Noel O'Mahony (18 December 1939 – 30 May 2013) was a former

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

footballer and manager. As a player, he won the

1970–71 League of Ireland Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

title with

Cork Hibernians Cork Hibernians F.C. was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions. The club was di ...

and as manager he won the

1992–93 League of Ireland Premier Division Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno D ...

with

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

Family and early years

O'Mahony was the son of Nora and Timothy O'Mahony and he grew up on Pearse Road in the Ballyphehane district of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. Two of his brothers were also

footballers. Like Noel, Declan also played for

while Pat played for Cork Celtic. Noel and Pat O'Mahony both attended

Coláiste Chríost Rí Coláiste Chríost Rí () is a Catholic secondary school for boys based on Capwell Road in Turners Cross, Cork, Ireland. The school, which is under the trusteeship of the Presentation Brothers Schools Trust, had an enrollment of 513 students as ...

where Noel initially played

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

before switching to

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. As a schoolboy he played for Ballyphenane United and Tramore Athletic. Pat O'Mahony also played for Athletic. In 1956 Noel O'Mahony was selected as the inaugural Cork Schoolboy Player of the Year.

Playing career

Cork Hibernians

During the 1960s and 1970s O'Mahony played for

. Together with

Miah Dennehy Jeremiah Dennehy (29 March 1950 – 10 November 2023) was an Irish footballer whose teams included Cork Hibernians, Nottingham Forest, Walsall and Bristol Rovers. In 1972, he became the first-ever player to score a hat-trick in an FAI Cup final. ...

, John Herrick,

Gerry Coyne Gerard Aloysius Coyne (born 9 August 1948) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a centre forward for York City and in the Scottish Football League for Berwick Rangers. He also played non-league football for South ...

and

Dinny Allen Denis 'Dinny' Allen (born 9 August 1952) is a retired Gaelic football manager and former dual player. He played both hurling and Gaelic football with his local club Nemo Rangers and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county teams in both cod ...

, he was a prominent member of a successful Hibernians team managed by

Dave Bacuzzi David Reno Bacuzzi (12 October 1940 – 21 April 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played for Arsenal, Manchester City and Reading. He also represented England as a youth international. After a moderately successful career in the ...

. He was invariably described as a "hard player", a "(take) no prisoners... centre-half" and as a "tough, no-nonsense defender". While playing for Hibernians, O'Mahony helped the club win the

title, two

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

s in 1971–72 and 1972–73 and the

Blaxnit Cup The Blaxnit Cup, is a defunct club football competition which featured teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland, in a similar format to the later Setanta Cup. It was inaugurated in 1967 as a cross-border competition between ...

in 1971–72. His brother Declan also played as a goalkeeper for Hibernians and featured in the 1972–73 FAI Cup final. O'Mahony also served as team captain and played for Hibernians in Europe, including in a

1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The 1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the 13th and final season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a European football competition for teams not qualified for the European Cup or the European Cup Winners' Cup. Back in 1969, UEFA determined this wou ...

tie against

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Manager

Albert Rovers

At the end of the 1975–76 season,

resigned from the

. The 1976–77 season saw them replaced by Albert Rovers with O'Mahony serving as their player-manager. O'Mahony subsequently remained in charge of Albert Rovers for most of their stay in the League of Ireland under their various guises as Cork Albert, Cork Alberts and Cork United. The highlight of his time with Alberts was guiding the club to the 1977–78

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

final which they lost to

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

Limerick

During the 1980s

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

had two clubs,

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

and

Newcastle West Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicised Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city. It is also the county t ...

, playing in the

for the first time and O'Mahony managed both clubs during the course of the decade. In 1983–84 he was briefly in charge during a turbulent time for Limerick as rival factions within the club went to the High Court to decide who owned the rights to the club's name. O'Mahony also served as manager of Newcastle West.

Cork City

During the 1980s and 1990s O'Mahony had three spells in charge of

. He was briefly in charge in 1986 before he was succeeded by Eamon O'Keefe. He was reappointed for the 1988–89 season and O'Mahony subsequently guided the club to eighth place in the league. Cork City also reached the

final but lost to Derry City. However, because Derry City were Premier Division champions, Cork City qualified for the

1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1989–90 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won for the only time by Sampdoria in the final against Anderlecht, 2–0 at Nya Ullevi in Gothenburg, on 9 May 1990. They went on to win 1990–91 Serie A, also being runners-up in the ...

. This was the first time Cork City qualified for

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In 1990–91 after finishing second in the Premier Division, Cork City qualified for the

1991–92 UEFA Cup The 1991–92 UEFA Cup was the 21st season of Europe's then-tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final was played over two legs at Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin, Italy, and at Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands. The compe ...

. In the first round they held

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

to a 1–1 draw at Musgrave Park before eventually losing the tie 3–1 on aggregate. In 1992–93, with a team that included Phil Harrington, John Caulfield, Pat Morley, Paul Bannon,

Gerry McCabe Gerry McCabe (born 26 September 1956) is a Scottish football player and coach. Playing career McCabe had a lengthy playing career that lasted almost two decades. He made over 200 league appearances for a Clydebank side that steamrollered thro ...

and

Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally Print syndication, syndicated humor column for the ''Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has written numerous books of humor and parody, as we ...

, O'Mahony guided Cork City to their first Premier Division title after a series of three-way play-offs that also involved

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

and Shelbourne. Damien Richardson briefly took over from O'Mahony at the start of the 1993–94 but O'Mahony was re-appointed manager before the season ended. O'Mahony then became the only manager to win the

without getting the team to the final.

Death and legacy

O'Mahony died peacefully on 30 May 2013 at

Cork University Hospital Cork University Hospital () is a large university teaching hospital in Wilton, Cork in Ireland. Its academic partner is University College Cork and serves as one of two major trauma centers for Ireland: the other is Mater Misericordiae University ...

. He was survived by his wife Noreen, partner Ann, sisters and brothers. Two weeks prior to his death, he had attended a 20-year reunion of

's 1992–93 Premier Division winning team. An obituary in the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...

'' remarked that O'Mahony had achieved success at three of

Cork city Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

's sports stadiums. As a player with

he had played at

Páirc Uí Rinn Páirc Uí Rinn (), also known as Páirc Chríostóir Uí Rinn, is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium located between Ballinlough and Ballintemple in Cork. It was previously known as Flower Lodge and was used as an association football ...

when it was known as

Flower Lodge Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants (angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, mo ...

. As a manager of Cork City, he oversaw a draw with

at Musgrave Park and then won the Premier Division at Turners Cross.

Honours

Player

;

** 1970–71: 1 *

** 1971–72, 1972–73: 2 *

** 1971–72: 1

Manager

;

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

**''Winners'': 1992–93: 1 **''Runners Up'': 1990–91: 1 *

**''Runners Up'': 1988–89, 1991–92: 2 *

**''Winners'': 1993–94: 1 ; Cork Albert *

**''Runners Up'': 1977–78: 1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OMahony, Noel 1939 births 2013 deaths Men's association football defenders Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland association football managers League of Ireland players League of Ireland managers Association footballers from Cork (city) Cork Hibernians F.C. players Cork City F.C. managers Limerick F.C. managers People educated at Coláiste Chríost Rí Tramore Athletic F.C. players Albert Rovers F.C. players 20th-century Irish sportsmen