Ciarán Sheehan (born 19 November 1990 in

Farran Farran () is a village in County Cork, Ireland, in the parish of Ovens. It lies on the southside of the River Lee. Farran is west from Cork City on the N22 road. The village has a primary school, creche and Montessori school, a church, communi ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland) is an Irish sportsman. Sheehan played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

with his local club Éire Óg, his divisional side

Muskerry Muskerry ( ga, Múscraí) is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry West Cork senior football team The Cork county football team represents Cork in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Sen ...

from 2010 until 2013. He signed a two-year contract to play

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

with the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

in 2013, later returning to Ireland.

Early and personal life

Born in

, Sheehan was educated at Scoil Naomh Mhuire Fearann in the village before later attending Coachford Community College for 3 years and then Coláiste Choilm in nearby

Ballincollig Ballincollig () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork city in Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork city, beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2016 it was the largest town in County Cork, at whic ...

. Here he played on the school football team, winning Cork colleges and Munster honours in all grades. Sheehan later attended

Cork Institute of Technology Cork Institute of Technology (CIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Chorcaí) was an institute of technology, located in Cork, Ireland. Upon its dissolution, the institute had 17,000 students studying in art, business, engineering, music, dram ...

, where he studied services engineering. As of 2022, Sheehan was working for a renewable energy research company in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Playing career

Club

Sheehan has played his club hurling and football with the Éire Óg club. After progressing through various juvenile grades, he played as a

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

for the club in the minor grades. In 2006, he won a Cork Minor A Football Championship with the club, following a victory over

Mitchelstown GAA Mitchelstown GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association based in the town of Mitchelstown, Cork, Ireland. The club fields teams in competitions organized by the Cork GAA county board and the Avondhu GAA divisional board. The club plays only Gaelic foot ...

. Two years later, Sheehan added a Cork Minor A Hurling Championship medal to his collection after defeating Erin's Own in the final. By 2008, 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 Dripsey () is a village in County Cork on the R618 regional road around west of Cork City. It is situated on a tributary of the River Lee, the Dripsey River. It is in the Catholic parish of Inniscarra. The Dripsey area hosts a water treatment ...

. Sheehan's side later claimed the

Cork Junior Football Championship The Cork Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Junior A Football Championship and abbreviated to the Cork JAFC) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Cork County Board of ...

following a 1–8 to 1–5 defeat of

Ballygarvan Ballygarvan () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It lies 9km south of Cork City. The village had a population of 556 inhabitants as of the 2016 census. Occupying the eastern half of Ballinhassig parish, the village lies in the valley between ...

. In 2019, he won a

Cork Premier Intermediate Football Championship The Cork Premier Intermediate Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Bon Secours Cork County Premier Intermediate Football Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PIFC) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the ...

after his return from Australia.

Minor, Under-21 and Junior

Sheehan first played for

with the county's minor football team in 2007. That year he won a

Munster Minor Football Championship The Munster Minor Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1928 for the youngest competitors (under-18) in the province of Munster in Ireland. It is ...

title following a 1–16 to 2–8 defeat of

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

. By 2008, Sheehan had made it onto the Cork minor hurling team. He added a

Munster Minor Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associ ...

title to his collection following a one-point defeat of

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

. Sheehan subsequently joined the Cork under-21 panels in both codes. In 2009, he won a

Munster Under-21 Football Championship The Munster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest ...

title following a 1–9 to 2–5 defeat of

. Cork later played Down in an All-Ireland final. It took a late goal from

Colm O'Driscoll Colm O'Driscoll (born 9 June 1988) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who used to plays as a left wing-forward for the Cork senior team and currently coaches Ilen Rovers. Born in Caheragh, County Cork, O'Driscoll first arrived on the inter-county sc ...

to secure a 1–13 to 2–9 victory for Cork and an

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ( ...

medal for Sheehan. In 2009, Sheehan won a

Munster Junior Football Championship The Munster Junior Football Championship is a gaelic football tournament between the six counties of Munster: Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare and Waterford. It is the third-tier county teams playing off in a single-elimination tournament w ...

title, following a 1–21 to 0–13 defeat of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. Sheehan, however, did not play any part in Cork's subsequent

All-Ireland Junior Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship is a GAA competition involving four Junior Gaelic football inter-county teams. Prior to a change in competition structure in 2021, the competition was previously for all Junior Gaelic football inte ...

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 win over Kerry. Cork were subsequently installed as the favourites to take the All-Ireland title once again, however, Sheehan's side were defeated by

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

Senior

Sheehan made his senior debut for Cork when he came on as a substitute against

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in a

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

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 Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

in the final. 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 via the qualifiers. Down provided the opposition and a tight game developed on a wet day. Sheehan chipped in with a point as Cork won by 0–16 to 0–15. It was Sheehan's first

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

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

in the final. 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. Sheehan's season came to an end in that game as he tore his cruciate ligament early in the second half.

International rules

He played twice for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the

2013 International Rules Series The 2013 International Rules Series (officially the 2013 Irish Daily Mail International Rules Series) was the 17th International Rules Series contested between Gaelic footballers from Ireland and Australian footballers from Australia. Ireland en ...

. Sheehan was awarded the Player of the Series title for his efforts in the Irish record victory.

Move to AFL

In November 2013, Sheehan signed to play

for professional

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

club

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

, on a two-year contract from January 2014. Sheehan had previously trialed with Carlton during 2009 without signing a contract, but re-opened discussions with the club following the 2013 International Rules series. Sheehan joined fellow Gaelic footballers

Zach Tuohy Zach Tuohy (born 10 December 1989) is an Irish professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Tuohy grew up in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland, and played Gaelic footb ...

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

and Ciarán Byrne of

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

, both at Carlton. After playing for Carlton's , the

Northern Blues The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at the Preston City O ...

, for much of his first season, Sheehan made his senior debut for Carlton on 9 August 2014 against . He played the last four games of the 2014 season and won the award as Carlton's best first year player for the season. However, recurring hamstring injuries hampered the rest of his career, and he managed only two more senior games over the next three years before being delisted at the end of 2017.

Return to Ireland

Sheehan returned to Ireland and the

Cork senior football team The Cork county football team represents Cork in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Sen ...

in 2020. He retired from inter-county football in 2021. As of 2021, he was still playing club football with Éire Óg. He was named a

selector Selector may refer to: *Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch *''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services *Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey *Selector, a pers ...

for Cork's U20 football team in 2022.

Statistics

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2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

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2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehan, Ciaran 1990 births Living people Cork inter-county Gaelic footballers Dual players Éire Óg (Cork) Gaelic footballers Éire Óg (Cork) hurlers Gaelic footballers who switched code Irish international rules football players Muskerry Gaelic footballers Muskerry hurlers Preston Football Club (VFA) players Carlton Football Club players Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) Irish players of Australian rules football Irish expatriate sportspeople in Australia