JOE O’Mahony, captain of the Limerick FC side which won the League of Ireland Premier Division in 1980 and a long-serving member of the club, passed away at the age of 65 following a short illness.
He served the club as a player for two decades and, in addition to that league title, was a member of the Limerick teams that won the FAI Cup in 1971 and 1982 (as captain), as well as the League Cup in 1975.
O’Mahony was the team’s captain in their European Cup campaign in 1980/81, when the Super Blues memorably took on Real Madrid, and he also served as the club’s manager for two years in the mid 1980s.
He made his debut for the club in 1966 and went on to make in excess of 400 appearances, leaving him second only to Johnny Walsh in Limerick’s all-time appearance list.
He played at youth level for the Republic of Ireland and was selected for the national team senior squad in 1969 for a World Cup qualifier against Czechoslovakia in Prague, but he did not feature.
O’Mahony formed a fearsome centre-back partnership with Al Finucane during his time at Limerick and he was renowned for his powerful shooting, with Super Blues fans regularly urging him to “have a go, Joe”.
FAI chief executive John Delaney stated that he was “deeply saddened” upon hearing that O’Mahony had died, adding that the FAI plans to pay its respects to the Limerick FC legend at the friendly between Ireland and Serbia in Dublin on March 5.
