OPPORTUNITY AWAITS
Exile Obahor takes his first steps towards glory on the Croker turf
JOSH OBAHOR walked on the sacred sod of Croke Park for the first time this week. It was for a photo opportunity as the GAA brought a representative from each county – with the exception of New York – contesting the Tailteann Cup to headquarters as a promotional drive for the second-tier championship.
It can be easy to hammer the GAA, so it must be pointed out that this is something they have got right – although Louth hurling captain Peter Fortune did have the reasonable query on social media as to why something similar wasn’t done for the counties contesting the Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups.
Obahor has been to Croker many times in the past. For AllIreland semi-finals and when his club, Parnell’s, organised trips from London for their underage teams. But to play on its turf is now the dream for the 24-year-old from north west London.
It’s an illustration of the effort that the GAA have put behind the Tailteann Cup that the four semi-finalists will play in Croker.
Dangling that carrot in front of the players has been key to getting them engaged, and means a competition still in its infancy has already carved out an identity for itself.
‘It is great to be here, to be taking pictures and promoting the event, but you want to be playing on that pitch, to be honest,’ Obahor says.
‘And this competition gives us a great opportunity to do that. Now that I am here, I am definitely motivated to see where we can get to.’
Like last season, London have Offaly in their opening group game in Tullamore. The Exiles are still waiting for their first win in the competition, but they did draw with Laois in the group stages last year. And in the inaugural year, when it was straight knockout, they came within two points of Sligo.
So, they will feel that they can cause an upset or two. All the teams will feel the same way. Although heavyweights such as Down and Kildare have been seeded and start with a home game, there will be surprise results along the way.
The competition also gives a profile to the likes of Obahor, one of four London-born players who were on the Exiles side beaten by Galway in the Connacht first round. The presence of Obahor, Shay Rafter, Tadhg Barry and Liam Gallagher, who scored three points against the Tribesmen, is testament to the tremendous work being done at underage level by the county board in the English capital.
‘This year, we have managed to keep the core of players who have been there the last couple of years, but there is always turnover. Boys come over to London for work, not to play football, and they only plan on staying a few years. That is part of what London is. We are called the Exiles for a reason.
‘But that is why we need to develop home-grown players, so they can form the core of the team when others come and go.’
It was through his primary school in Harrow that Obahor first started playing Gaelic football. Growing up in north west London, he was indoctrinated into Arsenal early in life and he’s a regular at the Emirates when the GAA season allows, but his dreams of lining out for the
“Boys come over to London for work, not to play football, and they only plan on staying a few years”
Gunners were soon superseded by Gaelic football dreams.
‘I have been playing Gaelic since I was 10 years old. A lot of my friends were playing it and it was being coached in my primary school – I went to St Joseph’s in Harrow. It is quite common around the Catholic schools of north-west London that both Gaelic and hurling is taught to the kids, which is great.
‘Growing up, I played Gaelic and soccer together, but as I got older, I just veered towards the Gaelic, especially when I got called up to London underage teams – then I could see there was a pathway for me to play for the seniors, so I really focused on that.’
Having initially started out as a goalkeeper, Obahor can now usually be found around midfield or the half-forward line. London face challenges that other inter-county teams don’t have – getting off work to get to training in time, which might necessitate taking a few different tubes, is one issue, and even finding an understanding employer who can give you the time off.
Obahor says he is fortunate that his work has been pretty good to him, such as yesterday when he had to get off early for a flight to Dublin as the team were travelling to Tullamore. No other county has to travel so much, but Obahor insists that it creates a bond that few others have.
Obahor’s mother Melissa comes from Douglas in Cork, while his father is Nigerian. He travelled over to Cork quite a bit growing up, although his cousins weren’t too concerned with the fortunes of the Rebel footballers. ‘My mum’s family were more of a rugby family, all Munster supporters.’
He remembers how playing Galway in the Connacht quarterfinal was his first taste of playing Division 1 opposition.
‘It was a humbling and eye-opening experience, playing someone at that level – the pace and physicality they were playing at.’
But as the Exiles tackle teams at their own level, it might hold them in good stead to make a shock run in the Tailteann Cup. The great joy of this competition is that every team will fancy their chances of doing something.