FOR SOMEONE WHO recently said “they’ve been retiring me since I was 29”, Aidan O’Shea has paid little heed to reach a significant career milestone this Sunday.
Approaching his 36th birthday, the Mayo powerhouse is set to become the first outfielder to reach 100 championship appearances.
Stephen Cluxton’s 128 landmark isn’t under any immediate threat, but O’Shea has long since surpassed the likes of Seán Cavanagh (89), Marc and Tomás Ó Sé (88), and his own county manager, Andy Moran (84).
Since his 2009 debut as an 18-year-old Leaving Certificate student at New York’s Gaelic Park, the Breaffy target man has missed just one championship match, against Leitrim in 2012.
That means Sunday will also mark his 89th consecutive championship outing if called upon. O’Shea will have played more matches without missing one than any other outfield player has featured in across their entire career.
Notably, he will begin the game on the bench as Moran rolls the dice with five changes and three debutants. U20s Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald occupy the corner-forward berths. It’s hard to imagine anything but O’Shea and Paddy Durcan rumbling on down the stretch to add their experience.
“Aidan plays 20 bad minutes and everyone wants him gone, there’s no forgiveness there. But he has a huge role to play,” his former manager James Horan told the Irish Examiner football podcast this week.
O’Shea endorsed that view with his league form, playing in all seven games and scoring goals in three of those.
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Mayo's Aidan O'Shea celebrates after scoring his side's first goal against Monaghan in February. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
His overall total now stands at 227 appearances between 14 in the FBD League, 114 in the National League, and 99 in the championship. Of those, 199 have been from the start.
His goal against Monaghan earlier this year brought him to 200 total points (27-124 now) across 18 seasons.
O’Shea began inter-county life, like teenage sensation McDonald, as a Leaving Cert prodigy. In his debut year, 2009, O’Shea hit the net in three of his four championship exams and secured a first Connacht title.
Yet even by March 2010, his performances were receiving heightened scrutiny.
“I know Aidan’s been getting a lot of criticism lately, but I never had my doubts,” said his teammate Donal Vaughan after O’Shea found the net in a league victory over Sunday’s opponents, Monaghan.
“He had a massive year last year, and coming off it, there was a lot of expectations on him, which wasn’t fair for a young lad. He’s only 19. I knew he’d come good. He’s a fantastic player.”
Aidan O'Shea celebrates after scoring a goal in the 2009 All-Ireland quarter-final against Meath. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
That year ended early after defeats to Sligo and Longford, but they would turn the corner over the subsequent two years under Horan. Their 2012 defeat to Donegal would be the first of six All-Ireland final disappointments and one of the most hurtful.
In many of those years, Aidan lined out at midfield alongside his older brother, Séamus. His 2013 All-Star was in the middle; his first in three different positions.
When playing in a more advanced role, he bagged 3-4 in the 2015 Connacht final, during what proved his most prolific year in green and red, recording 5-14. All-Star recognition at full-forward followed.
“I’ve often heard it, that I’m overrated; that I didn’t do it on the big stage; that I don’t perform when marked tightly by good players,” O’Shea said in 2015.
“I never believed that stuff, but this year, I felt like I was playing with a chip on my shoulder. A kinda ‘F**k ye, I’m well capable of doing it’. Maybe that was what was driving me on.”
His third, and most recent, individual gong was in 2017 at centre-forward, although he had a memorable cameo at full-back against Kieran Donaghy that summer.
There was Croke Park silverware in 2019 and ‘23 in National League titles, while O’Shea captained his county to Connacht crowns in 2020 and ‘21, taking his tally to eight. Both years ended in All-Ireland final losses to Dublin and, most painfully, Tyrone.
Aidan O'Shea after Mayo's 2025 elimination against Donegal. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Writing a column after that 2021 final defeat, current Mayo manager Moran wrote in the Mirror: “He’s a lightning rod for criticism after Mayo defeats, sometimes victories too, and this one has been no different.
“For me, he just didn’t get enough ball… I was screaming from the stand for Mayo to kick in more ball to him. Any time they did, he generally won it.
“Aidan was crying out for a pass himself at times, but it wasn’t forthcoming as Mayo were too cautious and wary of turnovers.”
Having stepped into the manager’s job, Moran insisted “there’s life left in him”. He’ll be out to prove as much on Sunday.
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Still scorning the critics, Aidan O'Shea set for career century
FOR SOMEONE WHO recently said “they’ve been retiring me since I was 29”, Aidan O’Shea has paid little heed to reach a significant career milestone this Sunday.
Approaching his 36th birthday, the Mayo powerhouse is set to become the first outfielder to reach 100 championship appearances.
Stephen Cluxton’s 128 landmark isn’t under any immediate threat, but O’Shea has long since surpassed the likes of Seán Cavanagh (89), Marc and Tomás Ó Sé (88), and his own county manager, Andy Moran (84).
Since his 2009 debut as an 18-year-old Leaving Certificate student at New York’s Gaelic Park, the Breaffy target man has missed just one championship match, against Leitrim in 2012.
That means Sunday will also mark his 89th consecutive championship outing if called upon. O’Shea will have played more matches without missing one than any other outfield player has featured in across their entire career.
Notably, he will begin the game on the bench as Moran rolls the dice with five changes and three debutants. U20s Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald occupy the corner-forward berths. It’s hard to imagine anything but O’Shea and Paddy Durcan rumbling on down the stretch to add their experience.
“Aidan plays 20 bad minutes and everyone wants him gone, there’s no forgiveness there. But he has a huge role to play,” his former manager James Horan told the Irish Examiner football podcast this week.
O’Shea endorsed that view with his league form, playing in all seven games and scoring goals in three of those.
His overall total now stands at 227 appearances between 14 in the FBD League, 114 in the National League, and 99 in the championship. Of those, 199 have been from the start.
His goal against Monaghan earlier this year brought him to 200 total points (27-124 now) across 18 seasons.
O’Shea began inter-county life, like teenage sensation McDonald, as a Leaving Cert prodigy. In his debut year, 2009, O’Shea hit the net in three of his four championship exams and secured a first Connacht title.
Yet even by March 2010, his performances were receiving heightened scrutiny.
“I know Aidan’s been getting a lot of criticism lately, but I never had my doubts,” said his teammate Donal Vaughan after O’Shea found the net in a league victory over Sunday’s opponents, Monaghan.
“He had a massive year last year, and coming off it, there was a lot of expectations on him, which wasn’t fair for a young lad. He’s only 19. I knew he’d come good. He’s a fantastic player.”
That year ended early after defeats to Sligo and Longford, but they would turn the corner over the subsequent two years under Horan. Their 2012 defeat to Donegal would be the first of six All-Ireland final disappointments and one of the most hurtful.
In many of those years, Aidan lined out at midfield alongside his older brother, Séamus. His 2013 All-Star was in the middle; his first in three different positions.
When playing in a more advanced role, he bagged 3-4 in the 2015 Connacht final, during what proved his most prolific year in green and red, recording 5-14. All-Star recognition at full-forward followed.
“I’ve often heard it, that I’m overrated; that I didn’t do it on the big stage; that I don’t perform when marked tightly by good players,” O’Shea said in 2015.
His third, and most recent, individual gong was in 2017 at centre-forward, although he had a memorable cameo at full-back against Kieran Donaghy that summer.
There was Croke Park silverware in 2019 and ‘23 in National League titles, while O’Shea captained his county to Connacht crowns in 2020 and ‘21, taking his tally to eight. Both years ended in All-Ireland final losses to Dublin and, most painfully, Tyrone.
Writing a column after that 2021 final defeat, current Mayo manager Moran wrote in the Mirror: “He’s a lightning rod for criticism after Mayo defeats, sometimes victories too, and this one has been no different.
“For me, he just didn’t get enough ball… I was screaming from the stand for Mayo to kick in more ball to him. Any time they did, he generally won it.
“Aidan was crying out for a pass himself at times, but it wasn’t forthcoming as Mayo were too cautious and wary of turnovers.”
Having stepped into the manager’s job, Moran insisted “there’s life left in him”. He’ll be out to prove as much on Sunday.
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