LAST UPDATE | 24 Oct 2023
NEXT UP IN the cast of former intercounty players who – hand on heart – don’t really miss it now that they have stepped away? Step forward, Pauric Mahony.
Of course it helps when you are 31 and have some of the best years yet to come when you belong to an ultra-successful club such as Ballygunner.
So, no. He’s quite fine in intercounty retirement, thank you very much.
“I missed it when you are at the games and it is a sunny day in Thurles, of course you miss being out on the pitch. But not the work that is required to get to that stage,” he states.
“I felt I gave it a good enough stint for a number of years and I felt it was time to move on and content in my decision.”
Another man that might arrive at that logic is Austin Gleeson. Currently on sabbatical from county hurling, Mahony knows the blow this represents to the team as they head into the Sophomore Year of Davy Fitzgerald’s second spell in charge.
“Course he will be missed. Inside the group, everyone would know how important Austin is to the team and being around the set-up, he’s a positive influence and everyone gets on well with him,” says Mahony.
“He’s gonna be a loss on the field too, but I think he has made the right decision for himself. Sometimes you can only just push it and push it for so long, putting the team first and sometime you have to be that little bit selfish.
“We’re hoping he will be able to go off and recharge the batteries and come back to play for Waterford, if it’s in 2024 or 2025. But we hope to see him back in a Waterford jersey again.”
Mahony is not alone in making the decision that commitments with Ballygunner is quite enough. For himself and the likes of Stephen O’Keefe to declare for the county would be a huge boost, but also brings their lives back to a never-ending season, pinballing from one huge commitment to the next.
In any event, the training with Ballygunner is on a par with what he was used to at county level.
“You still have your three field sessions a week, which is the same as most intercounty teams are probably doing.
“It is a bit more condensed with the club season so you are not as switched on all the time. Realistically, from November on until you go out of the championship you are in the county mode,” he explains.
“But with the club season, you can time it a little bit better and you only have around six or seven months where you are ticking over.
“That definitely helped, but in general you have your three sessions, you might have one or two gym sessions but I just think you can manage it better mentally. You can switch off a lot more within the club season. When you are in the county, everything else comes a distant second but with the club, you can juggle a lot more things.”
By juggling things, he means his other passions. This year, he was able to manage the club’s minor team to a county championship.
What excites him now about that crew is to see who will exert themselves to grab a senior jersey in the coming years.
And then, there are a few good walks needing spoiled.
“A simple thing like being able to get around for a round of golf,” he says.
“Previously, you would have only got out once or twice a year, now you are out every week for a game of golf.
“You just have a different type of life. One that you can enjoy. It’s just nice that you can make your own decisions, in your own time.”
Ballygunner aim to become the first-ever side to do three Munster club hurling titles back to back and begin their provincial defence on Sunday week when they face Cork champions Sarsfields in Walsh Park.
It was back on 10 September when they made it ten in a row in their county with victory over De La Salle.
That’s quite the stretch, but the team then took a two-week break entirely from hurling. Some went on holidays, before coming back in for another small pre-season.
And in recent years, a series of challenge matches against Sarsfields has led to them getting very familiar with each other, as well as their familiarity in hurling Fitzgibbon Cup alongside club members, with UCC.
“There is a different emphasis, the way they are playing the game,” believes Mahony.
“I think we are seeing a different side to Sars this year that we hadn’t seen in previous years. It is going to be a huge challenge to us. But we are focussing on getting as much work into ourselves as possible and we will have a look at Sars over the weekend and be ready for the week after.”
• Pauric Mahony was speaking at the launch of the AIB All Ireland club championships.
