Seán Óg Sheehy (24 May 1939 – 31 May 2024) was an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er. At club level he played with John Mitchels and at inter-county level with the

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

. Sheehy captained Kerry to the All-Ireland SFC title in 1962.

Early life

Born and raised in

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, his father, John Joe Sheehy, was a four-time All-Ireland SFC-winner and two-time winning

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

with Kerry. Sheehy first played

as a schoolboy with Tralee CBS and was a Munster Colleges runner-up in 1956. He later played with

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and was a

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. T ...

runner-up in 1960.

Club career

Sheehy began his club career at juvenile and underage levels with the John Mitchels club in

. He eventually progressed to adult level and won his first Kerry SFC after a 3-09 to 1-10 defeat of

Feale Rangers Feale Rangers is a Divisional Gaelic football team which is made up of clubs based around the River Feale in North Kerry. The team competes in the Kerry Senior Football Championship which it has won on three occasions. History Feale Rangers ...

in the 1959 final replay. It was the first of a record-setting five successive Kerry SFC titles for John Mitchels, with Sheehy lining out in all five triumphs. During those early successes, he also lined out with

and won a Cork SFC medal after a defeat of Avondhu in the 1960 final. Sheehy claimed a sixth Kerry SFC title in 1966 after beating East Kerry by 2-10 to 1-10 in that year's

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Inter-county career

Sheehy began his inter-county career with Kerry as a member of the minor hurling team in 1957. He made his debut with the

in 0-12 to 0-06 defeat of

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

in November 1961. A brief spell with the junior team was followed by being made

of the senior team in 1962. Sheehy won his first Munster SFC medal after a defeat of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

that year before captaining Kerry to the All-Ireland SFC title after a 1-12 to 1-06 defeat of

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

in the

. His brothers,

Niall Niall is a male given name of Irish origin. The original meaning of the name is unknown, but popular modern sources have suggested that it means "champion" (derived from the Old Irish word ''niadh''). According to John Ryan, Professor of Early and ...

and Paudie, were also on the team. Sheehy captained Kerry to a one-point defeat of Down in the 1963 National League home final. He claimed a second successive Munster SFC medal later that season, however, he subsequently lost his place on the starting fifteen. Sheehy came on a substitute in the 1963 All-Ireland semi-final defeat by

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

in what was his last game for the senior team. He returned to the junior team and ended his inter-county career by claiming a Munster JFC medal in 1965.

Death

Sheehy died in Tralee on 31 May 2024, at the age of 85.

Honours

;John Mitchels *

Kerry Senior Football Championship The Kerry Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey’s SuperValu Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 18 ...

: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966 ;University College Cork *

Cork Senior Football Championship The Cork Premier Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Premier Senior Football Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSFC) is an annual club Gaelic football competition organised by t ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

;Kerry *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

(c),

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

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

: 1965

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehy, Sean Og 1939 births 2024 deaths Irish schoolteachers Dual players UCC Gaelic footballers UCD Gaelic footballers John Mitchels (Kerry) Gaelic footballers John Mitchels (Kerry) hurlers Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers Kerry inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Seán Óg Sportspeople from Tralee Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) 20th-century Irish sportsmen