CORK’S CIARAN SHEEHAN is to move to Melbourne next January to join AFL club Carlton Blues.
The 22 year-old, who starred for Ireland in the recent International Rules series against Australia, is to take up a two year-contract with the side.
The offer to Sheehan to sign for Carlton came in the wake of the recent second test in Croke Park. Laois player Zach Tuohy is already an established member of the club while Louth’s Ciaran Byrne is a new recruit who is joining the club for next season.
Sheehan previously spent four weeks during the summer of 2009 training with Carlton but opted not to sign with them full-time, citing homesickness as a key factor in his decision to return to pursue a career in the GAA.
But he has now opted to try his hand at Australian Rules again.
“It’s a great opportunity that I didn’t want to turn down”, Sheehan told TheScore.ie. “I thought a lot about it and didn’t take the decision lightly.
“Leaving home is very tough and not playing for Cork or Eire Og is a difficult thing to take. But this is something I wanted to do so I’m going to go for it.”
The departure of the 2010 All-Ireland senior winner is a major blow to the Cork senior footballers who he has been involved with for the past four seasons.
Sheehan last lined out for Cork in August’s All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Dublin while last Sunday he featured for his club Eire Og in their Cork intermediate hurling final defeat to Kanturk.
Sheehan first emerged onto the inter-county scene when winning a Munster minor football medal with Cork in 2007. Twelve months later he won a Munster minor hurling medal with Cork.
In 2009 he won Munster and All-Ireland U21 football medals with Cork before in 2010 lining out on the Cork team that defeated Down in the All-Ireland senior final.
