THE DEER HUNTER OF WEST CORK
When Peter O’Mahony isn’t tracking rugby’s big game, family life and the countryside provide his sanctuary
‘Boys, today, whoever means something to you or whatever it means to you, whether they are f***in’ at home or whether they are in the stands or whether they are not here any more, they have got to see it in your eyes when you go out there today so the second you take the pitch it’s non-negotiable today. Everything after that is cool, collective discipline to it that they [New Zealand] can’t live with. Everybody has got to f***in’ see it’ – Peter O’Mahony, dressing room huddle prior to 2017 Lions first Test in Auckland. Lions Uncovered, the new fly-onthe-wall tour DVD, doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know about Peter O’Mahony. Fire and brimstone orations, heart on sleeve emotions, industrial language aimed at laying down the law and getting a reaction – these are all eye-catching traits we had become well accustomed to over the years watching the spikey 28-year-old evolve from a young buck on the Munster scene to the motivator Warren Gatland felt best placed to skipper in that Eden Park series opener five months ago.
When he is in the zone and on the clock, you dare not cross him. Just ask Reggie Corrigan, the former Leinster skipper who was given a withering put-down when he dared question the intensity of a Munster team beaten in an Aviva Stadium derby last month.
But what about the man behind this steely-eyed rugby mask? Truth is, we don’t know all that much about him as O’Mahony’s life away from the pitch is rarely in the public eye.
However, thrown a few curveball questions while attending the Guinness Storehouse last Tuesday night – as his Munster and Cork Constitution won respective team and club of the year Rugby Writers of Ireland awards – he sat back in his chair, mellowed and provided a rare glimpse about what makes him tick when he is not hard at work.
His perfect day? Domestic bliss. Himself, partner Jess and their daughter chilling out at home in Cork, their native city, where they pledged to stay rather than move lock, stock and barrel when Munster began operating out of their single training centre in Limerick 15 months ago. Instead, he commutes with Stephen Archer, the pair alternating the driving duties.
‘I’ve a young daughter, she’s 18 months at the moment, so it’s nice to get a day off to spend a bit of time with her,’ he explains. ‘Those days are few and far between. It’s nice to spend a bit of time with her, especially at that age.
‘Cork has always been home. My family is based in Cork, so is Jess’s family, so it made sense for us to stay put. If I had to drag it all up to Limerick, Jess probably wouldn’t have the same amount of help that she does based in Cork. There is a lot more people around to give her a hand when I’m not around.
‘It just made sense to keep everything in Cork, but Cork is very important to me. It’s home, I find it has a lovely balance of lifestyle. There is not the craziness of Dublin, but there is still a great buzz around.’
Hunting big game in the guise of Springboks and Pumas on the rugby field is central to Ireland’s upcoming series, but O’Mahony had a different type of hunt in mind when he spoke last Tuesday. November 1, the next day, marked the start of the annual shooting season, something that has special resonance for him.
Rural pursuits are his escape away from the pressures of elite sport. ‘I do a bit of pheasant shooting, a bit of deer shooting, down in Kerry with a couple of buddies,’ he reveals.
‘I do a lot of deer shooting down there, outside Killarney towards Tralee. West Cork in general is very good. I do a bit of woodcock. Woodcock and pheasant is opening tomorrow, November 1. It’s our down day (in Ireland camp) so I might get out for a few hours.
‘Myself and a couple of buddies have a couple of farms closed off. We have a couple of pheasant pens and we release a few birds, so I’ll try and get out there tomorrow morning. Give it a shot.’
The countryside is the perfect excuse for him to get out with his dogs, two Labrador and a springer. ‘I love dogs,’ he continues, unveiling a side to his character we seldom get to hear about. ‘I like seeing dogs working properly and well. That’s probably the main attraction of it. I like being outside.
‘It’s something that is very different to professional rugby, which is quite an intense job. It takes your mind off it fully, which is important. I find it a nice way to relax. There’s a lot of concentration involved. It’s a nice way to spend a few hours to get away from everything.
‘There’s a lot of minding in dogs. If I’m away my brother minds them, gets them out walking every day. They need to stay fit. There’s a lot of responsibility in dogs. It’s important. It’s not willy-nilly. You need time for it… it’s lovely to watch dogs working properly, working well. Not that they are very well trained, but they are getting there.
‘I’ve always had a passion for it [the outdoors]. I used to spend a lot of summers down in West Cork, kayaking with my uncle. I still do that. I take off when I have a chance, down to Garrettstown or wherever. I like being outdoors. It’s nice to sit and watch TV, but I’d rather be out the gap doing something else.’
A different type of gap is something he will try to close this November. Despite being one of Irish rugby’s most prominent figures, he has started just two of Ireland’s 20 matches since the 2015 World Cup.
It was at that tournament where his knee was severely hurt and with project player, Munster colleague CJ Stander, then blocking his route back into the Test back row, he needed an eleventh-hour call-up to replace Jamie Heaslip and face Grand Slam-chasing England, that lucky break giving him the stage which took him all the way to Lions captaincy and that pre-first Test dressing room huddle.
‘The competition with Ireland is incredible… it always seems in the back row there is a crazy fight for places. It doesn’t get any easier with the quality of players coming through now. You’ve just got to get your head down and do your best.
Cork is vert important to me. It has a lovely balance of lifestyle