'Playing with Kerry was something I thought would never come around': The All-Ireland winning newcomer

The 42

2 days ago

AS MARK O'SHEA savoured the sensation of Kerry senior football glory with Dr Crokes last October, their first in six years, one career-defining moment jumped out amidst the celebrations in the following days.
Jack O'Connor got in touch.
'I'd say, on a Tuesday. I'd say (I was) in some pub somewhere he gave me a text and just said, 'Look, when you get the chance later in the week, will you be able to give me a call?'
'It was nice to get that text after.'
The Kerry manager was in recruitment mode. O'Shea's presence and power in dominating the middle third for Dr Crokes could not go unnoticed.
Nine months to the day from that Kerry final success, he was in Croke Park and was crowned an All-Ireland winning midfielder on the biggest stage of the game.
With no underage county career to speak of and just one Kerry appearance to his name, a McGrath Cup game in 2020 when an experimental squad was assembled as the main stars were on a post All-Ireland final team holiday, O'Shea naturally assumed such recognition was beyond him.
'I was 26, going on 27. I was like the boat is probably gone here as well. But, look, Kerry is such a good championship. You're playing against the Barry Dans, Diarmaid (O'Connor), David Moran and these fellas down through the years. So, it's a good kind of place to be putting yourself up and you can get a bit of confidence from it too.
'(I) never played underage. I got a massive growth spurt there when I was about, I'd say, 17, 18. I went from about 5 nothing to about 6 foot 2 or 3'. My parents, they always kind of taught me, look, just keep at it. I tried to master the skills when I was smaller.
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'When the height came, things kind of started to progress a bit fast and you're kind of thrown into playing with Crokes. Obviously, playing with Kerry was something I thought probably would never come around and just very, very glad that it did.'
His father Seanie, a former Kerry hurler and Dr Crokes player of renown, was one sounding board for advice, while his uncle Pat has had a decorated coaching career at club and county level.
'Minor was when I got a bit of belief in myself. Edmund O'Sullivan he was an unbelievable coach, an unbelievable mentor to me and still I can always pick up the phone and just have a chat about anything, to be fair.
'And from him to Brian Mc(Mahon) in the Crokes and then to Pat, like, I've had Pat now for two stints and the quality of what he does, he's a serious man.'
When he was brought in to solve Kerry's midfield problem this summer as injuries ruined the plans of first-team regulars, O'Shea found his county boss excellent at tuning his mindset.
'There was no pressure at all. I suppose there wasn't many midfielders left! He gave us an extended break after the Crokes period and he just told us to come back in fresh. Towards the end of the year then, that freshness I felt it in the legs.
'Jack was saying, 'you've nothing to lose,' and I suppose after the Meath game I may as well have never put on boots again! That was the first time I'd seen inter-county, if you're not at it….look, you can probably get the criticism, and rightly so, we weren't at it and I wasn't at it.
'After then, Jack was just kind of saying to me, 'look, there's no pressure.' Fellas around me were giving me massive advice. Fellas behind me were driving me, Cillian Trant, Darragh Lyne, Cathal Begley on the extended panel. These fellas, they are unsung heroes. I know it's probably a bit cliche, but they really do put in a serious shift to get us to the level.
'The one thing Jack said to me a few times, 'Look you've played a lot of big size games with Crokes. It's no different to them games.'
'At the end of the day it's a game of football. And once you take out the emotion, that's all it is. Going out he gave full confidence to both me and Seán. Barry and Diarmaid, the boys injured, they were a huge help too.
'They had marked a lot of players that we were coming up against, little nuggets going out before
games and stuff, they were unreal to me.'
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When Kerry's jersey colour before the All-Ireland final was revealed, O'Shea wondered was it an unlucky omen.
'When we were wearing the blue jersey, I was like, 'Feck's sake' because I wore it when I made my debut against Mayo up in Castlebar and we were beaten. And I made my starting debut against Meath in the championship with the blue jersey. So I was like, 'Jeez, I don't know about these blue jerseys!' '
He didn't need to be concerned.
Kerry's supreme start paved the way for a dominant triumph.
With Gavin White captaining the team and forward Micheal Burns enjoying a career renaissance after being cut from the panel last year, O'Shea had plenty company in striking Dr Crokes storylines.
'Anyone that knows him (Gavin) knows just how meticulous he is with everything. The captaincy there, there's a lot of weight on the shoulders and when you've your captain kicking three points, (and) won about ten breaking balls, it's easy to row in behind someone like that. Just absolutely phenomenal. Couldn't happen to a nicer fella.
'(Mícheál), another fella I'm delighted for. Serious mentor to me coming up the last two years. Always good for advice and to lean on
'The Armagh game there, you seen the ability. And look, he came back with a bit of freshness too.
'The summer away in Chicago served him unbelievable, because when he came back with Crokes, he was just a refreshed player and obviously, carried through to this year.'
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