O’Mahony To Coach Clonakilty

One season is barely finished when the attention switches to the next one and its prospects. A real attention grabber has come Clonakilty’s way with the news of the appointment of a high profile coach for the 2009/10 campaign.

Such an early confirmation to this perennial problem for all clubs will be hugely comforting to Clonakilty as they build for the new challenge.

Dave O’Mahony, who led Dolphin from AIB League Division Two to the top of Division One, has confirmed that he will accept Clonakilty’s offer of the position of head coach.

He will be joined by Paul Buckley and Eddie Knowles as the backs and forwards coaches respectively.

It is a major coup for the West Cork club and a huge compliment to the players and the recruitment committee led by Past President, Pat Hogan, that this kind of quality can be enticed to the Vale.

Former Ireland scrum half O’Mahony played Heineken Cup rugby for both Munster and Leinster and was assistant coach to the Ireland team at the 2008 Churchill Cup tournament.

He was also coach of the Munster Under-19 Schools squad last season. He is a Manager with Bank of Scotland.

He has been an AIB League Division One coach for many years and represented Ireland as a senior international on four occasions.

In the 1999/00 season, when Clon were winning Division Two of the Munster Junior League, O’Mahony captained Lansdowne to their only AIB League Division One final to date.

He has coached Dolphin for the last five seasons and has taken them into the new elite top-eight section of Division One.

The acquisition of a coaching team of this stature is in line with Clonakilty’s ambitions and the desire to provide its players with the opportunity to achieve their full potential in West Cork.

O’Mahony now takes a new challenge in Division Two but one he is not unfamiliar with having faced similar challenges with Dolphin but who knows, he may be back in the pressure-cooker of the top flight with Clonakilty in the future.

Clon spent five seasons in Division Three and in the last two were a dominant side before winning the league and being promoted to the second tier of the league.

They now enter their fourth season in Division Two and, with O’Mahony at the helm, will be all out to gain promotion next term.