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to hell and back

A Mayo GAA comeback, RTÉ's Ultimate Hell Week and social care work during Covid-19 crisis

Padraig O’Hora is hoping to make his championship debut for Mayo when the season resumes. But there’s a lot more to the 27-year-old than that.

padraig-ohara-2322020 Mayo footballer Padraig O'Hora Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

ONE OF THE most gruelling scenes of RTÉ’s Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week came in the final episode where just four of the 28 candidates were left.

The eight-day event was based on the key stages of the Irish Army’s elite Ranger Wing selection course, designed to break competitors physically and mentally. It’s the hardest test any soldier in the Irish military can go through, with a failure rate above 90%.

In the gripping final challenge, the already exhausted and food-deprived recruits had to withstand hours of torturous interrogation methods.

It included the prolonged holding of uncomfortable stress positions while they were hooded and listening to continuous white noise pumped through headphones. Noises like babies crying were blared into their ears for hours on end.

The only break arrived when they were brought into an interrogation room and subjected to intense questioning by officers.

91500617_595315167860540_9097268816336912384_o Mayo defender Padraig O'Hora during RTÉ's Ultimate Hell Week. RTE RTE

The interrogation methods – known as the five techniques – were originally developed by the British military and applied to detainees during the Troubles in the north. They were later deemed illegal by the European Court of Human Rights. 

After over 11 hours of an arduous ordeal, Mayo footballer Padraig O’Hora was one of the three men left standing.

92127846_596683254390398_1217728661273182208_o Part of the gruelling final challenge during Ultimate Hell Week. RTÉ RTÉ

“It was really bad,” he tells The42 about the last day. ”The lads seemed a bit stronger. We hadn’t had a break since the quarry. We did the quarry (the day before) and I got hyperthermia. I got back out of that and then we did the night navigation.

“We were wrecked and then we went into that. My body was done, my head – everything was finished. I had nothing left to give. I don’t know how I stuck it out. I just kind of kept trying to pull my thoughts back to, ‘Why am I here?’

“Because I kind of felt like I could just have just gone home, I was done. I kept thinking about my kids who were going to watch this and they were going to see me quit.

My close family and friends were going to see me give up, when I’m always the one to say, ‘Just never give up, never stop, keep going.’”

Kevin McStay once remarked on The Sunday Game that those from Mayo are “a very resilient race of people” and that quality certainly shone in O’Hora during the show.  

“I had the greater community of Mayo behind me,” he continues. “That’s bread and butter for us up here. It doesn’t matter how things are going for you, but you just never say never. You just keep ploughing on and keep going.

“I knew a lot of people were going to be watching and I tried to channel energy from that and just say I’m going to do this for the county and even Ballina. I can be an advocate there that we’re not soft, we never give up and just work hard.”

91759867_596683241057066_1852803059898384384_o Padraig O'Hora during the show. RTÉ RTÉ

With that psychological make-up, the London-born man is a good fit for a Mayo panel that has endured its fair share of peaks and troughs over the years. 

Getting through Ultimate Hell Week last November surely stood to him when it came to pre-season with James Horan’s side.

“It’s different I suppose,” he remarks. “You’re kind of pushing your boundaries whereas in football you’re trying to prime yourself up and get to a level where you can perform well. They’re trying to test you and break you down slowly. But it was definitely beneficial before training in that you never say never and just plough on.

“I definitely learned from Hell Week that I’m selling myself short and so is everybody else. You tell yourself that you’re tired, or out of gas or done a long time before you are out of gas. 

“The body will keep ticking if the mind keeps forcing it to,” he says.

“It’s when your head gives up…I couldn’t believe the depths and hard work I put in during Hell Week, how I got to that level and then you try and implement that into your training. Just stop being so soft and giving yourself those breaks.”

O’Hora was one of the standout newcomers to emerge under James Horan during Mayo’s difficult league campaign in the spring.

The combative defender’s ponytail sets him apart visually, but a string of tenacious performances in an often under-siege backline against top calibre opposition is what really caught the eye in the early stage of the season.

darren-hughes-with-padraig-ohora-2322020 O'Hora in action against Monaghan during the league. Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

O’Hora’s debut in the green and red was a long time coming. The Stephenites man, who turned 27 earlier this year, spent a spell on the panel during Stephen Rochford’s tenure but a competitive appearance never materialised.

He describes his first stint on the Mayo panel as “just a taste.”

“Just a little look into what the training is like, what’s expected of you and where you need to get to.

I was a completely different person back then too,” he admits. “I wasn’t nearly the same guy I am now. I took two years away from football. I had a break and got into martial arts, sorted myself out and came back ready to go.”

O’Hora played ball with Ballina Stephenites all this life and had “the same dream that every other young lad has growing up in Mayo, you just want to play for Mayo senior football team, simple as that.”

But he “fell out of love” with the game and packed it in for a couple of years, heading on a personal journey that ultimately reignited his passion for football.

“I got sick of the same thing week-in, week-out. I’ve tested and trialled so many different sports that because I’d given so many years to football I just felt like I needed to give myself the opportunity to go out and try a few different bits.

padraig-ohora-and-eoghan-collins-dejected O'Hora (left) played minor football with Mayo in 2011. James Crombie James Crombie

“So I took two years out and tried a couple of different martial arts. I really enjoyed them.

“I did karate as a young lad and I was very good at it. Then I came away from it and boxed, I’ve done kickboxing and a lot of other bits and pieces. I just wanted a change and I thought an individual sport would be nice so I got into Jiu-Jitsu locally.

“I did a bit of MMA and kickboxing training but there’s not a big scene over here for that. So it was predominantly training and I competed in Jiu-Jitsu. I enjoyed it and just enjoyed learning, making the brain do different things for a while and a break from the usual grind.

“And I learned from that, be it looking after your own body, nutrition, conditioning, how your body works and brought it back to football.”

Just when he thought he was out, it pulled him back in. 

“I got that bite back over the last say eight months before I went back. I couldn’t stop watching football. I go the bite back for it, got the love and hunger for it and I was like, ‘Yeah let’s go.’”

He returned to club football last year, contributing a series of strong performances during Ballina’s run to the Mayo SFC semi-finals. A call arrived from Horan over the winter and he jumped at the chance.

“It was always the dream. The top priority was always to get the green and red jersey on you for the county and it’s a big thing up here.

mayo-stand-for-the-national-anthem-2322020 Mayo stand for the national anthem. Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

“It’s just a great place to be, it’s where you want to be. It’s exactly where everyone wants to be, playing at the highest level, playing with some super footballers which you always will be in this county and just driving forward.

“It’s a great set-up and I’m just happy to be part of it, to be honest.”

When his chance came around this time O’Hora was ready to make an impact.

“I think it (martial arts) helped from the physicality side, but I also found yoga and a bit of meditation I’ve brought in over the last two or three years.

A lot of flexibility work and all different aspects I wasn’t paying any attention to prior to slipping into martial arts. You’re meeting different people, you’re picking up different bits and you’re just growing as a person. I think it would help in any area. 

“I’m just getting to that stage now where I can give a bit more to it. I’m working harder behind the scenes and trying to do everything I can to be at the best level I can.”

As much as he’s yearning to make his championship debut for the Westerners, football is only secondary these days. 

“I’d love to and hopefully that happens at some stage,” he says about the prospect of making his bow in the Connacht SFC.

“But at the moment the football is completely at the back of my mind. I’m staying fit and stuff but I work in social care, so it’s about public health at the moment and well-being for the general community.” 

Dig a little deeper and it becomes clear that O’Hora’s day job has changed his life.

The father of two is a social care assistant with Western Care in Mayo. He primarily works with local people on the autism spectrum. 

The role involves helping people with different disabilities to fulfil their daily lives.

“It’s possibly the best thing that ever happened to me really, to be honest, finally getting into this work,” he admits.

“From the perspective that it gives you and the appreciation and acceptance for what you have. A lot of these people might struggle socially, they’ll struggle with communication and they’ll struggle with independent living.

padraig-ohara-dejected-after-being-sent-off-2322020 The 27-year-old is hoping to make his championship debut this season. Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

“So a lot of the time you’d be very grateful for the small things and really, really appreciate them. The fact that I can hold down a job, rent a house – things that people completely overlook that I see people can’t do on a daily basis.

“Things they would give anything to be able to do. So I’m really fortunate. I might be walking my dog for half an hour and just feel so grateful that I can even do that independently.

There’s an awful lot of things that we don’t notice at all. How grateful we really should be just to have the bare necessities. It’s brought an awful lot of perspective to me alright.”

He’s continuing to work on the frontline and because of the Covid-19 pandemic, most of it is done individually rather than in a group setting.

It’s a big change for them at the moment because everything is closed down and there are very few things running. You’re looking at 50% of them having underlying health conditions, it’s very common, so you have to be very, very careful and look after them to the best of our capabilities really. 

“It’s done on more of a one-to-one basis now so we’re really busy. The more staff that have to go into isolation over the next couple of weeks the pressure will come on. You can’t just pull random people in because you need to be trained. So we all have to come together, the same as anyone else, and put in a good shift.”

Operating in close quarters with such vulnerable people means he has to be hyperaware of not picking up and spreading the virus.

“You’re being extremely vigilant. Everywhere I go because I’m always working with vulnerable people. Even delivering food to the elderly, you don’t know who you’re getting in contact with, you have to be so cautious.

“A mistake could cost a lot of people so you just follow HSE guidelines, being strict and stringent with the way you conduct yourself.”

His championship debut can wait. For now, Padraig O’Hora has bigger things on his mind. 

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