Niall Gartland speaks to former Tyrone footballer Aidan McMahon about the enduring legacy of Jody O’Neill, who passed away last weekend

FROM his formative days as a schoolboy at St Patrick’s Academy, Aidan McMahon held a deep admiration for one of the giants of Tyrone football, Jody O’Neill, who passed away last weekend.

McMahon grew up in Coalisland and later had the privilege of lining out alongside his clubmate O’Neill in back-to-back county finals in 1968 and 1969.

Aidan also starred on the O’Neill-managed Tyrone team that won the Ulster Championship in 1973, forming a formidable partnership with Frank McGuigan in the middle of the park.

Speaking earlier this week, Aidan said that his appreciation of O’Neill – who captained Tyrone to a historic ever Ulster Championship title in 1956 – stretched all the way back to his childhood.

“The first time Jody came to my attention was when I was a first year in St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon. There were school photographs on the landing, and there was a photo of the 1952 Corn na nÓg team and Jody was captain.

“He was holding the ball and the date was on it, and he was an immense presence in the photograph – he was a big unit.

“Tyrone didn’t win much in the sixties so you were conscious Jody had captained the famous 1956 team and he was hero worshipped in the town.”

While still only a teenager, Aidan played in successive county finals for Coalisland in 1968/9. By that stage Jody was in the twilight of his playing career but he was still a totemic figure on the team.

“At that stage Jody had slowed down, which was understandable as strength and conditioning wasn’t a big thing in those days, but he was still a very strong and robust player.

“We had a lot of flying machines on that team, but there was still no denying the influence Jody had, whether it was a word, a piece of encouragement, a pass he gave you.

“The fact he was on the same pitch was amazing in itself as he had legendary status at this stage.”

With O’Neill as manager, McMahon made his senior intercounty debut with Tyrone in 1971. He didn’t play any part in the 1972 campaign due to his flirtation with a soccer career, but tragedy played a part in his return to the fold in 1973.

“I was playing with Glenavon but still living in Coalisland when Jody arrived at my doorstep in January 1973, with the very sad news that Brendan Dolan had been killed in a car accident.

“He encouraged me to come back into the panel and sold me the idea of a potential trip to the US and that was something I wasn’t going to say no to. So I came back to the Tyrone team and it was a decision I never regretted.”

O’Neill had assembled Tyrone’s strongest team in a generation and they scooped the 1973 Ulster Championship before losing out to Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final.

McMahon said his man management skills were top notch, and that he knew how to handle all the different personalities on the team.

“People ask me to reflect on Jody as a manager, and what I would say is that he didn’t really coach in the modern sense of the word, but that he had an uncanny appreciation of the talent at his disposal – talent that he himself had assembled.

“In many ways he gave free reign to players to express themselves, no more so than Frank McGuigan and Seamus Donaghy, who were our two superstars on the team, and we had plenty of other brilliant footballers as well.

“Jody oversaw a terrific innings with Tyrone, he rebuilt things after the barren years of the sixties, handed the baton to Tom McKeagney, then came back for another stint in the late seventies before leaving it in good hands with Art McRory in 1980.”

Jody also left a lasting legacy with beloved Coalisland Na Fianna, and McMahon says it was fitting that he made his final appearance just a few months ago at an exhibit for another club legend, Jim Devlin, who was murdered by a loyalist gang in 1974.

“Jody spoke at the Jim Devlin memorial in the Fianna club and I think it was very fitting that it was his last public appearance in relation to football.

“If I can borrow a phrase from Spanish football, for Jody, Coalisland was more than a club.

“He invested so much time in the club, he was a remarkable football man and he had an enduring influence on my own footballing career, and for that I am deeply, deeply appreciative.”