HE’S still at it.

But why, after 200 games, three All-Stars, eight All-Ireland final appearances (including a replay and a Minor final) and no end of abuse, approbrium and invective, on the field, off the field, from inside and outside Mayo, is Aidan O’Shea still at it? Not only is he still at it, but he’s arguably never been playing as well.

For 16 years, the Breaffy man has been the face of Mayo football. That face first emerged in public in 2008 after Mayo’s All-Ireland Minor final defeat to Tyrone.

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It was pale, full and sat on shoulders as wide as an arctic lorry on hips that could swivel as quickly as most corner forwards. 

John O’Mahony brought the then-Leaving Cert student into the Mayo senior fold, handing him his championship debut against New York in 2009.

His Mayo career began at full-forward. He has played in every other line of the field since then, except in goal. He famously fought Kieran Donaghy - physically and verbally - in an unforgettable two-game-long clash of the titans back in 2017, and even wore Number 6 for a league game against Tyrone in 2022 - the first experiment worked well, the other not so well. But everywhere he was stationed, O’Shea gave it his best.

‘ABSOLUTE PASSION’ 

“I THINK the biggest thing about Aidan that comes to mind is that whatever he’s doing, he likes to do it well,” his former teammate, Rob Hennelly, tells The Mayo News shortly before O’Shea’s 200th Mayo game.

“When he started playing first, every game he played from underage right up, he gave it everything he had. He never held anything back. It was something he had to almost tone down when he was younger. He was so aggressive, he’d almost be over the top. He’d get a lot of special attention.

But he got more mature, and it was all driven by the love of club football. He’s a guy who wants to do it for as long as possible. He loves doing it so much.

“I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to play 200 games for any team, whether it’s club or county, without loving it.
“He has this absolute passion for Mayo, Breaffy and just for playing football. And not just playing for the sake of it, wanting to be better, wanting to be the best.”

O’Shea lined out with some of the greatest players to ever wear the green and red. They had their good days, bad days, and glorious days, and so did O’Shea. He may not be one of Mayo’s greatest-ever footballers, but there can be no doubt that he is among Mayo’s greatest-ever servants and one of the county’s most iconic athletes.

O’Shea has had some dark days in the Mayo jersey. Tears fell from his bloody, bludgeoned face after the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final replay defeat to Kerry in Limerick. He also wept after the 2015 All-Ireland quarter-final victory over Tyrone. (Why those two, above any of the dream-shattering All-Ireland final defeats? I guess we’ll have to read the autobiography.)

‘AN EASY TARGET’

HE is fully aware of the abuse he gets and the exact accusations levelled against him. He revealed as much during a fascinating interview with the GAA Social Podcast.

Of all the things you could fault about the Mayo seniors, why has O’Shea become, to quote Robbie Hennelly, ‘an easy target’ for the naysayers?

“I’m sure, at times, he’s been like, ‘Is it worth it?’ with the amount of stick and abuse he gets, not just from pundits, but beyond that,” says Hennelly. “But because he loves it so much and it means so much to him, he has been able to compartmentalise that side of things because, for him, it’s worth it. He just wants to play for Mayo, he wants to add as much as he can.

“When I think of all the times he’s played for Mayo in the last 15-16 years, this is probably the most important time to have Aidan in that squad, because there has been so much change.

“When you are a young lad coming up now, it's a totally different world. When we were playing in 2009, social media wasn’t a thing, these weren’t things that we’d even have to consider, whereas for Aido, he’s there with these young lads coming through and helping them navigate what is a really difficult thing because you have got so many things to balance.

“He is a perfect role model for this team, not just because of that stuff, but because of what he’s doing on the field, the way he prepares, and, as you said, I don’t think anyone will ever play 200 times for Mayo again, because so much goes into it and to still be at that level is an inspiration to me.”

Let’s leave aside Aidan O’Shea, the footballer, for a minute. Like him or not, he is, and has been since he burst onto to scene, a footballing rock star, a David Beckham-like sex-symbol the likes of which Mayo GAA has never seen before and will probably never see again.

Children flock to him after club and county games. How many jerseys has he signed over the years? Tommy Conroy, Oisín Mullin and Jordan Flynn have marked a fair few themselves and posed for numerous selfies, but nowhere near as many as O’Shea.

He made a conscious decision some years ago to be patient and generous with his time. This reporter saw first-hand in 2023. O’Shea had just inspired Breaffy to a convincing away win over Balla and was slowly disembarking from Nally Park.

We asked him for a quick word before the eager flock of giddy smallies descended. He was courteous, obliging and carried on talking even as he craned his brooding frame 45 degrees to sign various garments and accessories.

It is only in those kinds of situations, when you are right up beside him, that you can truly appreciate the shape he is. The man is absolutely huge, sculpted from head to toe in muscle. A small wonder no defender can match him for strength in a one-on-one battle.

He’s been in that sort of shape since around 2014, when he appeared to shed a stone or two to become the specimen he is today.

Had he not done that, there is no way he would have played 200 games for Mayo, according to Robbie Hennelly.
“We would all have flagged, back then, he was putting on pounds. He could easily have maintained that, and you’ve seen that with other players, but he didn’t.”

200 AND COUNTING

NO more than his physique, O’Shea has had to adapt his game. When Mayo needed big ball winners around the middle, there were few better than Aidan O’Shea.

Since Kevin McStay took over in 2022, he has seldom crossed the ‘45. During that time, he has scored 3-31 and has developed a knack for kicking left-footed frees.

“I know from being a goalkeeper, you see a player like that playing close to you, like we had with Donaghy over the years, you have to be so aware,” said Hennelly.

“You have to have almost two or one-and-a-half players on him because you can’t leave him one-on-one out there, because he is so strong. He is very, very hard to stop. I think it’s great that we are seeing him close to goal in the last two or three years.”

Whether or not he wins an All-Ireland, it is likely that no man will ever play 200 games for Mayo again. For that, and for the joy, frustration, excitement and endless hours of debate and conversation he has generated, Aidan O’Shea has earned his place in the annals of Mayo GAA history.

But not until the Breaffy man climbs the steps of the Hogan Stand and hoists Sam to the heavens shall the irrelevant naysayers be silenced.

“I’m personally so proud of him,” says Hennelly. “Because I know there were lots of dark days for him, but he’s still there, he’s still adapting, he’s still probably Mayo’s most important player at the minute.

That’s all that needs to be said. That’s incredible.”

For now, let us enjoy the man who’ll keep on giving for as long as he can.

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