Pádraig O’Hora: ‘I’m a lot happier when I’m playing football than I am when I’m not’

The signature ponytail is gone. If it is going to be a new-look Mayo this year, then it is also going to be a new-look Pádraig O’Hora.

It’s not because the Ballina man is so stirred by the upcoming season that he opted to get his championship haircut ahead of the Allianz Leagues.

No, O’Hora has always come across as a civic-minded, compassionate, soulful kind of guy. So, two weeks ago, he had his trademark mane cut for LauraLynn, with his chopped locks being used to help provide real-hair wigs for children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment. He also raised over €7,000 for the charity.

“I just thought it was a nice thing to be able to do,” he says. “I was going to cut it anyway so it was nice to do something positive.

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“I have three girls in my house – my partner and my two kids, two girls – and I had the longest hair of the lot of them. It was kind of getting to the stage where it needed to go anyway.”

He doesn’t have to worry about players tugging at his hair any longer either, which might also be no bad thing.

O’Hora recently turned 30. He works for Mayo Mental Health Association and he remains one of the game’s most open players when it comes to talking about mental health issues, including his own.

Over two years ago, he started to feel “things weren’t right”, and after chatting with a friend he eventually sought help. He continues to see a counsellor at least once a month.

“I think it’s a constant journey,” he adds. “I definitely feel back on track, but would feel that it’s a constant personal development thing I need to be aware of, conscious of and that I need to check in with.

“I haven’t stopped counselling. I don’t see why you would. I was always under the impression that you go to see a counsellor to get support when you need it. But the science kind of says, ‘Why wouldn’t you be preventative prior to issues arising?’ I found it so beneficial when I needed it. I kind of kept that going.

“Once you speak up, once I sat down and said, ‘I don’t think I am right, I am not 100 per cent sure what is wrong, but I know I am not right,’ and had a conversation, the weight was gone.”

And while playing with Mayo is something that brings huge pressure and expectancy, O’Hora says the highs and lows of football is not something that adds extra anxiety, but rather he finds it helpful.

“Football is fairly irrelevant to it. Football, actually I think helps a lot with my mental health,” he adds. “Upon reflection, I’m a lot happier when I’m playing football than I am when I’m not.

“But it wouldn’t be a subject in too much of the conversation. It would be very much about life experience, personal stuff and kind of development.”

Mayo fans hoping to see the new look O’Hora in action will have to wait a little longer as he is currently recovering from ankle surgery. The tenacious defender suffered the injury during pre-season training and will not feature against Galway this weekend, though he intends to feature over the coming weeks.

“Yeah, absolutely, I intend to get back as soon as I can,” he says. “It’s going well, thankfully. But I won’t see the first round against Galway.”

Mayo have lost two of their defensive pillars for the 2023 season – Oisín Mullin to Australia and Lee Keegan to retirement. The challenge now is for the rest of the defenders to fill the holes left by those key figures.

“I think we have always had an overflow of backs. It has probably been the most difficult place to get into the team over the last number of years,” says O’Hora. “They are two top guys doing exactly what is right for them, and I can only be happy for them, really.”

Pádraig O’Hora was speaking at the launch of the Allianz Football League