O'Shea family serving hurling with distinction

By Cian O'Connell

One thing is certain: the O'Shea's wouldn't want fuss or attention. Nonetheless, the fact that a father and two sons will be involved in Sunday's double bill at Croke Park is worthy of the utmost respect.

Hurling will always be part of their lives. Eamon operates as a coach and selector for Galway, who are busy preparing for the Leinster SHC Final against Kilkenny. Donal is part of Micheál Donoghue's panel. Conor trains Kildare, who continue to progress under Brian Dowling's stewardship, and the Joe McDonagh Cup decider against Laois placed is next on the agenda.

It is a remarkable feat, going by almost unnoticed in the GAA world. That is the way the O'Shea's like it. Doing their bit, helping others, fostering a love for sport, regardless of the level.

**

Belfield means different things to many people. In the UCD GAA story, though, teams have been developed, friendships formed. Eamon O'Shea and Edel Murphy know that better than most.

Both of them flourished on the third level playing pitches of Ireland. Edel Murphy excelled for Dublin, a gifted player still helping others now in the Salthill-Knocknacarra club.

O'Shea arrived in the capital from a renowned and respected club, Kilruane MacDonaghs. Len Gaynor a totemic figure in the Kilruane story, instilled a passion for coaching for plenty of willing enthusiasts.

The fact that O'Shea and Murphy's sons, Conor and Donal, wore the UCD shirt carried on a tradition. Ger Brennan UCD GAA Executive and current Louth senior football team manager knows all about the value of helping others.

Dave Billings and Brian Mullins might unfortunately be gone, but what they tried to do for others will never be forgotten. "The club motto we have is that we try to create a home away from home, where everyone feels part of the family, particularly for students," Brennan says.

"They're in third level, they're stepping into the big, bad world. They could be the big fish in their local secondary school, and then become a small fish in a big pond in university.

"That involvement in Gaelic games, in college sport really helps them make connections. It just adds value to their student participation. That is something Conor got in spades, and something he'd have experienced. In the first instance, the late, great Dave Billings, who was a huge mentor to many students, myself included, another St Vincent's man.

"Conor would've experienced that love and care from Dave. Naturally enough, when the opportunity came to give back, Conor gave back, in spades."

Brennan watched Conor O'Shea develop from a Fitzgibbon Cup player into a coach and manager at that level. "Conor was a student when I began in UCD," Brennan remembers.

"In my first year, the year after Dave Billings passed away, Conor was part of Nicky English's team that reached the semi-final of the Fitzgibbon Cup which was hosted down in the old Cork IT. We lost out narrowly to UL.

"He has always been an extremely dedicated hurler, also somebody who is very committed and enthusiastic for the growth and development of hurling. His work, particularly when he graduated, he came back as a coach and manager, he had an even greater contribution to the life of the students in UCD.

"His proximity in age to the students behind him, that as a coach, he had an understanding and appreciation for some of the challenges they were facing. Between settling into Dublin for the first time, trying to find their feet, college courses, the demands of that academically, and then you'd have the hurling side of things, too.

"He was extremely well organised, there'd always be a clear focus to the sessions he was running. A very good communicator, well able to drive the team forward. I think we got to a quarter-final in his time which was punching, given the squad that we had. A super player and person.

"I would say he went above and beyond in his time in UCD to give back to the GAA community."

A second brother arrived in the capital shortly after. Donal O'Shea had excelled at minor level for Galway. A finisher, cool and composed, who will feature for in the Dublin SHC for Cuala, where there is strong family connections. "Donal came to UCD, he received the highest scholarship that we have an Ad Astra, an elite level sports scholarship," Brennan says.

"He is a wristy hurler, Donal has real skill. It was lovely for the O'Shea's, to see one of their sons managing another son at college level.
It will be a special moment for the whole lot of them at Croke Park."

Belfield was a pivotal stop on the sporting journey.

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The Pearse Stadium hadn't long been refurbished. It was a time when the GAA in Galway city was beginning to stir again. There had been dark and worrying days, but several clubs in both codes were starting to prosper at the turn of the millennium.

One evening during that spell, in the shadow of the Pearse Stadium, a man arrived on a bicycle at Salthill-Knocknacarra's grounds, the Prairie. On the pitch an eclectic mix of hurlers from all corners of Ireland and elsewhere were warming up.

A new figure entered their lives for a couple of weeks: Eamon O'Shea. The guest sessions were daring. The focus was on skill and wrist movements. Tricks and flicks were encouraged.

Cones or drills weren't the priority, merely about wanting to improve. The sessions and positive feelings provided hope for the future.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't until Conor and Donal O'Shea were hurling at underage level for Salthill that the fortunes of the club started to show encouraging signs. That could also be put down to the influence of Eamon O'Shea and Edel Murphy, who had invested time, effort, and energy into coaching juvenile teams.

John Kelly, a great grandson of the GAA's third President Peter J Kelly, benefited from being exposed to O'Shea and Murphy's methods. "Hurling was non existent in Salthill for a few years before it re-emerged again," Kelly says.

"The first real dealings I had with Eamon O'Shea, was when we won a Junior C County Final against Ballinderreen. He wasn't involved in the team, but at half-time he came in, and he shook the walls with a speech.

"I'm guessing he was asked to give a few words. From then on everyone knew who he was and what he was about. It was brilliant, I remember us all talking about it afterwards. It really rose everyone.

"It was a dirty, wet day against Ballinderreen in Clarinbridge. We were under a little bit of pressure at the time, but we were going relatively well with a good team. That was when we got up to B, improving bit by bit every year."

The Salthill-Knocknacarra rejuvenation was assisted when younger players started to graduate into the adult ranks. "Maybe three or four years later, Conor started playing at adult level, he was young. Then, Eamon got involved a bit more.

"His training sessions were incredible. It was so different every night. You'd rarely have cones put down on the pitch, it was all about space. The way he talked to you. When he started talking, the whole place listened to him."

In the juvenile ranks, a crop featuring Donal, began making an impact, competing in the higher grades. "They competed in Minor A for a few years, themselves and Ballygar made improvements around the same time. Ballygar have been in A since then, too.

"They played against teams like Clarinbridge, Turloughmore, Athenry, and Castlegar, they put a serious show up. They were more than able to compete against teams that were in A every year. Salthill earned the right to be there. That was mainly in Donal's time. They were good, the whole standard was brought up with good managements around them."

Edel Murphy's sterling contribution is acknowledged by Kelly. "I got involved with an U16 team, coaching them, Edel was involved in that," Kelly recalls.

"She was fantastic, a really good organiser behind the scenes, as well as being good on the line. She played a huge role in developing camogie and hurling in Salthill.

"Donal was older than U16, he was 17 or 18, none of them were involved in that team, she was organising it, she is very good, excellent."

Daughter Róisín O'Shea represented Ireland in squash and is another accomplished sportsperson in the family, coaching underage camogie teams, too.

Kelly relished his days in the Salthill-Knocknacarra jersey. One Eamon O'Shea moment will always linger in Kelly's brain. "We were training one day in the Prairie, it was when we were going really well, maybe four or five years ago," Kelly explains.

"We had 20 or 30 lads training, things were zipping around the place. We were doing a possession game in a small enough square. It was really tight. He is big into being able to perform under pressure, thinking when you're under pressure, things like that.

"I got a ball, I'd have been a bit more agricultural when it comes to clearances, but I picked out a ball, through a crowd, and it went straight into another lad's hand."

Kelly relieved and satisfied in equal measure. "One of the rare days I'd do it," he chuckles. "This particular day, I did it. Eamon had been really vocal throughout the session, as he would be, to get you focused. He was standing close enough to me as I passed it.

"He just turned around and these two eyes looked at me. He didn't say a word. It was just as if to say that was a serious ball. He didn't have to say anything. Nobody else would've seen it or anything. He looked straight into my eyes, as if to say that is exactly what I want.

"He turned the head, and ran off. It was really powerful. Another coach might have went great ball or whatever.

"It was the way he just stopped in his tracks, he eyeballs you, something so different than you'd see from any other coach." The appreciation for skill is being passed on to the next generation.

**

Blue and gold mattered to Eamon O'Shea. The trips to Thurles for training and matches were embraced. Back then, the Tipperary hurlers had tutorials with Eamon O'Shea, and his two young boys were companions.

Friendships were forged with Tipp players and management, who still follow their respective careers with interest. Patrick 'Bonner' Maher wore the Tipp jersey and relished the conversations and clinics. "Eamon is a special coach, anybody that has ever been trained by Eamon or lucky enough to a training session or even have a chat, they'll figure out really quick that he's a special guy regards to hurling and his philosophy on hurling," Maher remarks.

"Definitely, he was a huge influence on me, he worked hard with me to help me reach my potential, to get the most out of myself. Eamon moulded an awful lot of my career, he just allowed me to play the game, I wanted to play it or the best way I could play it, he allowed me to do that."

In his own unique way, O'Shea taught the Tipp players about the possibilities that existed. "Even on the Tipperary side of things, he brought a dynamic to the team, how we flowed from defence to attack," Maher adds.

"How we moulded together, how we played the game, any session with Eamon was pure enjoyable. There mightn't be a cone out on the field, but you'd probably cover every blade of grass. He has a special philosophy when it comes to hurling."

It is still relevant. Three O'Shea's will head for GAA headquarters on Sunday, believing in the game. The past, present, and future joined together.