Bryan more than just a kicker

Sheehan more than a place-kicker

BRYANSHEEHAN’S retirement at the weekend has ensured his most famous works of art have gone viral once more.

The longest of his two booming kicks in the 2009 Kerry county final against Dr Crokes became the stuff of legend – measured at 67 yards – and was recreated in an advertisement for AIB’s ‘The Toughest’ campaign, becoming a YouTube hit once more this week.

His career, spanning 15 seasons at inter- county level, amounted to much more than a 55-second advert and, yet packaged within it were two absolute core truths.

I t was his kicking ability, inspired by a childhood watching his Caherciveen neighbour Maurice Fitzgerald sweeping leather over a bar and hours of repeated practice, that made him arguably the best long-distance shooter of a dead ball in the modern game.

The second suggests that the very best of Bryan Sheehan was seen with his club, St Mary’s, and division, South Kerry.

That still holds. In last month’s county final against Crokes, he stood head and shoulders above everyone in the middle of the field, including county team-mate Johnny Buckley.

His impact was even more pronounced in South Kerry’s semifinal win over Kerins O’Rahillys, Sheehan running a game in which the county’s number one midfielder David Moran was anonymous for long periods.

And in that game he showed again that there was more to him than a free-taking specialist, as he dominated primary possession and pulled the playmaking strings while also finishing with three points.

Given that rich vein of form and the fact that at 32, he has not reached inter-county pensionable age — his former team-mates Marc Ó Sé and Aidan O’Mahony were both 36 when they called time last year — there is a case to be made that he had more to wring from a five-time All-Ireland winning career.

In making his scripted departure at the weekend, he nodded the head to give thanks to having played with some of the ‘very best’ in what was another golden era for Kerry football.

In many ways, Sheehan more than most illustrated the quality of that noughties side; not least because of the amount of time he spent on the fringes.

He retires as a household name, yet he started in just one of those winning finals – the historic 2007 win over Cork in which he scored two points – coming off the bench in two others, the 2006 mauling of Mayo and the against-the- odds success over Donegal in 2014.

That latter game highlighted his talent and temperament as he converted a crucial free with his very first touch.

He also sealed this year’s Allianz League final win over Dublin in similar fashion, this time hitting a jaw-dropping beauty from open play.

But his role in latter seasons was almost entirely restricted to making an impact from the bench, and of 66 Championship appearances, 26 came as a sub.

That underlined the competition he faced and when he did get time to breathe as a midfielder — his natural and best position — he made quite a mark by becoming an All-Star in 2011.

But he struggled to nail down a place under the watch of former team-mate Éamonn Fitzmaurice, starting in just nine out of 24 Championship games under the current manager.

Injuries did not help — he spent much of this season hamstrung — but, more than anything, the window of opportunity tightened because of Kerry’s pressing need to become a more athletic force, especially with dominating Dublin in mind.

Sheehan’s strengths were technical and while he possessed power and strength, speed was never a friend.

That goes some way to explaining why he has arguably been the most consistent club player in Kerry over the past five years, but was used only sparingly by Fitzmaurice.

He admitted in an RTÉ Radio interview on Sunday that it had been a wrench to leave, particularly because he is convinced that there is an All-Ireland to be won by this group.

In that he may well be right, but if that All-Ireland is to be delivered, Fitzmaurice must find the legs to realise it.

Sheehan’s departure may just be the start. A number of changes to the panel are not only expected but will be demanded.

It is not that Fitzmaurice can’t afford to lose next year; it is just that he can’t afford to do so while leaning on the same players.

It may not be the end of the road for some of Sheehan’s longtime team-mates, but the role which the likes of Killian Young, Moran, Anthony Maher, Donnchadh Walsh and Kieran Donaghy may become more supportive than lead in nature.

If it comes to that, they will do well to match Sheehan f or impact.