132 not out.
Anyone lucky enough to have ever caught even a glimpse of Andy Moran training, they’d have gone away questioning everything about themselves.
There’s working hard, then there’s working very, very hard. Then there’s Andy Moran.
Back in 2007, the Mayo stalwart used to have the old public gym in Jordanstown shaking on its hinges. There was an elite centre designed specifically for elite students like Andy Moran but, for whatever reason, he appeared day after day in this basic setup scaring the life out of the poor lad who was just there to use the rowing machine and get a good bout of people watching in.
“F**king get up! Come on, buddy! Up! Up! Savage stuff!”
Moran was relentless. He’d have you squatting, he’d strip the weight before you even had a chance to take a breath and he’d be throwing you into the air demanding some squat jumps until your knees would buckle. Then, he’d send you on your way jumping the length of the gym.
It didn’t matter who was watching, he was there to train and he was there to demand the best out of everyone in sight. His hunger was infectious. If there was one more way he could squeeze the last drop of sweat out of himself, he’d damn well find it – and he’d push it further.
During the rare times he’d allow himself time to think, his mind was nowhere else but bettering the two Connacht championships he had already amassed with his county.
He was talking about ordering O’Neill’s balls into their accommodation, prizing lads into the idea to split the cost. “Just to be striking the ball,” he said. He’d have hated the thought of letting a minute pass without contributing to the absolute best version of himself that he wanted to be.
Everything about him just oozed leadership. It roared battle. Everything about him screamed passion. His training was honest. No excuses. You’d only need to have seen him for a second in that Jordanstown gym to know that this was a man who was going places.
The Poly won the Sigerson Cup that season. Ballaghaderreen won the county championship that same year too. Mayo would go on to win six more Connacht titles. Moran would win an All-Star. He’d captain his county.
And, on Sunday, Andy Moran of Ballaghaderreen equalled the Mayo all-time appearance record held by none other than James Nallen.
132 appearances in the green and red was matched by the ferocious forward when he come off the bench against Down in Mayo’s final Allianz League clash.
Andy Moran over the Black Spot#AllianzLeagues #GAA#MayoGAA 1-18#DownGAA 1-16
— Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) April 3, 2016
And he got it all by working. He got it all because that’s where he wanted to be.
Come championship time, Andy Moran will have broken the record and he’ll sit alone in his own esteemed company. Come championship time, he will have played more games for Mayo than any other man ever.
But you know what he’ll be doing until then. He’ll be training.
He never lets up. Onto the next one.
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