Writes Ciaran Dineen
Cork City FC have announced that Irish underage star and Carrigaline teenager, Mark O’Mahony, has signed his first professional contract with the club ahead of the 2022 season.
Mark joins a long list of fellow Carrigaline men who are now in the first team squad, and will slot in alongside Alec Byrne, Gordon Walker and Josh Honohan for the upcoming campaign.
Mark has been a standout player for many years and Cork City will be delighted to secure his signature at such a young age. He originally joined the club from Carrigaline United in 2019, playing for their underage teams. He has excelled whilst at the club and this has led him to earn a call-up to represent his country, both at U17 and U18 levels.
The Carrigaline Community School student has been an incredibly prolific goalscorer, winning golden boots and appearing in Cork schoolboys teams along the way. The last couple of years at Cork City have been particularly fruitful, as Mark helped his U17 team to victory in the Mark Farren cup last year.
His performances at club level caught the eye of the international scene and Mark was called up to an Irish U17 training camp in July 2021. The teenager then went on to make his debut for his country, which of all places came in Turners Cross, where he will be hoping to be playing a lot next year, in a friendly against Mexico.
It couldn’t have been a better start for the young man, who scored with his first touch of the game in front of the famous ‘Shed’, a moment he is likely to never forget. His goalscoring run did not end there however, as O’Mahony netted three more times in three games for the U17s, which was enough to earn him a call up to the U18s.
Despite the moving up in age, Mark showed that he was more than able to perform at that level, grabbing an incredible hat-trick in a 7-1 win over Malta.
Given his recent rise on the international stage, Cork City have done well to secure an incredible talent that could potentially light-up the First Division this year.
Speaking to the club’s media team upon signing his first pro contract, the Carrigaline teen said, “I am absolutely thrilled to have signed my first professional contract. I would like to thank all of my coaches who have helped me along the way, from my time with Carrigaline United, to the coaches here at Cork City who have helped me along since I joined the academy. I want to continue working hard and keep improving and am looking forward to the season ahead.”
The club’s first game of the campaign takes place on February 18th away to Bray and play their first home league fixture the following week against Galway United.