Pictured is former Mayo Footballer and Sigerson Cup winner with DCU, Conor Mortimer as he looks ahead to the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Championships Sigerson Cup final this Wednesday 12th February. Through its #FirstClassRivals campaign, Electric Ireland will continue to celebrate the unique alliances that form between county rivals as they come together in pursuit of some of the most coveted titles across GAA and Camogie.
By Cian O’Connell
It is more than a decade since Conor Mortimer played senior inter-county football for Mayo.
Mortimer’s passion for sport endures. From a sporting mad family, Mortimer quickly learned about life, football, and Mayo. Brothers Kenneth and Trevor were influential figures for the green and red.
So, Mortimer learned early about the sheer value, joy, and possibilities sport could bring. “It was everything, really,” Mortimer reflects.
“I got the love of playing sport by watching Trevor play and Kenneth playing with Mayo. You see what they're doing and the buzz they're getting out of it. I preferred soccer when I was younger than football. It was probably 16 or 17 when I went towards football.”
Valuable lessons were learned in other games. “Trevor was with Mervue for a couple of years, I went up for a year, I played with Riverside, Galway Town, all that stuff,” he adds.
“You're always thinking at that age, you see the likes of Fordey (David Forde) going over, a couple of other guys who went away Seamie Crowe and Seamie Rabbitte back in the day.
“You're thinking they're getting a chance, I might get a chance of playing with X or Y team at soccer. The decision always comes in terms of playing U14 and U16 with Mayo, you get to minor level, and you have to make a decision in terms of what you're going to play.”
The Mayo jersey mattered in the Mortimer household. “Obviously, I played minor with Mayo and stuck with that,” he says.
Conor Mortimer in action for Mayo against Kerry in the 2006 All-Ireland SFC Final at Croke Park. Photo by Damien Eagers/Sportsfile
“It worked out fine. The odds and probability of making it in soccer are very slim to be fair. I was content with the football, they had ploughed their furrow with Mayo at underage and minor. Kenneth was playing when I was underage, he played in All-Ireland finals in '96 and '97.
“You're thinking the buzz in Croke Park, that is where you want to be going to, that is where it started for me. Then, I followed on through. Our family was mad into football, it was football, football, football. There was nothing else. It didn't do any harm, I'll put it that way.”
Practice made perfect, though, and that is something Mortimer stresses to emerging footballers now. “I was happy with the innings over the years,” Mortimer says.
“We got to play together, the three of us with our club for Shrule which was great. We were a sporting mad family from our mother and father. They instilled it in us to be the best we could be.
“We'd go down the pitch to practice, there was no pub for me, it was just pitch, pitch, pitch. I always say that to people, to young people it is just practice, practice, practice. At the end of the day, you need to be able to go out to play, that literally whenever you get the ball, you're turning, shooting.
“You know you've done it, that it is going over the bar. You don't have to be in front of the goal, you just turn your hip to whatever side. That is what practice brings. I was lucky, with work I worked with Dad at the time, I didn't have that responsibility. It is different for everybody. It had a huge part to play in my life, the way they were with their sports. I followed on, still to the day. So, all is good.”
In the summer of 2012 Mortimer stepped away from the Mayo panel. At the time, Mayo were beginning to stir again under James Horan. How was the transition after? “From point of view, it is a little different,” Mortimer says.
“When I left that time, I don't know what you'd call it, a bit of a hissy fit or whatever with Horan at the time. I'm probably more regretful than anything else.
Conor Mortimer in action for Mayo against Meath in the 2009 All-Ireland SFC Quarter-Final at Croke Park. Photo by: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
“I felt I had a couple of years left in me at that level, that was probably the hardest bit for me. I didn't deal with it greatly at that time, and I didn't deal with it great after because I was watching Mayo playing, knowing I could've been out there.
“It was only when I got a little bit older I was able to think would you be able to sit on a bench, be part of a squad thing, I would now because I'm older. At that time, I thought I was better than everyone else, that was my own little bit of a mistake at the time.
“I loved playing the game. I grew up playing with a football, and I got to a level by playing all of the time, by practising all of the time.”
In the intervening years, Mortimer has enjoyed coaching teams, trying to help players flourish. “I've been involved since I left, I've been coaching and managing, I still have the routine of a few nights a week and a weekend day,” Mortimer remarks.
“It has been important to me. I've two young kids, three and four, and my wife at home, and I wouldn't be the best lad to be living with if I was sitting on the couch Monday to Friday in terms of what is on the telly, and probably what I want to watch on the telly.
“I think you need to have that balance at home which tends to make it a happy household. By me being away a couple of evenings training, it helps with the balance for me. It helps the balance in our household. It has worked out okay in the long run.”
Mayo have suffered Allianz Football League Division One defeats to Dublin and Galway ensuring Sunday’s Hastings Insurance MacHale Park clash against Tyrone is critical. Emerging players are being afforded opportunities by Kevin McStay so will the short term pain be worth the long term gain? “We have to look at it that way,” Mortimer replies.
“We've had who we've had for the last number of years, and been very, very competitive. We haven't got over the line. Like all successful teams, you need to be able to embed one or two each year, Dublin have done it, Kerry have done it, Tyrone have done it, Armagh have done it.
Conor Mortimer, Mayo, and Killian Young, Kerry, in action during the 2012 Allianz Football League Semi-Final at Croke Park. Photo by: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
“If we look back at the last six or seven years with Mayo, we haven't too many new lads when it comes to the crunch, All-Ireland quarter, semi, and final time. It is generally your 15 who we've had.
“I'd like to think there will be two or three additions this year, additions, who will add to the team when they're on the field, and are embedded with that trust to be able to make a difference when it matters.
“While it is disappointing to lose a couple of games, there is a little bit of pressure on in that we probably need to beat Tyrone. You don't want to be losing three and then having to win your last maybe four games. That is undue pressure.
“This game in Castlebar, we need to start making home advantage count. What was most worrying, it wasn't the defeat against Galway, it was the manner of the defeat.”
There is still hope. Mortimer remains adamant that Mayo have the potential to make a serious impact. “Those teams with dangerous inside forwards, who get the ball early, they'll be one of the most successful,” he says.
“We've (Tommy) Conroy to come back, Aidan O'Shea to come back, with Ryan O'Donoghue. You look at those three lads inside, if you get ball into them quick enough, they'll hurt teams badly. That is part of the training in terms of that transition.
“Teams over the last seven or eight years haven't been doing any of that long kicking, it is the team that can do that. You've to understand, and people don't understand it as much, the actual skills of the game over the last seven or eight years have suffered in terms of that kicking from distance and midfield.
“Everyone is carrying the ball because they've so many behind the ball. All of that is going to have to be worked on. It is the teams who get up to speed quicker, they'll be the most successful in that regard. It is probably good for the likes of Mayo that it is a little bit more open than it has been.”