McMahon relishing the challenge ahead of Clare in league

James McConigley speaks to Emmet McMahon about the highs and lows of last year and his hopes for this year

2021 was a real mixed bag for Emmet McMahon. The 21-year-old enjoyed fantastic highs and crushing lows. From the heartbreak of Kildysart conceding two late smash and grab goals and ultimately falling short to Corofin in the Clare Intermediate Final to capturing a landmark first U-21A championship, then joint-captaining Cill Cúl Gaels only seven weeks later and registering a 1-10 to 0-08 victory over Éire Óg, the Kildysart native had a rollercoaster time of it.

And so begins another year with a jam-packed football season in store.

Now in his third year of Physical Education and Maths at the University of Limerick, McMahon is enjoying his chosen course.

Speaking to the Clare Champion he said, “The course solely revolves around sport and it’s a great help with the fitness and that side of things. I had a huge interest in biology towards the end of secondary school. It’s great how it helps me with nutrition and fitness so I enjoy it.”

This week for many intercounty college students would be particularly difficult with the relaunch of ‘refreshers week’. McMahon admitted it will be difficult, but he’ll be looking at the bigger picture come Sunday when Clare host Offaly in Cusack Park at 2pm.

“It’s fairly busy around this week. Sure you know yourself with the restrictions easing. It can be quite hard with all your mates gone out, but I’ve my own pals that are in a similar situation.

“I try to revolve myself around them. Some of my good friends are in the same boat. Once you get the balance right, it’s all good.”

Along with his studies, the half-forward’s timetable is filled up with Sigerson cup action. Alongside Daniel Walsh (KIB) and Ciarán Downes (Kilmihil), McMahon kicked two points in his side’s 2-23 to 3-15 victory over Letterkenny IT in the Connacht GAA centre in Brekan, County Mayo.

Bolstered by the attacking prowess of David Clifford, McMahon is pleased with how his side are performing in the competition.

“We’ve played two games already so thankfully we’ve two wins under our belt. We’re off this week which is great. It gives us a rest with the league upcoming and help us get a few trainings under our belt as well. Back into the quarter-final next Tuesday, all going well, we’ll get over that.”

Honoured to be representing his county for the third season, McMahon said he hoped everything would continue to go to plan and the league will run smoothly off the master fixture plan after the interruptions of the past two years.

Since the 2020 season, Clare have been unfortunate to have been paired off with the eventual provincial champions since the reintroduction of a knock-out format.

The student said this season’s league is a solid platform for Colm Collins’ outfit to build some impetus in their seven football league fixtures, starting with newly-promoted Offaly at the Clare GAA headquarters on Sunday.

“John Maughan is a top-class manager and I know they’ve Tómas O Sé with them this year so it’s going to be hard-fought to get the win and we’ll have to have our work cut out for them. It’s going to be no easy game with either them or Derry because they’ve come up. We’ll need to perform well to get over the line.”

The Kildysart man joked that Clare are favourites to get relegated and believes that his teammates are looking forward to proving the doubters wrong.

Collins’ team narrowly missed out on advancing up to Division One in 2021 with Mayo regaining their spot at the top tier instead of the Banner county. McMahon feels that this year will be physically difficult but says Clare are up for the challenge.

“As always, it’s a very competitive league, some absolute quality teams in there. Some of the teams would easily compete in division one.”

This season’s league campaign sees the Banner on the road to Cork, Roscommon and Galway before concluding the competition with a trip to Pairc Esler on March 27. The also hosting newly promoted teams Offaly, Derry and defeated Division Two north finalists of last year, Meath.

This season has seen the injection of some fresh blood into the Clare squad. It’s an aspect that the 21-year-old excepts as a welcome challenge for the seasoned campaigners.

“We’ve had a lot of joy in the under-age set-up. The U-20’s and minor age group and you can see that’s benefiting us in this team. It brings a new freshness to the group which keeps other lads, on our toes in terms of competition. We’re all looking over our shoulder for the next lad to grab the jersey.”

Whether or not the Kildysart player features in this weekend’s action remains to be seen. However, McMahon knows that he has an exciting and active year awaiting him.