Yet while the inspirational blindside flanker has moved onto his next objective, the hand-wringing over Ireland’s below-par performances in the 2019 championship, which included comprehensive defeats to both England and Wales, leaves him puzzled, no matter how good he has become at compartmentalising his rugby career.

“I’ve certainly learned to do it better, but I think there was a strange reaction to some of the stuff that’s been going on for the last few weeks, given we’ve won 22 of the 25 games, or something,” O’Mahony said.

“But this is part of the game we’re in and I’ve learned, over the last few years, to say, ‘right, that’s done now’. It’s too big a week for me to be hanging around (thinking about the Six Nations). There’s a great buzz around here now and it is good to be back in with the lads. There’s a great buzz.”

O’Mahony and fellow Ireland regulars Conor Murray, Keith Earls, Dave Kilcoyne, Tadhg Beirne, and Andrew Conway followed Six Nations squad mates CJ Stander, Chris Farrell, Niall Scannell, and John Ryan back into the Munster set-up on Monday, having been given an extra few days’ leave to recover from the mental, as well as physical, exertions of the Six Nations championship.

No one deserved their break more than O’Mahony, the only Irishman to play every minute of all five Test matches.

The bruising was more bodily than psychological, following a tough nine weeks away from his province.

I’ve been in plenty of days like Cardiff. You just have to get on with it. It’s not the ideal one, because you don’t have a game directly after it, but that’s life, that’s the game we play in.

"You take your few days off and spend a bit of time with the family. Then, you’re back into a different family here and you get on with it.

“We’ve been here plenty of times, that you finish up and you get a few days off and you’re back into the biggest game of the year for the club. So, it’s not something that we’re new to or will be an issue during the week. It’s just something that has to be done.”

Reintegrating 11 frontline players — including fit-again fly-half Joey Carbery, after six weeks out with a hamstring strain — after so long away on international duty may be one of the bigger challenges ahead of the Edinburgh clash, but O’Mahony considers it an obligation to make the transition as seamless as possible.

“I don’t find it particularly hard. It’s too big a week not just to slot back in, or to hang around and kind of act differently or be quiet, because it’s knockout in Europe. These are the games you want to be involved in and, hopefully, whoever gets picked, it’s a massive, massive week for the club.

“I’d be doing myself an injustice if I didn’t come back in and just be myself, along with all the other guys who have been away the last few weeks. We’ve just go to carry on as if we’ve been here all the time.”

O’Mahony watched last Saturday’s PRO14, bonus-point win over Zebre and said there was plenty to work on this week and “plenty of good things to build on as well”.

But Munster will have their hands full with an in-form home side that topped a European pool above Toulon, Montpellier, and Newcastle.

“They have a great structure now, under Richard Cockerill. The game plan and the structure that he has provided, they have really taken to, and have really stamped their authority on, it. They are a difficult side to play against, with a very, very good defence and can play some excellent rugby, when they get into your half.

“They have a big kicking game, as well, which is pivotal to what they do. Then, you have guys like Bill Mata, Hamish Watson is back now, John Barclay made his comeback last week. They have a very good set-piece. Their line-out stats are some of the best in the competition.

“You go back to our (home PRO14) quarter-final last year. There was a point in it up to a few minutes to go (until winning 20-16). They put us under huge pressure. They have probably been the in-form team this season, with regards to some of the performances.

“They have one loss this year, at home to Cardiff Blues, and it was only by a couple of points. They have made it very difficult to go and get a win over there.”