FORMER KERRY DEFENDER Aidan O’Mahony has defended David Clifford after the star forward was sent off while on club duty, insisting that Clifford “is not a dirty player.”

The 21-year-old Clifford was dismissed in the closing stages of East Kerry’s victory over fellow divisional out St Kieran’s on Saturday night following an off-the-ball incident. 

He had just scored a late goal and one of the final points to help his side reach the county senior football semi-finals before he was given his marching orders. As a result, Clifford will miss East Kerry’s last-four battle.

Kieran Donaghy said this week that the Fossa talent will learn how to adapt to being a targeted player in big games, while O’Mahony says these kind of incidents are a regular occurrence in the game.

“Look, it’s always happening: inter-county lads, you’ve always lads trying to mark them,” says O’Mahony, who was working with Clifford on the IT Tralee team this year.

“They’re big players with their clubs, or [in] their division. I had David with the college this year, he’s a mainstay of Kerry and his club and his divisional side as well. It comes to a stage where they’re getting such a hands-on approach, and people are pulling and dragging him, that at times it’s like a light-switch moment where you do something, and you regret it two seconds later.

It just happens. David is not a dirty player or anything. A lot of that comes down to the referees and the linesmen to be minding him in a game. Before you were lucky enough, where you had a crowd to be roaring if someone was hanging off you.

“The referee doesn’t know what’s going on behind his back. That’s always going to happen in games. David, he’s not a dirty player. And they’re out again next week, and I’ve no doubt East Kerry will drive it on again to make sure they get to a final where David is back playing again.”

The GAA still remains hopeful that an inter-county season can still take place in 2020, with the remaining league fixtures also set to be played.

When asked if opposing teams might be looking at Clifford as player that can be provoked when those games get underway, O’Mahony replied:

“I think you’ll learn from your mistakes. I learned myself, I got sent off in a league game between Dublin and Kerry. They were wagging my tail as well. I swore to myself after that it wouldn’t happen again, and it didn’t. It’s a learning curve.

Former Kerry defender Aidan O'Mahony.

“These things happen in games. I know myself through my own career there were things that happened I wasn’t proud of, and I regret. We’re all human at the end of the day. 

“David is very young as well, he’s only 21. So it’s all a learning curve.”

GAA games are currently being played behind closed doors. A crowd limit of 200 people were previously allowed to attend the matches, although this number included players, management teams, match officials and all other attendees who were involved with the game.

There was a definite sense of frustration among fans when the Government announced the decision to hold games behind closed doors, with many arguing that GAA grounds allow enough space for spectators to obey social distancing.

“I know from our own championship at home”, says O’Mahony, “that people were lucky enough at the start, the number was at 200. People were using cranes and diggers and stuff. The cherry pickers were being rolled out just to watch games but I’m not a health expert.

There’s obviously some reason for reducing the numbers at games. And I just think with the year that’s in it, it’s probably a championship that everyone will talk about for years to come.”

Ireland Active ambassador, Aidan O’Mahony, was on hand at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena today to launch the fifth annual National Fitness Day, which will take place on 24 September, 2020.

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