Football

Captain Bryan Sheehan is relishing year ahead with Kerry

Kerry captain Bryan Sheehan
Kerry captain Bryan Sheehan

EVEN though his focus is on his club for the present, Kerry captain Bryan Sheehan is relishing his return to the inter-county scene later in the campaign.

Sheehan will not play in Croke Park on Saturday night against Dublin, but will be at the same venue seven days later for his club St Mary’s in the All-Ireland Club IFC final against Loughinisland’s conquerors Hollymount/Carramore of Mayo, a situation he feels creates mixed emotions.

“Don’t get me wrong - I would love to be out there with Kerry on Saturday night, but the opportunity I have with my club is one that doesn’t come around too often and I’m giving that my entire focus for the moment,” Sheehan said.

“Obviously, when that’s done I will have to sit down with [Kerry manager] Éamonn [Fitzmaurice] and discuss when will be the best time for me to come back into the panel.”

Sheehan previously captained Kerry in 2010, when he lifted the Munster SFC title before the All-Ireland campaign ended at the first hurdle with a surprise defeat to Down in the quarter-final.

“We have so many leaders in the dressing room that it doesn’t just fall on the captain to speak in the dressing room all the time,” he said.

“While management will speak to the players all the time, there will be a time when the captain is asked to communicate a specific message to the players and that’s something I’m more than comfortable doing. I suppose having the experience of having done this before in 2010 will help me prepare for it this time around."

Dublin have been Kerry’s nemesis since, with three wins over the Kingdom in the Championship since 2011, but Sheehan dismisses any talk of bogey team status: “I suppose people are starting this again like they did with Tyrone in the noughties, but you have to remember the same thing was being said to Dublin about Kerry when they didn’t beat us from 1977 to 2011," he said.

“We still feel we left 2011 after us. In 2013, it came down to a bounce of a ball and, last year, we just didn’t perform on the day, which still rankles."

In terms of his own place on the starting 15, Sheehan acknowledges the difficulty he will have reestablishing himself: “When I won my Allstar in 2011, it probably had a lot to do with the fact David Moran got injured and I took his place,” he added.

“The roles reversed between us, ironically enough, in 2014 when David was the one who got the acclaim and you need only look at Anthony Maher being dropped for last year’s Munster final and going on to win an Allstar himself afterwards to see the level of competition we have in the panel. That’s something we both need and are proud to have.”