full list of broadcast/cable affiliate availability across the MHz network, please visit http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/gaa-media-coverage/.

“In Australia, all championship matches will be shown on Setanta Sport which is a subscription channel available in over four million homes on Foxtel Satellite and cable system and also the Austar satellite system.

“In Asia, Gaelic games will be available on Setanta Asia online and launched on most of the cable and satellite networks throughout the continent later this year. Throughout Africa, Gaelic games will be shown on Setanta Africa which is available in 10 million homes in sub Saharan Africa.”