'Outrageous' - History as Aidan O'Shea becomes Championship centurion

The Saint Tiernach’s Park clock read 58:14 when the thousands of spectators present got to witness a special slice of history.

There have been a myriad of unique and special achievements across the world of GAA, but only one outfield player can puff his chest out and say he is a Championship centurion.

On Sunday, May 10, 2009, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, a young, rough, and unpolished Aidan O’Shea made his way onto the pitch in the Bronx for his first-ever Championship game.

An ocean of time (6,230 days, to be precise) has come and gone since. The world, and life itself for the Breaffy man-child, has changed dramatically, but one thing has been ever-present.

Over the course of the last 17 years, O’Shea has been front and center of the county’s long and winding love affair with Gaelic football.

He’s seen plenty of highs and plenty of lows.

Who could forget the day when he man-marked Kieran Donaghy, which had the whole nation talking, his 3-4 return against Sligo, or his dominant display against Donegal in 2013?

Faces have come and gone, but the full-forward has only missed one Championship game since his maiden bow, cementing his place as a rock and someone to lean on for teammates, young and old.

With the game in the melting pot in Clones, manager and former team-mate Andy Moran sprung his old comrade from the bench, with the game very much in the melting pot.

The 2013 All-Star was a safe pair of hands as Mayo eked out the victory. However, as is a testament to his ambition, he revealed this is far from the end when he spoke to the press in the wake of the victory.

“It's mad,” O’Shea said post-match. “I’ve obviously been very lucky with injuries, I know the boys have had a few knocks through the years, so thankfully I’ve been lucky and obviously still tipping away there.

“Hopefully we can add a few more to it over the next while.”

The iconic attacker came in for special praise from his team-mate in attack, Jordan Flynn.

“You can't speak highly enough of Aidan,” the Crossmolina clubman stated. From the way that he handles the younger lads to the older lads, he's a phenomenal guy to have around the group.

“We needed him there in the last twelve minutes. He's just a big body getting around, smashing, and grabbing. Even the way he talks to Kobe and Darragh inside.

“It’s the little things that people wouldn't see watching on that make a huge difference.

“Getting 100 in the Championship is outrageous, and he doesn't seem to want to slow down either.”