Maigh Eo -v- Doire, Ballina, 01.02.2009

[Tubberman]

Kenneth O'Malley is back playing football, though I'm not sure if JOM has been in contact with him yet. He is a fine keeper though and well worth a place on the Mayo panel IMO.

Really!? That's great news if he is. I remember reading the interview with him in The Mayo News (below) and I thought he'd never be able to play again. He lost half his kidney - it's an horrific story. 

Keeping the faith 
Tuesday, 11 March 2008 
Keeping the faith

Kenneth O'Malley suffered an horrific injury but is looking to the future now

Feature
Mike Finnerty

HAVE you ever wondered what happened to Kenneth O'Malley? Remember him? The goalkeeper from Ballinrobe who made his senior league and championship debut for Mayo last year. Great shot-stopper, wonderful kick-out, good temperament. Ring any bells? He was being talked about as being the next great white hope of county goalkeeping. The next Murphy or Cluxton and the man who was about to battle with David Clarke for the number one jersey for years to come.
How quickly some of us forget.
You see, in case you didn't hear, Kenneth O'Malley hasn't kicked a football since November 15 last year. It was a Thursday in case you're wondering. A random Thursday afternoon when he boarded the University of Limerick team bus and headed off to Templemore for a run-of-the-mill Higher Education League quarter-final against the Garda College.
Eleven months had passed since he was called into the Mayo senior panel. Forty-four weeks of club games, county matches and training sessions. U-21 and senior. A constant regime of togging out and doing the business. He was looking forward to the end of the season.
A few hours later, as Kenneth O'Malley lay on the cold, wet pitch in Templemore, he knew his year was over. In fact, he feared it was an awful lot worse. The pain in his chest was unbearable and he could feel himself losing consciousness. He was afraid. Something was wrong.
Now, almost four months on, he knows exactly what was wrong. His kidney was severed in two when a Garda College forward collided with him. One half of the organ died instantly while the fate of the other half won't be known fully until the end of next month.
And in the meantime, Kenneth O'Malley tries to get back to some kind of normality. His football career and life in general has been stopped in its tracks.

MF What's the up to date situation on your injury?
KOM The last time I spoke to my doctor he told me that there was only 50% of my kidney there. He doesn't know if that's working or not at the moment, he's hoping that it will regenerate over time. In about two months I'll know for definite if the remaining 50% is going to work again.

MF How is it affecting your everyday life?
KOM I wouldn't have even have 50% of the energy that I had in the past. College is tough going, I have to make up for everything I missed, and having to do double the work with only half the energy is tough. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to catch up.
I wouldn't stay up past 10 o'clock anymore because if I do the next day is practically ruined. I can't even jog across the road at the moment because of the impact and I just feel tired all the time. I've been told it's part and parcel of having a kidney problem.

MF How are you feeling mentally now?
KOM At the start I wasn't willing to accept it. I just kept telling myself that I'd be fine. But I attempted to drive down to Limerick shortly after Christmas but had to give up when I got to Galway. I just have to accept it now. I can't do the things that I was able to do so it's a case of not not fighting your body. You can deal with it or let it eat you up. It was a very unfortunate thing to happen but how I deal with it is going to make me or break me. It was an accident and now I have to get on with it.

MF What do you remember about what happened?
KOM We were losing by ten points early on in the game but I had saved a penalty from Denis Glennon. We ended up going back level and it was getting exciting going into injury-time. One of their lads took a shot from about 40 yards out that was going over the bar. If it did, they probably would have won the game.
I jumped up over the crossbar but couldn't catch the ball, I just managed to knock it down. The ball was just off the ground so I dived straight out onto it, a Superman dive I suppose you could say. One of their forwards came rushing in, with his knees up to protect himself, my whole body was open. He hit me straight into the side with his knee and I knew straight away I was in trouble.
I thought I was winded initially because I couldn't breathe. But then the pain started coming... I can't even describe how bad it was. I was in and out of consciousness. I was told since that I went pure white and I knew something was seriously wrong.

MF Can you describe what was going through your mind?
KOM I was very afraid. I won't pretend I wasn't. I couldn't breathe, there was so much pressure on my chest. Everything and anything was going through my head. I couldn't breathe anyway but then I started panicking too. That didn't do me any good either.
An ambulance was called and had to come from Nenagh. Our team physio thought initially that I had broken some ribs but I wasn't so sure. I had pain everywhere. Then they thought my lung had collapsed and I was given some morphine to try and ease the pain.
I spent about six hours in Nenagh Hospital. They did tests on my lungs and were trying to calm me down. It was a bad time. I had calmed down a little because the pain had eased off and I was told that there was no damage to my lungs. I was told I was free to go.
I was actually walking out the door when one of the doctors stopped me and asked me for a urine sample. It was just pure chance. It turned out that I had internal bleeding and if I had left the hospital and gone home, while bleeding so much, who knows what could have happened...

MF How long did you spend in hospital altogether?
KOM I was in Nenagh for three to four days while they figured out exactly what was wrong with me and whether or not they could deal with it. I was transferred from there to the urology department in Limerick and it was there that they discovered that my kidney was sliced in two. They told me that half was dead and the other half was badly damaged. I spent another nine days in hospital there... It wasn't a good time.

MF When did the seriousness of it all dawn on you?
KOM It happened on a Thursday and I was transferred to Limerick the following Monday. They did the tests on me all day and the following morning, at around 8am, the doctor did his rounds and told me the news.
I was on my own at the time. It was a relief in one sense. I knew there was something wrong but nobody could tell me what was wrong. It was almost a relief then that they had figured it out and I could get my head around it.
When I come back playing again, I'll appreciate it.

MF What was the lowest point?
KOM I was totally bed-ridden in hospital. I wasn't allowed out of the bed at all for nine days. For me, as an active person, that was very difficult. I was completely helpless. It was demoralising. I had to get help doing absolutely everything and I had some very bad days.
About two days after being admitted I lost all concept of who I was and where I was. I don't know if was the medication or my body reacting or what but it was very frightening. I remember sitting up, looking around me, and seeing my name on the bed behind me. Things started to come back me at that point and it passed off.
Getting home allowed me get back to normal a little bit. I had my parents around, I wasn't alone with my thoughts, and I had a lot of friends and people from the club calling.
THE new year brought a new start for Kenneth O'Malley and he returned to college in Limerick last month. There is a lot of catching up to be done as last semester was effectively lost and he notices that it is not as easy to concentrate and absorb information when lacking so much energy.
But the affable young sportsman has come a long way in a short time. Only last Saturday night he celebrated his 21st birthday with family and friends in Ballinrobe. He is also back driving again and can at least walk from A to B of his own free will. None of this was possible during Christmas so he is drawing strength from the positives. As for the future, well that will have to take care of itself.

MF Have you thought about the 'worst case scenario'?
KOM I don't like to hear that kind of negative talk. Some people have advised me to stay away from football in the future. I could end up in a situation or an accident where I end up damaging my other kidney and what happens then? It's all ifs and buts. You could drive yourself mad thinking all that could go wrong but there's just no point.

MF How are you looking at your football career now?
KOM It's impossible to set myself any targets at the moment. When I'm ready to even start coming back my first instinct will be to get my body right. I've lost all strength in my body so that will have to be built up again. So will that ability to go 100% into a tackle again. I don't want to be worrying about what happened before so as soon as I'm able to be back, I will.

MF Has it changed you?
KOM That's a good question...I made my senior debut for Mayo last year and this was going to be the biggest year of my football career so far. I was going to use last year as a foundation to build on. But that obviously won't happen now.
Football has been my life but, realistically, I wouldn't have huge hopes for my football career this year. I'm prepared for the specialist to tell me that but I just have to wait and see.

MF Does something like this teach you a lot about yourself?
KOM It makes you appreciate what you have, how good things were, and how good they will be again.

[Zulu]

Yeah he played in goal for UL against Waterford in the McGrath Cup semi final and I'd say he'll be in goal for the final this Saturday against Cork. He played very well against Waterford by the way.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Good to hear he's back. He got an awful doing that time. It was a dirty enough challenge by all accounts too. Will be serious jostling for the Mayo number 1 jersey this year so between Kenny, Clarke and Robbie Hennelly. Clarke probably holds the edge at the moment

[AbbeySider]

...
Therefore we need to look at experimentation imho and while results will be important, I would not worry about going far in the league. Keep our Division 1 status and bring in new players who will be ready for championship, that would be the ideal.

For the Derry game I'd like to see a team like the following picked

D Clarke
K McLoughlin G Cafferkey S Drake
P Gardiner P Kelly D Vaughan
B Kelly T Parsons
A Moran A Dillon T Mortimer
C Mortimer B Moran M Sweeney.

Id agree with most of your sentemants there R&GS but I dont think JOM has the balls to make the big decisions and play the young lads.
We will probably see Heaney back I reckon, maybe even Nallen.

Id like to see what Barry Regan can do in there somewhere, perhaps instead of Sweeney. Maybe slot in L O malley and A Higgins for some experience in the defence. Also K Higgins when he gets back and fit; will be raring to go.

[Off The Fence]

This should hopefully be one of the most entertaing games in the opening round of the National League.  Fancy Derry to shade it as Mayo have shown nothing so far this year, albeit its the FBD League

Derry by 3

[RedandGreenSniper]

Higgins will be a shoo-in Abbeysider. I dunno will Heaney and Nallen start though, I don't think they've even started back training with the squad but I am open to correction on that.
Barry Regan deserves a go too but I'd say Sweeney is ahead  of him at the moment and deserves the start. Regan will get game time though I think. With regard to the forward line we're looking at guys to put their hands up for the full-forward spot (Barrys Moran and Regan and, at a push, Trevor or Aidan O'Shea) and top of the left (Mikey Sweeney, Regan, if not at 14 and, well I can't think off too many more.
We'd be fairly settled on Conor at 13 and Dillon at 11. Trevor more than likely to operate on one wing and then a battle royale between Billy Joe, Andy Moran and Pat Harte for the other wing spot.
McGarrity, if he regains his form pre '07, and Parsons, on the proviso he keeps going from where he left off in 2008, will be at midfield but its the defence where the major surgery will be.
If you were to look forward to championship the only players who we can say with any certainty that have nailed down positions are Gardiner (5), Parsons and McGarrity in the middle, Dillon and Trevor in the half-forward line and Conor at 13 so the league has to be experimental (Keith Higgins will also start but no guarantee as to position)

[lynchbhoy]

if you think Mayo are still experimentin, then Derry are re-inventing !

A whole plethora of new lads were mostly played inthe McKenna cup and its a tall order for any continuity to follow on from that.
New manager Cassidy has to try things out at some stage so this was his chance to do so over the past couple of weeks.

Doesnt prepare the starting XV for the League, most likely Mayo will be in much the same boat, but there will be a lot of the FBD lads plus the knowledge of playing under much the same system under JOM in prev years which puts it up to Cassidy's Derry.
A game too early for us for it to be anything other than a lottery on the day imo.

Wont be going up to Ballina. Would not be welcomed in that neck of the woods these days due to v acrimonious family reasons.
Otherwise would have loved to have the craic with Deel rover and a couple more of you.

No one likes losing, but oth sides will have their eye on the bigger picture of the championship season ahead and the games to win are the last couple withclose to your first XV to start momentum for the summer.
Result a toss of a coin.

[the Deel Rover]

ah feck it Lynchbhoy i thought you would definately have been down for the match

[whiskeysteve]

This should hopefully be one of the most entertaing games in the opening round of the National League.  Fancy Derry to shade it as Mayo have shown nothing so far this year, albeit its the FBD League

Derry by 3

I don't think anyone in derry has a clue what sort of team Cassidy will pick, including the players. A lot of new faces were trialled this year. Any prediction would be a complete shot in the dark.

Derry to win by 10.

LB could ye not bury the hatchet or go in disguise?

[lynchbhoy]

LB could ye not bury the hatchet or go in disguise?

ah feck it Lynchbhoy i thought you would definately have been down for the match

thats the problem, if I came face to face, it would be hard not to use my black belt in Gaelic football to great effect.
I'm not avoiding the game because of fear of what will happen to me, quite the opposite!

heading to see dubs v tyrone on Sat night anyhow and bringing two 'nephews' with me (converting them from soccer to football )

[Tim Buzaglo]

So you're taking them to a stadium full of 80,000 Dubs and Tyronies???  Not exactly showing us in our best light LB!

And your use of 'nephews' makes that statement sound slightly sinister!

[Blue and Navy]

Any word on if the new rules are going to be extended into the league season? I'm sure i seen somewhere that they were thinking of modyifing them. If not, i'd safely predict a competitive and high scoring league. The likes of Mayo, Derry, Donegal and Kerry would do very well with more open football. Can't see Westmeath surviving the top flight this season.

[Owenmoresider]

Any word on if the new rules are going to be extended into the league season? I'm sure i seen somewhere that they were thinking of modyifing them. If not, i'd safely predict a competitive and high scoring league. The likes of Mayo, Derry, Donegal and Kerry would do very well with more open football. Can't see Westmeath surviving the top flight this season.

They will, and they will be a disaster IMO. All well and good saying they work in the intensity-free zone that is the FBD League etc.

I'd expect this thread to reach 20 pages by the time the game is actually played.

[lynchbhoy]

So you're taking them to a stadium full of 80,000 Dubs and Tyronies???  Not exactly showing us in our best light LB!

And your use of 'nephews' makes that statement sound slightly sinister!

I brought the oldest one to that qualifier loss to monaghan in clones last 'summer'
and if that didnt faze him, then croker wont.
It will be a good night for them, fireworks, burger /chips/pizza - whatever they want and oh yes, a match being played - which will almost be incidental.
Just good to get them rationalising and equating Gaa matches = a good time out !
They will get hooked on the football thereafter.

(they are the wife's nephews, so tech not mine - which is why I have that in brackets - by suggesting I bring them along to this game, I also be default got my easy way to see the game myself with no protest from the missus as shes mad about the nephews! Same reason why I brought the lad to clones last summer - tactics !)

still think that division will be a bit of a lottery, and Derry will potentially be in danger of relegation as Cass tries a few things with the ulster championship foremost in his mind. I'd agree with him. Relegation means feck all if we get to and win the ulster final!

[fer fox ache]

Normally i'd definitely be down for the game, usually like to go come down the night before a league game for a few scoops but lost the job just before Christmas. Now it's a case of seeing if I can cadge a lift down on the day which shouldn't be a problem but the pintage is no  longer an option. Still it's nice to watch a game without a hangover.