A second GAA Young Player of the Year award was a nice way to finish his year, but for Mayo's Cillian O'Connor it was simply a comforting bookend, a consolation, to a season that finished with a distinct sense of disappointment.
Speaking at yesterday's launch of the 2013 GAA Games Developemnt Conference the Mayo forward admitted the personal awards he has received were gratifying, and did help to give his memories of the season a more favourable tint, but ultimately fall a distant second to the lack of glory with the team.
O'Connor told Newstalk how he dealt with the pressure of entering 2012 as a marked man, as the 2011 Young Footballer of the Year award transformed him into a notable scalp for opponents while simultaneously mounted expectations to live up to his incredible debut season.
The GAA Development Conference aims to bring together various experts from both within the GAA and outwith, as a pool of resources is created to help coaches from across the country improve their standards and so aid the development of gaelic games at all levels. Newstalk asked O'Connor about moments of influence in his development, if there were any identifiable keys to his scucess? The Ballintubber man noted that a key moment in his development was an early venture in to senior club football, as his debut at the age of 17 both demystified the senior game and forced his performances to another level - an experience which sees as key to his ability to adapt to senior inter-county football so well at such a young age and find the form that has led to his personal accolades.
You can listen to the full interview below, with Cillian starting off by comparing personal success to team success.
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