THERE’S A FINE line between reflection and obsession. Darren O’Neill knows how it feels to step through those ropes and lose; just as he puts in countless unnoticed hours refining footwork, jabs and hooks, he has become equally adept at recognising when there are no more positives to be taken from the pain of the past.

It’s no surprise that the ghost of Stefan Hartel still lingers. But four months after the fact, there’s no blow-by-blow detail when O’Neill tells the tale of that afternoon in the ExCeL Arena, with a place in the quarter-finals and the chance to box for a middleweight medal on the line. The minutiae of punches landed and missed, particularly in the all-important first round, have faded into broad brush strokes.

“I kept telling myself ‘Stop letting him do this. You’re letting him do this.’ Next thing I knew, the round was over.”

In defending his own dream, the German killed another that day, one which was so painfully elusive that O’Neill nearly quit boxing when he didn’t qualify for Beijing four years ago. Losing to Hartel was a blow but he salvaged plenty from the wreckage by dutifully supporting Ireland’s five other fighters as team captain, a selfless task recognised when he was handed the proud honour of carrying the tricolour at the closing ceremony.

The Olympics were a dream of mine from a young age, but I think when I got there, it nearly surpassed anything you could even imagine.
It was unbelievable. I loved it. It was the happiest three or four weeks I’ve ever had.

Coming back down from that incredible high was almost as tough as getting there in the first place. Fortunately, the Irish Sports Council were on hand to help with the transition but the restlessness can’t be avoided.

“For the last year or two, everything has been planned nearly day-to-day for you. We knew what was going on and when it was going on, but when we came back from the Olympics, we were given a month off to do what we want. There was no structure or plan and you didn’t know what was going on.

“I found it very hard, even with family and friends. You talk to them for small spells and then you get a little bit agitated around them. I couldn’t really describe it and they didn’t really understand it.”

When that return to reality bites, the sacrifices made along the way have to be tallied up as well. It was understandable when O’Neill took a break from primary school teaching earlier this year to concentrate on London but despite some half-baked promises, he’s still out of work. He’s not looking for sympathy but there is a definite frustration that his Olympic capital is going to waste.

“I’d like to get back teaching for a year or two and see where I’m going from there, but I’ve just had such a bad experience so far in the education system, I don’t know. Maybe if they get onside and try to help me a little bit, and use me to a degree.

The Department are stretched as it is, I know, but there’s plenty of opportunity to get the likes of me out: do some proper sports coaching and get the basic fundamental skills and movement in that the kids haven’t got.
They’re not being taught it because teachers, as I know, are under enough pressure as it is. They can’t be experts at everything. Why not use those who have a bit of expertise to try to promote it?

It’s just another example of how he has been allowed to slip back out of the spotlight since his return. There was never any big fuss; beyond a few friendly nods during his first few weeks back in the gym, you might forget that he had ever been away.

If the sacrifices go unnoticed, that’s partly because amateur boxing’s standing in Ireland still has a long way to go before it properly reflects the continued success of its high-performance athletes at international level.

“People who are genuinely interested in sport realise what you go through, the ins and outs of it. I know people down home, they see me out running on the cold mornings, but it’s very hard for them to see what you’re actually going through and what you have to sacrifice.

“But among the public in general, people are like sheep. They just see what’s put in front of them so it’s harder for them. Especially with boxing, it hasn’t always been the most popular sport in the media so until they start seeing more of us, they won’t really see what we’re going through.”

A good barometer of how things have changed since London, if at all, will be the national championships when O’Neill bids for his fifth straight senior title in the middleweight class early next year. There was no shortage of free seats in the National Stadium on semi-finals night last year, a sight which jarred alongside the list of Olympic, World and European medallists all fighting on the card.

The strength of the middleweight division, which is fast becoming one of the most competitive in the country, ought to turn some heads. Ireland’s most recent international success, European U23 gold medallist Jason Quigley, joins Conrad Cummings and Roy Sheehan in the battle to dethrone Paulstown’s finest.

And though O’Neill won’t be drawn on his long-term plans and the possibility of another Olympics, he knows that he needs to stay as the country’s number one if he is to have any chance of making it to Rio.

“If you look back four years ago, Ken Egan was tipped to win gold at the next Olympics but then didn’t even win nationals this year. With Cummings and Quigley there, they’ll be coming into their prime so it’s about keeping those guys out and see if I can keep winning titles.

“I think I’ve plenty of life left in me yet.”