Ciarán Sheehan

Ciarán Sheehan (born 19 November 1990 in Farran, County Cork, Ireland) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football and hurling with his local club Éire Óg, his divisional side Muskerry and has been a member of the Cork senior football team since 2010.^[1] As of November 2013, he has signed a two-year contract to play Australian rules football with the Carlton Football Club.

Biography

Born in Farran, County Cork, Sheehan was educated at Scoil Naomh Mhuire in the village before later attending Coachford Community College for 3 years and then Coláiste Choilm in nearby Ballincollig. Here he became a star on the school football team, winning Cork colleges and Munster honours in all grades. Sheehan is currently attending Cork Institute of Technology where he is studying services engineering.^[2]

Playing career

Club

Sheehan plays his club hurling and football with the Éire Óg club and has enjoyed much success.

After impressing in various juvenile grades he first came to promise as a dual player in the minor grades. In 2006 he won a county minor 'A' championship with the club's footballers following a victory over Blackthorns of Mitchelstown.

Two years later Sheehan added a county minor 'A' championship hurling medal to his collection after defeating Erin's Own in the final.

By that stage Sheehan had become a key forward on the Éire Óg's junior football team. He won a Mid Cork title that year following a one-goal victory over Dripsey. Sheehan's side later claimed the county junior championship following a 1-8 to 1-5 defeat of Ballygarvan.^[3]

Minor, Under-21 and Junior

Sheehan first played for Cork with the county's minor football team in 2007. That year he won a Munster title following a 1-16 to 2-8 defeat of Kerry.^[4]

By 2008 Sheehan had made it onto the Cork minor hurling team. He quickly added a Munster title in that code to his collection following a one-point defeat of Tipperary.^[5]

Sheehan subsequently joined the Cork under-21 panels in both codes. He enjoyed little success with the hurlers, however, in 2009 he won a Munster under-21 football title following a 1-9 to 2-5 defeat of Tipperary.^[6] Cork later played Down in an All-Ireland final in which little separated the sides. It took a late goal from Colm O'Driscoll to secure a 1-13 to 2-9 victory for Cork and an All-Ireland medal for Sheehan.^[7]

2009 also saw Sheehan enjoy some success with the Cork junior football team. He won a Munster title in that grade also following a 1-21 to 0-13 defeat of Clare.^[8] Sheehan, however, did not play any part in Cork's subsequent All-Ireland victory.

After a quiet season in 2010, Sheehan secured a second Munster under-21 football title in 2011 following a 2-24 to 0-8 trouncing of Kerry. Cork were subsequently installed as the red-hot favourites to take the All-Ireland title once again, however, Sheehan's side were defeated by Galway.

Senior

Sheehan made his senior debut for Cork when he came on as a substitute against Dublin in a National League game in 2010. By the end of the campaign he had established himself at full-forward and went on to win a National League title with a 1-17 to 0-12 defeat of Mayo in the final.^[9] Sheehan later made his championship debut in a drawn Munster semi-final with Kerry. Cork lost the replay but qualified for the All-Ireland final by taking the scenic route through the qualifiers. Down provided the opposition and a tight game developed on a rain-soaked day. Sheehan chipped in with a point as Cork triumphed by 0-16 to 0-15.^[10] It was Sheehan's first All-Ireland winners' medal and Cork's first championship title in twenty years.

In 2011 Cork retained their status as National League champions following a 0-21 to 2-14 defeat of Dublin in the final.^[11] It was Sheehan's second winners' medal in that competition. He later lined out in his first Munster final, however, Kerry retained their provincial title with a 1-15 to 1-12 victory.^[12] Sheehan's season came to an end in that game as he tore his cruciate ligament early in the second half.^[13]

International rules

He played twice for Ireland against Australia in the 2013 International Rules Series.^[14][15]

Move to AFL

In November 2013, Sheehan announced that he had signed for AFL club Carlton on a two-year contract from January 2014.^[16] This was a hammer blow to Cork football, coming as it did in the same week as the retirements of Sheehan's fellow 2010 All-Ireland winners Graham Canty, Pearse O'Neill, Alan Quirke, Paudie Kissane and Noel O'Leary.^[17] Sheehan joined fellow GAA stars Zach Tuohy of Laois and Ciarán Byrne of Louth, both at Carlton.^[16]

See also

• List of players who have converted from one football code to another

References