John O’Flaherty in for second stint as Nenagh Ormond captain

By Thomas Conway

One of the first things you notice about John O’Flaherty on a playing field is his signature red and white scrum-cap. Much like the rugby player himself, it is slick and distinctive and makes him stand out conspicuously. However, there is far more to the powerful 31-year-old than his attire.

Now operating as a number 8, O’Flaherty has been a consistent presence in the Nenagh Ormond senior squad for more or less the past decade. The Burgess native was granted the captaincy for the 2026/27 season, a title he inherited from his older brother Kevin, who led Nenagh to some of the club’s most glorious days.

This is actually John’s second stint as captain, having previously led the squad during one of those eerie and uncertain pandemic seasons a couple of years ago.

Everything has changed in the time since. Nenagh are now competing at the high-end of the All-Ireland League (AIL) and New Ormond Park is generally buzzing on the Saturday afternoon of a home fixture – as opposed to being half-empty, as it had to be during Covid.

For O’Flaherty, however, getting to captain your club is “a great honour,” irrespective of division, crowd-size or external conditions. He appreciates the significance of the role but acknowledges that it does bring an extra degree of responsibility, particularly in relation to interaction with referees. At the same time, he feels there are plenty of experienced guys within the squad who have leadership qualities and whom he can lean on. O’Flaherty might be the figurehead, but this Nenagh side is very much a collective.

Showdown with Highfield

O’Flaherty is speaking on the Friday after Nenagh were dispatched from the Munster Senior Challenge Cup at the semi-final stage, having suffered a narrow defeat to Garryowen in Dooradoyle. Nenagh mounted a stunning second-half comeback but were ultimately beaten 31-26. O’Flaherty admits that it was an opportunity lost. There was another Senior Cup final berth there for the talking and he sounds regretful that Nenagh didn’t seize it. Still, even if his team won’t be featuring in December’s decider, he believes there were definite upsides to the cup campaign.

“It is what it is now. But we’ve had two good games, against Highfield and Garryowen, and hopefully that will stand to us when we kick off the AIL next week,” he says.

Nenagh’s showdown with Highfield, the second in the space of a month, is among the most eagerly anticipated first-round fixtures in Division 1B. The sides have locked horns several times in recent years and O’Flaherty admits that they are now pretty familiar with one another. Nenagh just about prevailed in New Ormond Park some weeks ago, and this Saturday’s fixture in Woodleigh Park, a ground currently threatened by the proposed Cork City LUAS line, should be intriguing. Highfield will be gunning for revenge, but O’Flaherty insists that Nenagh are feeling confident. Even before the Senior Cup, preparations had been going well. “We had a good pre-season, to be honest,” he says.

“We had a lot of training games and did some good S&C work over the summer. We have some good bodies recruited and we feel like we’re in a good position. There’s a good vibe around the place anyway,” he says.

A number of those new recruits have already made an impact. New Zealand out-half Jonty Stewart has roared into action, offering poise, accuracy, and a general touch of class. His sidekick, former Roscrea Cistercian College student Aaron Moloney, has also impressed, as has hooker Ignacio Failla.

O’Flaherty admits that over the summer Nenagh had a big turnover of players, with a number of experienced figures departing for a variety of reasons. He says the squad effectively underwent a “reset” and that the age-profile is now that little bit younger. The group has been “rejuvenated” and the plan going forward is to take each bloc of fixtures as they come but to really “emphasise” the home games.

“We’re looking forward to the year. Hopefully, we’ll put ourselves in a good position. I definitely don’t think we have anything to fear,” he says.

Great Experience

Reflecting on last season’s Division 1A campaign, O’Flaherty maintains that, even in spite of the results, he wouldn’t change the experience for the world. He says that the attitude within the Nenagh camp remained consistently upbeat throughout and to have gotten the opportunity to play top-flight rugby with your own home club was effectively the realisation of a dream. Once a hurler with Burgess, O’Flaherty says he migrated to rugby during his youth and never really looked back. His father was a talented handballer, but there was no real tradition of rugby as such in the household. And yet both him and Kevin have established themselves as Nenagh Ormond legends over the course of the past decade. Now an accountant who works with an aviation firm in Shannon, he spends his days dealing with figures and balancing books. O’Flaherty will now have to balance the captaincy alongside all of that. He is well equipped to do so.