STEPHEN O’Mahony is standing in Battery Park on the southern tip of Manhattan when he answers the phone.

He’s waiting to get the ferry to Ellis Island.

The Ballydehob man was in New York for work, but took the opportunity to trace a path his family took long before him.

He wanted to see where those who left home before him arrived in America.

‘Whooleys from Lisheen,’ he explains. ‘And also Barrys from Baile Bán in Ballydehob.’

That desire to explore new worlds is in O’Mahony’s DNA.

Turning 34 next March, he has already lived in London for four years, is now based in Berlin for over three years and is preparing for another move for work. Next stop, Zurich.

Before London, O’Mahony spent time in Edinburgh, Melbourne and The Hague.

‘New York is a great city to visit, but I could never live here,’ O’Mahony quips.

‘London and Berlin are two big cities in their own right, but this is something else altogether. It’s nice to dip the toe in, but it’s also been nice to go home.

‘There are seven or eight Bantry lads living here. They came over after college. They love the pace of it. But I don’t know … We’re staying near Times Square, you step outside the door and it’s, “Jesus Christ, the pace of it”.

‘I need a bit more calm!’

O’Mahony flew back to Germany last Wednesday night, landed in Berlin at 8am the next morning and was back training with Berlin GAA that evening.

From Manhattan madness to Gaelic football fever, the former Gabriel Rangers footballer will have to wait a little longer for those quieter moments.

But O’Mahony enjoys a challenge too.

Last season, after a good year with Berlin in 2024, he decided to line out for Gabriels again. He made the journey from Berlin to Ballydehob 12 times.

It took its toll.

A blast from the past, with Stephen O'Mahony in action for Gabriel Rangers in the junior A football days in Carbery.

There was no direct flight, so it was Germany to Amsterdam, on to Cork Airport, then a 90-minute drive home. Rinse and repeat.

‘It just didn't work out, it was too much travel,’ he admits.

Still, it says something about O’Mahony’s commitment.

Perhaps that’s why Berlin GAA asked their West Cork import to join the club’s committee when he returned. He did.

This season, he has gone a step further. He is player-manager of the men’s team.

‘Training the team while also playing has been an absolute eye-opening experience, just to see how much effort goes in,’ the former Cork minor and U21 footballer says.

‘We train on Thursday night and Saturday morning, and do running on Monday. It’s similar to a schedule back home.

‘It’s been fascinating to learn more about how big the GAA is in Europe, and also how well run it is. We have over 120 members in the club, with about 40 lads on the men’s panel. It’s a strong club.’

Every city O’Mahony has lived in, he has played football for a local club. There was Dunedin Connellys in Edinburgh, Garryowen in Melbourne, Den Haag GAA in The Hague and St Josephs in London.

As well as loving football, there’s something more drawing him to these European GAA clubs.

‘It’s just the feeling of being part of something that’s reminding you of home,’ he explains.

‘I’ve played in Edinburgh, Holland, London, Australia and now Berlin. When you join these clubs, you feel that connection to home.

‘It’s also promoting the game abroad – we’re going to play GAA in Verona later this month.

‘That’s something you’d never have thought of growing up back home, that you’d play strong football teams from Rome, Milan, Zurich, Munich, and you’re lining up against someone from West Cork.

‘We played championship a few weeks ago, and it was two lads from Clonakilty in midfield against myself and another lad.

‘It’s crazy to think you’re playing over in Holland, you chat to somebody and they’re, “Oh, I’m from Pedlars Cross.”

‘There’s a rivalry in these games, but there’s also a great sense of cohesion. Everyone’s understanding of each other’s situations.’

For all the familiarity, there is one big difference between playing GAA at home and playing it in Europe – the logistics.

‘When I go back home, you speak to people, and they’re like, “Oh, you play GAA over there? Do they have a team?” And I’m like, “You’ve no idea how organised it is.” It’s the same as home, but it’s just a lot more complicated.’

This weekend, Berlin travel to Rennes in France for a European championship semi-final against Amsterdam (live on Clubber on Saturday), with a place in the Leinster junior A championship at stake.

The following weekend, they’re off to Verona for the 2026 Tocatì Festival, which will attract around 100,000 people to the city.

‘It’s a huge undertaking,’ he explains.

‘We’ll get back from Paris on Monday, then we get a flight to Verona on Thursday – that’s a huge sacrifice for lads with work, family, kids. Usually you wouldn’t have two big weekends like this back to back, but think about the four flights, multiple trains, buses, and all to play GAA.

‘Earlier in the year, we went to Zurich for a tournament, and it’s a huge commitment from fellas. When you think of fellas back home traveling to training, it’s the same here, but on a bigger scale to play games.

‘Our club in Berlin is the same as a club back home – we have our committee meeting every month, officers who are all volunteers. But because we’re playing in Europe, it makes it more difficult when you’ve trips away to Zurich for 30, 40 players, and you’re trying to book hostels and flights.

‘Also the amount of financial effort that goes in on a personal level. We do fundraisers, but there’s unbelievable costs anyway going into even running the club. It’s a massive undertaking for players as well because you're asking them to dip into their own pockets. It’s an unbelievable commitment to play a football game.

‘It’s a couple of hundred euros easily getting to the games. That makes the commitment even more impressive. We’d love to be able to cover that from a club’s perspective, but there’s no way we can.’

They do it because they want to. They love football, but it’s also the sense of belonging that GAA clubs across the world provide. And players have to go the extra mile – or catch an extra flight – just to play.

‘I suppose I’ve seen it because I have the experience of playing in different countries so I know the commitment that goes into this,’ he says.

‘Maybe there’s a misconception that it’s not taken seriously, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s like home. Here, lads are training since February, the same as home, trying to get challenge games in. The championship matters, just like home.

‘In Berlin, we play four competitions a year in 11-a-side in our division, eastern and southern Europe. In 2024, the year I joined, we won that. And we also play in the 15-a-side tournament, the highest level that you can – and that’s why we are going to France, we have qualified for that stage.’

As player-manager, and as Berlin GAA’s men’s football officer, O’Mahony has a greater appreciation for the effort it takes to play GAA abroad.

‘It’s been a challenge, but an unbelievable experience.’

At the end of the year, he will take a flight to Zurich, where he is relocating for work.

His GAA story will continue there, with another new world waiting to be explored.