Sometimes we all end up in the strangest places. Sometimes we open our car door and step out into the last village or town we ever intended to set foot. Sometimes fate plays its trump card and intervenes with our plans. Sometimes along life's dusty highway we take a wrong turn, and it turns out for the best. Sometimes. Growing up on the beautiful but rugged Achill Island off the coast of Mayo, Jason Sheedy, like any other kid, played football. He would go on to play for the Achill team for many years before making the journey east to Dublin in 1986. It was predominantly work that took Jason to the nations capital, but deep in his heart was the football bug, and before long he became a central figure in the St. Jude's club in Templeogue. But it would take 13 more years before his epic GAA journey found a home, when in 1999 he joined Kilbride. It was to be their gain and the Dublin clubs loss. "Yes I am originally from Achill. It is far enough away I suppose and as they say, next parish Boston," jokes Jason. "When I played with the Achill team on the island, I was in the half-forwards. I play corner-back for Kilbride now so they have moved me all the way back. The legs are getting older," he continues. At 35-years-old the affable and friendly Jason considers himself "one of the elder statesmen of the team," but his performances at times this year mirrored that of a teenager. Following his move to the area, Jason found the arduous commuting to play his football in Dublin to be too much and decided to join Kilbride. "I was associated with the St. Jude's Gaelic football club for quite a while before moving to Kilbride in 1999. They were probably the club I played with the longest but the travelling in and out was just a little bit much so I left. They have gone on to become a senior club now, but when I was playing with them they were intermediate. But it made more sense for me to play for Kilbride and I suppose one of the easiest ways to integrate into a community is to get involved with the local sports club, whatever that may be, so I did." Although only involved for three years now, Jason says the club generate a spirit that he has not witnessed since his Achill days. "There is a great atmosphere about the place and there are none of the guys that I wouldn't go for a pint with. I have found with the bunch of guys here that there is a great spirit. In some respects it reminds me of the club back in Achill. There is a relatively small pick of players here, but there is a huge community spirit and also a never say die attitude about them. I mean even when things might not be going well out on the pitch they never give up. There is obviously a huge tradition, which I wouldn't have appreciated, but the guys really wear that on their shoulders here in Kilbride and it shows on the field," believes Jason. As for captaincy or receiving praise the modest father of two would rather shy away from it all. "I tend to stay out of the limelight. They are a good bunch of lads here and as far as I am concerned, you leave local stuff to local fellas. I just enjoy playing for Kilbride." Kilbride were unlucky in this year's junior championship, finishing in third with eight points. Nobber finished first on nine with Navan O'Mahony's second on the same number of points. It was hard to take but Jason admits that the drawn game against O'Mahony's probably cost them a knockout place. "We only lost the one game but it was that draw against O'Mahony's that ended our chances. We certainly left the game behind, and that was us effectively out of the championship. In essence that was the game that cost us." But he is optimistic for the future and has seen the club making leaps forward in recent times. "We had a reasonable run this year in the championship. My involvement is a little under the three year mark and year on year I have seen a steady improvement in this team. We were one point away from qualifying to the knockout stages this year and in essence we probably left it behind ourselves. We are a small enough club in terms of a player-pool and if you pick up any injuries you are always struggling but we are improving every year," he maintains. According to Jason another positive step they have made regards the club obtaining the training services of the experienced Martin McCarthy for another year. "Martin was our new coach here this year, and he comes with a huge pedigree after being involved with Erin's Isle. He is a very good coach and has brought discipline to the entire set-up. We are going back to pre-season training early for next year, much earlier than last season. Martin's plan really was to get to know all the lads and see what talent he had or hadn't got at his disposal. "This was his first year and in terms of competitive games, both league and championship we played pretty well under him. We only lost one game in the championship and under him we only lost one in the league also. Two poor results at the very start, when we had trouble fielding a team, cost us in the league this year. Only one team comprehensively beat us all year, Na Fianna, and they deserved it," he assesses. The good news for Kilbride is that the man from Achill will continue to line out for the red and greens next year and try and inspire them to a junior championship success. "I played reasonable this year but the legs are probably starting to feel the mileage now. From a personal level I will give it another year anyway and see how it goes. I don't see any reason why this club cannot make the step up to intermediate football. The encouraging thing was that numbers turning up for training this year were relatively strong and we have some good young players coming through the ranks so that is promising. We certainly have the potential and the challenge will be in sustaining that and building on it," he suggests. Kilbride have also made huge strides in other areas, in order to encourage more members of the community to get involved with the club. Pat Ryan is the woman behind the rejuvenation of ladies football in the club and the high level of interest from girls in the parish is very encouraging for the future. Along with the ladies football the club have also made a huge drive this year to revitalise the juvenile section and that is aimed at building for the future. The committee have also been busy off the field as Jason explains. "There have been a few good club developments this year and we installed the first phase of floodlights and the second phase should be going in this winter so the club are certainly developing in the right direction." As for the county front Jason admits he likes to remind his Kilbride team mates that they are wearing the famous red and green of ...Mayo. "The one comforting thing, and I always tell the guys, is that it is nice to be able to say that you actually played in the green and red. Seriously though the heart would follow Mayo, but I would generally support Meath, predominantly because I am in the area and my kids are growing up here in Kilbride, so they are going to grow up following Meath anyway," he concedes. When the day does eventually come for Jason to hang up his well-travelled boots, it is unlikely that he will disappear from Kilbride GAA. In essence the man from Achill has made his home in the area and will not be moving on to any other clubs. He is a Kilbride man now, 'one of the lads.' "I hope to stay involved when I finish playing, because to be totally honest I get a huge buzz out of it and off the pitch the committee are very active and hard working so hopefully I will remain with the club. The one overriding thing is that I have never been made feel like an outsider here and that can happen, but not with this bunch of people involved with Kilbride and the community spirit they have in the area. They have been great. Certainly this is it for me, no more clubs after this. As I say to my wife it is either Achill or the Bahamas from here," he laughs. Sometimes GAA tales have a fairytale ending. If Jason were to call it a day after next year's championship, a title-winning season would be an appropriate exit. It is a long and almost abnormal journey from the white foam washed shores of Achill Island to the green fields of Kilbride. But it is a journey, which may yet end with a medal. No man is an island, and with Kilbride Jason has found his GAA fraternity. In turn they have received a talented and experienced footballer. True, sometimes we do all end up in the strangest places, but there are good reasons. Sometimes. Tweet

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