Jack O'Shea
Encyclopedia
Jack O’Shea is a retired Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 sportsperson. He played football at various times with his local clubs St. Mary’s
St. Mary's GAA
St. Mary's GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the villages of Ballineen and Enniskean, County Cork, Ireland. The club participates in bolth Gaelic football and hurling competitions. The club is a member of the Carbery division of Cork GAA. In 2009, the club won its first ever...

 in Kerry and Leixlip
Leixlip GAA
Leixlip GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland. They were senior football finalists in 1986, club of the year 1979, and home club of Matt Goff who featured on the Kildare millennium football team at full-back....

 in Kildare. He was a member of the Kerry
Kerry GAA
The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...

 senior inter-county team from 1976 until 1992. O’Shea is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time.

He is currently a respected media pundit with a regular column in the sports section of the Irish edition of the Sunday Times. His son Aidan made his debut for the Kerry senior team in their successful 2009 National League
National Football League (Ireland)
The National Football League is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company...

 campaign.

Minor & under-21

By the early 1970s O’Shea had come to prominence on the Kerry
Kerry GAA
The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...

 minor football team. He made his minor championship debut against Waterford
Waterford GAA
The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...

 in 1974, however, the year ended without any success for Kerry. In 1975 a 3-7 to 1-11 defeat of arch-rivals Cork gave O’Shea a coveted Munster
Munster Minor Football Championship
The Munster Minor Football Championship is the Minor "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Munster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Munster Council. The current Munster Minor football champions are Tipperary. Clare won the inaugural...

 winners’ medal in the minor grade. That same year he was a late inclusion on Kerry’s under-21 football team. O’Shea missed Kerry’s Munster under-21 final triumph, however, he later lined out in the All-Ireland final in that grade with Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...

 providing the opposition. A 1-15 to 0-10 score line gave Kerry the victory and gave O’Shea a coveted All-Ireland
All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship
The All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship is the premier "knockout" competition for players aged between 18 and 21 in the game of Gaelic football played in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and are played during the summer months...

 winners' medal.

In 1976 O’Shea won his first Munster
Munster Under-21 Football Championship
The Munster Under-21 Football Championship is the premier "knockout" competition for players aged between 18 and 21 in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Munster, in Ireland....

 under-21 title as Kerry retained their provincial crown at the expense of Cork. He later lined out in a second All-Ireland final. Kildare
Kildare GAA
For more information see Kildare Senior Club Football Championship or Kildare Senior Club Hurling Championship.The Kildare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Kildare GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kildare...

 provided the opposition on that occasion; however, they were no match for Kerry. O’Shea collected a second All-Ireland winners' medal following a 0-14 to 1-3 victory.

Kerry and O’Shea made it three Munster under-21 titles in-a-row in 1977 following a two-goal defeat of Cork. O’Shea’s side later qualified for the All-Ireland final with Down
Down GAA
The Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Down...

 providing the opposition. A 1-11 to 1-5 score line gave Kerry the victory and gave O’Shea a third under-21All-Ireland winners’ medal.

In 1978 O’Shea made it an impressive four Munster under-21 titles in-a-row as Kerry retained their provincial crown at the expense of Cork. He later lined out in a fourth consecutive All-Ireland final. Roscommon
Roscommon GAA
For more details of Roscommon GAA see Roscommon Senior Club Football Championship or Roscommon Senior Club Hurling Championship.The Roscommon County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Roscommon GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games...

 provided the opposition on that occasion, however, a close game developed. At the final whistle Kerry were defeated by 1-9 to 1-8.

Senior

O’Shea made his senior inter-county debut with Kerry in late 1976 v Meath, in Navan. In fact 1976-77 proved to be a successful League campaign with O’Shea capturing a first National League
National Football League (Ireland)
The National Football League is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company...

 winners’ medal . He subsequently captured a first Munster
Munster Senior Football Championship
The Munster Senior Football Championship is the premier "knockout" competition in the game of football played in the province of Munster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Munster Council and are played during the summer months...

 title at senior level following a win over Cork. Kerry later took on Dublin for the third consecutive year, however, this time it was in the All-Ireland semi-final. In one of the greatest games of football ever-played 'the Dubs' triumphed and O’Shea was still left waiting for a senior All-Ireland final appearance.

In 1978 Kerry faced little competition in the provincial championship once again. A defeat of Cork gave O’Shea a second consecutive Munster title. Kerry later qualified for a third All-Ireland final in four years. Old rivals Dublin provided the opposition, however, the game turned into a rout. The game is chiefly remembered for Mikey Sheehy
Mikey Sheehy
Mikey Sheehy is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Austin Stacks and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1974 until 1987. Sheehy is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time.-Club:Sheehy played his club football with the...

's sensational goal. The Kerry forward lobbed over the ball over the head of Paddy Cullen
Paddy Cullen
Paddy Cullen is a former inter-county goalkeeper and manager with the Dublin GAA senior football team. During his player career Cullen won three All-Irelands and four all-stars awards....

, who was caught off his line arguing with the referee. Eoin Liston
Eoin Liston
Eoin 'Bomber' Liston is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Beale, his divisional side Shannon Rangers and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1978 until 1993...

 announced his arrival on the inter-county scene and scored a hat-trick of goals. Pat Spillane
Pat Spillane
Patrick Gerard Spillane , better known as Pat Spillane, is a retired Gaelic footballer and well known Irish sports pundit. He played Gaelic football with his local club Templenoe and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1975 until 1991...

 played all over the field, including goalkeeper after Charlie Nelligan
Charlie Nelligan
Charlie Nelligan is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Castleisland Desmonds and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1976 until 1991.-Club:...

 was sent off. At the full-time whistle Kerry were the winners by 5-11 to 0-9.

In 1979 Kerry made it five-in-a-row in Munster as Cork fell by ten points in the provincial final. It was O’Shea’s third Munster title. He later went in search of a second consecutive All-Ireland medal. Dublin provided the opposition for the fifth consecutive occasion. Kerry were handicapped throughout the game. Ger Power
Ger Power
Ger Power is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Austin Stack's and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1973 until 1988. Power captained Kerry to the All-Ireland title in 1980.-Early life:Ger Power was born in Annacotty, County...

 did not start the game, while John O'Keeffe got injured and Páidí Ó Sé
Páidí Ó Sé
Páidí Ó Sé is a retired Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He played football with his local club An Ghaeltacht and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1975 until 1987...

 was sent off during the encounter. Two goals by Mikey Sheehy and a third by John Egan
John Egan (footballer)
John Egan is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Sneem, his divisional side South Kerry and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1975 until 1984.He also played hurling with neighbouring club Kenmare.Born in Tahilla , County Kerry, Egan...

 helped 'the Kingdom' to a 3-13 to 1-8 victory. It was O’Shea’s second All-Ireland winners' medal.

Kerry's dominance continued in 1980. Another defeat of Cork in the provincial final gave O’Shea a fourth Munster winners' medal in succession. Another All-Ireland final appearance beckoned, this time with Roscommon
Roscommon GAA
For more details of Roscommon GAA see Roscommon Senior Club Football Championship or Roscommon Senior Club Hurling Championship.The Roscommon County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Roscommon GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games...

 providing the opposition. The Connacht champions shocked Kerry and took a five-point lead inside the first twelve minutes. Mikey Sheehy popped up again to score the decisive goal, as Kerry went on to claim a 1-9 to 1-6 victory in a game that contained sixty-four frees. The victory gave Kerry and O’Shea a third All-Ireland title in succession. He finished off the year by collecting the coveted Texaco Footballer of the Year
Texaco Footballer of the Year
The Texaco Footballer of the Year is a Gaelic football award, created in 1958, that honours the achievements of a footballer of outstanding excellence...

 award.

In 1981 O’Shea won his fifth consecutive Munster title, before lining out in the All-Ireland final against Offaly
Offaly GAA
The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly...

. Kerry had an easy win with seven players combing for a great goal. He captured his fourth All-Ireland winners' medal that day as Kerry won by 1-12 to 0-8. O’Shea also retained the Footballer of the Year title.

In 1982 O’Shea won his second National League medal before Kerry secured an eighth consecutive Munster final victory over Cork, giving him a sixth provincial winners' medal. The All-Ireland final pitted 'the Kingdom' against Offaly for the second year in-a-row. Kerry had the upper hand for much of the game and were leading by two points with two minutes left to be played. The game, however, was not over as Offaly substitute Séamus Darby
Séamus Darby
Séamus Darby is an Irish former sportsperson who played Gaelic football for County Offaly in the 1970s and 1980s...

, who had entered the game almost unnoticed, produced the most spectacular of finishes by scoring a late goal. Kerry failed to score again to level the match and Offaly went on to win their third All-Ireland title ever. Kerry's five-in-a-row dream was shattered.

Kerry missed out on an historic nine-in-a-row in Munster in 1983, as Cork finally triumphed. 'The Kingdom' bounced back the following year with O’Shea winning his third National League medal and his seventh Munster title. The centenary-year All-Ireland final pitted Kerry against old rivals and reigning champions Dublin. 'The Kingdom' dominated the game from start to finish. Only two of Dublin’s forwards scored as Kerry ran out easy winners by 0-14 to 1-6. It was O’Shea fifth All-Ireland winners' medal. A third Footballer of the Year award quickly followed.

Kerry made no mistake again in 1985. A two-goal victory over Cork gave O’Shea an eighth Munster winners' medal. Another All-Ireland final beckoned, with Dublin providing the opposition for a second consecutive year. O'Shea scored a key goal after eleven minutes and Kerry stormed to a nine-point lead at half-time. 'The Dubs' came storming back with Joe McNally
Joe McNally
Joe McNally is an American photographer who has been shooting for the National Geographic Society since 1987.McNally was born in Montclair, New Jersey. He received his bachelor's and graduate degrees from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University...

 scoring two goals. The gap could not be bridged and Kerry won by 2-12 to 2-8. The victory gave O’Shea an impressive sixth All-Ireland winners' medal. He was also presented with the Footballer of the Year award for a record fourth occasion, while also collecting a record sixth All-Star
GAA All Stars Awards
The All Stars Awards, currently sponsored by Vodafone, are given annually since 1971 by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the best player in each of the fifteen positions in Gaelic football and Hurling in Ireland. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as the player of the year...

 in the midfield position.

In 1986 Kerry's dominance showed no sign of disappearing. Cork fell again in the provincial final, giving O’Shea a ninth Munster title. An eighth All-Ireland final appearance quickly followed and it turned out to be an historic occasion. Tyrone
Tyrone GAA
The Tyrone County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Tyrone GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Tyrone. The county board is also responsible for the Tyrone inter-county teams....

 provided the opposition in their first-ever championship decider. A Peter Quinn goal gave the Ulster men a six-point lead in the second-half, however, the game was far from over. Pat Spillane ran fifty yards up the field for a hand-passed goal to get Kerry back on track. Mikey Sheehy scored a second goal to give 'the Kingdom' a 2-15 to 1-10 victory. It was O’Shea’s seventh All-Ireland medal.

The glory days were now over for Kerry as Cork captured the next four Munster titles. O’Shea continued to play with Kerry, winning his eleventh Munster title as captain of the team in 1991. Kerry were subsequently defeated by eventual champions Down
Down GAA
The Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Down...

 in the All-Ireland semi-final. O’Shea retired from inter-county football the following year when Clare defeated the Kingdom to win their second ever Munster Senior Football final.

Inter-provincial

O’Shea also lined out with Munster
Munster GAA
The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:*Cork*Clare*Kerry*Limerick*Tipperary*Waterford-Honours:...

 in the inter-provincial football competition and enjoyed much success. He first lined out with his province in 1977 as Munster defeated Connacht
Connacht GAA
The Connacht Council are a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Connacht.-Constituent counties:*Galway*Leitrim*Mayo*Roscommon*Sligo-Special counties:...

 in the final by 1-14 to 1-9. It was his first Railway Cup winners’ medal and the first of two-in-a-row for Kennelly and for Munster. After losing out in 1979 and 1980 O’Shea captured a third Railway Cup title in 1981. A one-point defeat of Connacht gave O’Shea a fourth Railway Cup winners’ medal in 1982. He lined out for Munster on a number of occasions between then and 1991, however, he never tasted Railway Cup success again

Internationals

O'Shea represented Ireland
Ireland international rules football team
The Ireland International rules football team is the representative team for Ireland in international rules football, a compromise between Gaelic football and Australian rules football...

 in 9 International Rules
International Rules Series
The International Rules Series is a senior men's International rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team and the Ireland international rules football team...

 Tests against Australia
Australia international rules football team
This article concerns the men's team; for information on the Australian women's team, see Australia women's international rules football team....

. He played 3 Tests in each of the 1984
1984 International Rules series
The 1984 International Rules series took place in Ireland and consisted of three Test matches between the Australian and Irish international rules football teams....

 and 1986
1986 International Rules series
The 1986 International Rules series took place in Australia and consisted of three Test matches between the Australian and Irish international rules football teams.-Summary:1st Test Venue: WACA Ground, Perth Crowd: Unknown2nd Test...

 series, and culminated in being awarded the Harry Beitzel Medal as the outstanding player of the 1990 series
1990 International Rules series
The 1990 International Rules series took place in Australia and consisted of three Test matches between the Australian and Irish international rules football teams.-Summary:1st Test Venue: Waverley Park, Melbourne Crowd: 18,3322nd Test...

.

Management

In 1992 Jack O'Shea was appointed manager of Mayo GAA
Mayo GAA
The Mayo County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Mayo GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Mayo and the Mayo inter-county teams.-History:...

 senior football team. His two year period produced one Connacht title. However his time as manager was not successful as mayo did not reach an All Ireland Final. In his first year he won the Connacht title but Cork hammered Mayo in the semi final. In his second year Leitrim managed by Ex Mayo Manager John O'Mahony
John O'Mahony
John O'Mahony may refer to:*John O'Mahony , founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood *John O'Mahony , Irish Fine Gael politician representing Mayo and twice an All-Ireland winner managing the Galway Football Team*Sean Matgamna , also known as John O'Mahony, Trotskyist theorist*Seán O'Mahony ,...

 beat Mayo in the Connacht final. Following the final O'Shea resigned as manager, stating that he had enjoyed management but was not planning to try it again. He has not managed since.

Teams

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