THE INCOMING NEW York manager Alan O’Mara says that the Tailteann Cup will be the “main priority” for his side in 2024, as they pursue more historic milestones.
New York earned their first-ever Connacht SFC victory earlier this year after defeating Leitrim on penalties in the quarter-final at Gaelic Park. O’Mara, who was appointed as the New York boss last week, says that result was an amazing achievement for the team, and believes that more history awaits them in the Tailteann Cup.
“There’s a huge opportunity here with the Tailteann Cup which is something that I really believe in as a concept,” O’Mara tells The 42 a few days on from his appointment to succeed Johnny McGeeney. New York will prepare to welcome Mayo in the Connacht SFC quarter-final next April, which O’Mara says will be “an entirely different challenge” for New York. The second tier All-Ireland championship is where he feels they can add to the progress of 2023.
“I think it’s added so much already to so many counties. For us, the Tailteann Cup is the main priority in 2024. We’ll prepare for Mayo but the Tailteann Cup is our realistic and tangible target. It gives us an opportunity to be the first New York team to ever a senior championship game in Ireland. That’s something I really believe in.
“I would tip my hat to every member of the previous management team and every player that’s been involved over the last couple of years who got the team to that point. Every person involved in that camp gave every inch of what they could to get that result.”
O’Mara will step into the arena of inter-county management with a wealth of experience as both a coach and a player. He represented his native Cavan as a goalkeeper, and was part of the team who reached the 2013 All-Ireland quarter-final. He’s also the former New York goalkeeper and also served the county team as a mental performance coach. He’s a member of the Westmeath club in New York who he managed to a senior county title this year.
“I’ve been involved with them the last three years,” says O’Mara, “we won the intermediate [championship] two years ago as well. So, that obviously puts you on the radar and even going back a couple of years ago, I’ve played out here, I’ve won a senior championship as a player here.
“So, I don’t think anyone was shocked to have my name around it. And when the conversation did happen, I had a clear vision and a plan in how I wanted to go about it. The county board were very receptive and the process was good and engaging. I learned a lot as I talked to them and I’d like to think they learned a lot as they talked to me.”
O’Mara says he has already developed relationships with some of the players from his previous role in the New York set-up, and has linked in with them ahead of his upcoming term at the helm.
“There’s so much good work that has been done in New York over the last couple of years.
“When you commit to something as significant as this, your mind often goes back, you reflect and I remember as a kid being a 13-year-old getting a letter in the post for my first call-up with the Cavan U14 development squads. Since that point in my life, GAA has been one of the key pillars in it. I’ve been lucky to play for my own county all the way up to senior, I’ve played in Croke Park in an All-Ireland quarter-final.
“If you had 13-year-old me that I’d be the New York manager, I’d have been like, ‘What?’ But to be here now is something I’m really proud of and I’m really excited. This is probably the most unique and arguably the coolest job in all of the GAA.”
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