Brothers in arms the heartbeat of Mayo

Of the many clichés written about the O’Shea brothers, there’s one that rings true; their winning mentality, writes Terry Reilly

There’s a few myths about Aidan and Seamus O’Shea that need to be debunked.

The first is that they were born in Kerry. Not true. Though born into a Killorglin family — their father Jim and mother Sheila hailing from the Kerry town — the siblings were born in Mullingar.

Jim’s bank job necessitated a move to Breaffy, just outside Castlebar, when the boys were aged six and three and Sheila got into the local national school. When Seamus was in third class, a new teacher arrived. Sean Grealish had played championship football for Mayo and went on to teach Aidan and Conor, the younger O’Shea on the panel who is currently out injured.

“Seamus stood out early. He was football mad and when you got him on the field, you saw the athleticism he had,” said Grealish.

“He was quiet but when he spoke, you’d listen. Aidan was a lot more forthcoming with ideas and his views and Conor is a real character. Conor was very good on stage and did a very good mimic of Pat Shortt. In the Christmas school plays, he always had the lead role.

“But in terms of their approach to football, they were all similar, with passion for the game. They are a football-mad family and to win was foremost for them. Not alone in Gaelic football but soccer too.

“I remember when Aidan was in sixth class, there was a county five-a-side competition and we got to the final. In the last few minutes, we were a goal down. There was a ball that looked to be going dead but Aidan got to it, kept it in, crossed the ball for the equalising goal. The game went to extra-time and we won it and ended up winning the All-Ireland on the basis of his determination not to lose. That quality stuck with him.”

That touches on the second misnomer — their attitude. Breaffy trainer for three years and former Galway All-Ireland winner, John Donnellan, came into the club not knowing what to expect.

“When I went down there at the start, they made me feel very welcome,” he said. “It may have been difficult inviting a Galway man into the club. I would have heard different stories in Galway that they were hard to manage but things couldn’t have been further from the truth.

“They are tremendous club men. After last year’s All-Ireland final, there was a backlog of league games in Mayo and we had a game at 12pm in Breaffy against Knockmore the following weekend. Aidan and Seamus were there an hour beforehand togged out even though they only live across the road from the pitch. It was nearly as important for them to win that game as it was the week before.

“The two of them are totally different but both of them are hugely respected in the club. It’s hard to find that. In a lot of clubs the inter-county guys are wrapped up in themselves a bit but not the two lads. ”

That attitude comes from their home. John saw first hand how obsessed the family is by football when he entered the O’Shea household and saw videos and DVDs everywhere of games.

“It was football, football, football. Even the small talk was football,” he said.

“These guys were great leaders. They did their talking on the pitch. Rarely would you see them missing a training session. If they had a clash on nights with Mayo sessions they’d be down on the pitch putting out cones or standing behind the goals getting balls.”

Then there’s the talk about Seamus being carried by Aidan. Former Mayo footballer Pat Holmes managed both men at U21 level for the county. When he hears people talking down Seamus’s ability, it annoys him.

Holmes was appointed Mayo U21 manager alongside Noel Connelly late in 2005 and they held trials over Christmas for the 2006 team. He called on four starters from the All-Ireland minor final, Tom Cunniffe, Ger Cafferkey, Chris Barrett and Aidan Campbell, and Seamus.

“The very first thing we noticed was Seamus’s physicality. He was very strong for an 18-year-old and you could see he had something a lot of the others didn’t have. You could see from the start he had that,” he said.

“I remember a player two years older than him who shall remain nameless, trying to bully him and he took none of it. That’s the vein he continued with us for the season. He made the team in the middle of the field.

“In the All-Ireland semi-final against Tyrone that year he didn’t have his best game and didn’t finish the game. I remember speaking to him afterwards and all he wanted to do was get his head down and start in the All-Ireland final. In the final we played poorly in the first-half against Cork and were two or three points down at half time. They went out in the second half, a relatively young team, and they went for Cork and Seamie led the charge. In the first few minutes, he went on a solo run down the middle and took a shot on the edge of the square. Just as he was hitting it he was challenged and we got a penalty. That was the turning of the game.”

The drive Seamus showed to succeed in football was a quality Holmes appreciated: “At that age Seamus was probably more dedicated to the cause than Aidan. That’s no criticism of Aidan, Seamie just worked so hard.”

That point was reinforced by Aidan’s county minor manager Ray Dempsey, who believes people who question Aidan’s drive in the last three years haven’t studied the situation.

“The thing about success is how you maximise it and get the best out of yourself. In the last few years under James Horan he [Aidan] has got himself fitter than he’s ever been, which is the hardest thing. He has addressed that situation and is putting in the miles on the pitch. He had the talent but there was a question mark over whether he had the desire to get in shape. That’s answered now. He’s put in the hard yards and that’s reflected in his performances on the pitch.”

All four agree their application to hard work was second to none.

“The word from all coaches was they listened. They took everything on board and were a pleasure to train. They’ve a single-mindedness to win and hopefully they’ll get their reward on Sunday.”

THE O'SHEA BROTHERS

AIDAN

Age: 23

Weight: 15st 5lbs

Height: 6’4”

Occupation: Planning coordinator, Allergan, Westport

Honours: Three Connacht SFC titles

On his career: “I had one disappointing year, but apart from that I have been happy with how the trajectory has been going.”

SEAMUS

Age: 26

Weight: 14st

Height: 6’2”

Occupation: Insurance underwriter

Honours: Three Connacht SFC titles, one All-Ireland U21 medal

On his toughest opponent: “There’s probably a few of them. I would have grown up playing football against my current Mayo team-mate Barry Moran and I would have always found it tough against him. I played a lot of football against him growing up. He is a year older than me and that bit bigger than me. Coming up against him in midfield wasn’t easy.”