Duncan O'Mahony h-MAH-nee(b. June 29, 1976 in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

) is a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

punter and

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

who is currently a free agent.

Early years

Despite being born in Ireland and having lived in Australia and Newfoundland as a child, O'Mahony is considered a non-import by the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, as he and his family settled in

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metrop ...

when he was a teenager. O'Mahony attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, where he set a conference record with a 52-yard field goal and was a first team CIAU all-star in 2000.

Professional career

After his college career, O'Mahony joined the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

for the 2001 CFL season, initially as a punter while

Mark McLoughlin Mark McLoughlin (born October 26, 1965) is a former placekicker in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders from 1988 to 2003 and the BC Lions in 2005. He won three Grey Cups for the Stampeders in 1992, 1998, and 2001, and was the ...

handled the placekicking duties. O'Mahony won the

89th Grey Cup The 89th Grey Cup (Canadian Football League championship) was held in 2001 in Montreal. The Calgary Stampeders claimed their fifth championship in team history with a 27–19 win over the East Division champions and heavily favoured Winnipeg B ...

in his rookie season with the Stampeders. After McLoughlin's first retirement after the 2002 CFL season, O'Mahony assumed kicking duties for the Stampeders as well as punting. However, a lack of accuracy put him in the fans' doghouse quickly, and McLoughlin was lured out of retirement at the end of the

2003 CFL season The 2003 CFL season is considered to be the 50th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 46th Canadian Football League season. The pre-season began on May 30, 2003 and the regular season started on June 17, 2003. Ta ...

so O'Mahony could return to full-time punting. O'Mahony left the Stampeders after 2003 and signed with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

, again as a placekicker and punter. O'Mahony had an adequate

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

kicking two 40+ yard field goals in the western conference final against Saskatchewan to win the game, but his performance in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

was such that McLoughlin was ''again'' lured out of retirement to relieve him of his placekicking duties at the end of the year and the playoffs. On May 4, 2006, O'Mahony was released by the Lions. On May 10, 2006, the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

signed him to a one-year contract. It was expected that O'Mahony would be taking punting duties for the team in the upcoming season while possibly challenging

Troy Westwood Troy Westwood (born March 21, 1967) is a former professional Canadian football place kicker and punter who played 18 years for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted 48th overall in the 6th round of the 1991 CF ...

for the place kicking job. On May 21, 2006, O'Mahony failed to show up for training camp with Winnipeg, and no one heard from him. He did make it to Calgary, but never got on a connecting flight to Winnipeg. The family issued a statement through the Blue Bombers club, saying they are having difficulty reaching him and there was a concern for his welfare. On May 22, 2006, O'Mahony's family confirmed that he had been located but due to personal issues has not yet shown up to training camp. Blue Bombers GM,

Brendan Taman Brendan Taman is the Director of Pro Personnel for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also served as the general manager for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He is a Grey Cup champion having ...

, has since stated that Duncan will not be playing for Winnipeg due to the nature of the situation. On February 3, 2007, O'Mahony signed a 2-year contract with the

but played little. He was traded to the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

on May 26, 2008, in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2009 CFL Draft but one week later, Edmonton signed Noel Prefontaine and released O'Mahony. On June 16, 2008, he signed to return with the Blue Bombers after they had released

References

External links

CFL.ca stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omahony, Duncan 1976 births Living people BC Lions players Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football placekickers Canadian football punters Irish emigrants to Canada Irish players of Canadian football Sportspeople from Abbotsford, British Columbia UBC Thunderbirds football players