Clane's Dean O'Shea making his mark with Longford Town FC

Dean O’Shea is another on the long list of great athletes that Kildare GAA fans could say have been lost to other endeavours, alongside Sam Prendergast to rugby or Paul Mescal to Hollywood.

A Kildare minor like Mescal, Dean chose soccer as his path and, after plenty of work in the intervening years, the Clane man was crowned both this year’s Longford Town FC’s Fan and Player’s Player of the Year after a stellar campaign.

“We are a big GAA family and I tried to play both as long as I could. I was on a Kildare minor panel and I was playing League of Ireland too, but when you get to about 16 or 17 you have to choose and I am happy with the way I have gone,” Dean said.
It has been a hectic few years for the 22 year-old with several moves since his playing for Leixlip at schoolboy level.

“My first League of Ireland club was Drogheda. I was there for about six months at U17s level and I made the move to Athlone because our Leixlip manager took over Athlone.

“I had a bit of a problem there and couldn’t play for six months over a contract issue. Then within the space of a month after that I went U17s, U19s and straight into the first team at 16. It was a bit of a whirlwind and I played seven or eight games there before moving onto Bray,” Dean said.

“I have had a lot of clubs since then.”

After those stints with two Leinster-based clubs, Galway United came with an offer for the now sixth year student to move west and go to college alongside full-time football.

“I jumped at the chance to go there, but it didn’t work out the way I expected it to,” Dean explained.

“I was in NUIG studying law and tax, as well as training every single day. It was tough to do both and they were both suffering because of it. I was trying to give everything to both and I did my best. I got through the year.

“I ended up just moving back home and joined Maynooth Town with a scholarship to Maynooth University. I played with Maynooth for a year before getting back into the league then. I also wasn’t playing a lot there either so the best thing was to come home, but it was a hard one to make because you feel like you’re giving up, or at least taking a back or sidewards step. It was in the hopes to rebuild and go again.”

The move would prove fruitful and, after a great year with Maynooth Town, Dean made the move to Treaty United after facing the side in the FAI Cup earlier in the season.

On the college side of things, Dean is now also thriving in his third year of Biomedical Science after pivoting more towards something he was passionate about. Treaty would be his last stop before arriving in Longford.

“It’s been an unbelievable year for me personally. I did the stint with Treaty during the summer months, there was a lot of travelling involved and I was lucky that there were lads travelling from this way down there. Then at the start of the year Longford came in and two of the Treaty lads had moved to Longford already. It made sense for me because they trained in St Francis in Baldonnell, which is only about 25 minutes from me.

“It let me continue with college and play as well. I knew it was going to be tough going in and I would have to prove myself again,” Dean said.

“That is the thing with different clubs, you have to start over in proving yourself or you’ll be sitting there for the year.”

The left-back/ centre-back’s season didn’t start as brilliantly as it would finish with the team struggling and rarely having settled 11. After a series of bad results, the then Longford manager departed after ten games.

“Wayne (Groves) took over then and I didn’t really look back after that. I ended up centre-back for the majority of the season and did quite well. We had a good finish to the year because we were 11 or 12 points off Kerry at one stage. You don’t want to be finishing bottom or second bottom, but just to make sure in the 100th year of the club that we didn’t finish bottom was a big thing for us after the start that we’d had,” Dean explained.

In addition to the awards that followed, the Clane man was now starting every week and had a stable run of games for one of the few times in his young career.

“That’s all you want as a footballer, to be playing every single week. You can train all you want, but it is when you are playing that you are going to improve. From the start of the season to the end of it now, the amount I have improved from playing week in week out has been massive. There is nothing like the feeling of playing every week.”

“Even being sore after a game and the day after, it is part of it. It is nicer when you are winning every week, but one step at a time.”

Dean operated brilliantly from his defensive role throughout the year and even added a couple of goals to his tally, which he maintains is a rare occurrence.

“I had a little purple patch there when Wayne took over, I think I was two in three at one stage from centre-half. Two headers and one with the right peg and my right peg would be for standing on mainly. We were away to Finn Harps and I caught it on the volley off the right and it somehow went in. Hopefully I can add to that next year, but I am not too sure,” Dean laughed.

At Longford Town’s 100th anniversary celebrations, Dean was crowned both Fans and Player’s Player of the Year for his efforts during the season.

“Lads would be whispering and you have a small inkling that you might be in the running, but some of the lads in that dressing room have played at really high levels and are really good players. You wouldn't be expecting or thinking it might be you with some of the lads that are there, and when I picked up the both of them it was unbelievable. I wasn’t expecting the fans one at all, that was massive, and you see some of the names that are on the trophy from different years who have gone on to have great careers,” Dean said.

“Even to be voted as Players Player of the Year by some of the lads. Bastien Héry who has played at all sorts of levels and Shane Elworthy who played in the Premier Division. If they are voting you as Players of the Year you are doing something right.”

After being praised by spectators and peers alike, Dean paid tribute to his two biggest supporters after a brilliant year.
He said, “Mam and Dad are always travelling with me. They didn’t miss a game all year, home or away, they are my biggest supporters. The amount they do for me is incredible.

“They got a call from the club to let them know I was going to be picking up an award. I hadn’t a clue, they said to me and of course they were down there. They wouldn't miss it. For them, who have sacrificed so much and they know I have put a lot into it, to get the recognition and picking up awards like that makes it all worthwhile.”