Kicking long runs in the family
November 30, 2003
Memories of the 1979 Meath Senior Football Championship final include those of a very tall full-back helping Navan O'Mahonys to victory over a Summerhill side which had taken the competition by storm during that decade.
Damien Sheridan played a highly influential role in O'Mahonys' success as they claimed the Keegan Cup for the first time in six years and it's fair to say that the No. 3 wasn't found wanting when it came to delivering long clearances with the boot.
That same ability to kick a football a long way, and with a fair amount of accuracy as well, were once again in evidence all of 24 years later when Sheridan, now very much part of the Seneschalstown GAA scene, won the masters category of the MBNA Kick Fada competition in Bray.
But it was very much a family affair as far as the football-crazy Sheridans were concerned, as daughter Mary took the ladies' title and her brother Joe finished third in a highly competitive men's section.
The MBNA Kick Fada is hosted by the Bray Emmets GAA Club and determines the longest and most accurate kickers in Gaelic football. Over 30 players competed in the three divisions - senior men, masters men and ladies - and the event attracted a large crowd to view such well-known players as Dublin's John McNally and Meath and Dunshaughlin's king of the long kick Niall Kelly.
But it wasn't all just for fun as the top players were battling it out for the All-Ireland title and a highly attractive prize of a E1,500 holiday voucher, which certainly wasn't to be sneezed at.
Damien won the masters section, with his best kick a record-breaking effort of 49 metres, Mary took the ladies' category with an effort of 40 metres and Joe finished third in the men's competition thanks to a kick measuring 55 metres.
Mark Herbert from Ballyteague in County Kildare has proved himself to be something of an expert in the art of long kicking and won the men's event for the fourth time with a kick of 59 metres, which was some way short of his amazing record effort of 71 metres achieved in 2001.
St. Vincent's goalkeeper Gerry McGill finished two metres behind Herbert in second place.
Damien certainly saw off some very well-known company to take the masters title as former top class Mayo player T.J. Kilgallon was second and one of Dublin's finest players of the modern era Barney Rock finished third.
Mary Sheridan's winning kick of 40 metres in the ladies' category edged out Bray's Aisling O hAnnaidh who kicked 39 metres to finish second, while Maire Grogan from Tyrone took third place with an effort of 35 metres.
Overall, it was an occasion Damien Sheridan recalled with great satisfaction - and why wouldn't he after bringing home one of the two E1,500 holiday vouchers which made their way back to the Sheridan household.
"Mary took part in the Kick Fada competition last year along with Grainne Nulty, but she was too young and couldn't accept the trophy, so this year she said 'why not go for it again,'" said Damien as he explained the decision to participate in Bray.
"Geraldine looked at the details of the competition and said 'there's a masters section in it - why not have a go.' I'm game for anything and I had been playing with the Cavan masters team and training the Seneschalstown ladies, so I said why not. We weren't overly-enthusiastic, but we decided we would give it a go."
When Damien saw the quality of the opposition he would be facing in his particular section of the competition, he had essentially resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't win it before he even kicked a ball.
"TJ Kilgallon and Barney Rock were both taking part in the masters and when I saw Barney and remembered what a great kicker he had been in his playing days with Dublin I said to myself 'he will definitely win it.'
"The goalposts for the Kick Fada competition are twice the width of the normal playing posts and they have a crossbar which has to be cleared. The competition is as much a test of skill as it is a strong kick of the ball. Barney was kicking off the ground, while I was kicking out of the hand. I felt I had to kick out of the hand.
"Looking back on it, I didn't feel under any pressure at all as I went into the competition thinking that Barney would definitely win it. I had resigned myself to that.
"But I won it with a kick of 45 metres and then followed that up with a kick of 49 metres which set a new masters record."
Followers of ladies' football will know that Mary Sheridan is a good kicker of a ball too and she proved that anything her father could do, she could do too as she clinched the ladies' title.
"Mary missed early kicks, but she eventually won the ladies' competition with a kick of 40 metres," Damien added. "The pressure was certainly on her after those early misses, but she settled down well and did enough to take it.
"The men's competition was third on the programme and the interest by that time was really great - could Joe Sheridan make it a family hat-trick? In the end, he finished third. Mark Herbert from Kildare won it again. He really has a ferocious kick off the ground."
The Sheridans were greatly impressed with the way the whole competition was run and with the way they were looked after on the day.
"It was great craic and we really enjoyed the whole day," Damien said, indicating that he would have no hesitation in taking part again. "It was brilliantly organised by the Bray Emmets club and the manner in which we were all treated was fantastic. There was a huge meal laid on afterwards. No stone was left unturned to make the whole occasion successful. It was so professional."
Of course, receiving such valuable prizes, especially on the double as the Sheridans did, surely made it even more satisfying.
"It was certainly well-worth winning," Damien added. "Both myself and Mary were presented with holiday vouchers worth E1,500 from Abbey Travel. I played football all my life and got nothing like that for it. A few kicks of a ball and you get a prize worth E1,500 and an engraved All-Ireland medal to go with it."
Of course, Damien Sheridan is no stranger to medals and his playing career was quite amazing, to say the least.
He played minor and senior football for both Cavan and Meath and his career on the club front was as long and varied as it was successful.
The best part of three decades ago in 1974 he won an Ulster Minor Football Championship medal with Cavan and he also lined out with the Breffni County in the under-18 grade in '75, but with the family moving to Navan at that time he went on to play minor for Meath in '76.
But before heading to the Royal County he had already started to build up a nice collection of medals. He won a Cavan Senior Championship medal as a substitute with Ramor Utd at the tender age of 15 and also won Junior and Intermediate Championship medals with Maghera, playing in both those finals.
After the move to Navan a memorable association with the famed Navan De La Salle and Navan O'Mahonys' clubs commenced, starting with a Minor Championship success in '76.
In his first stint with O'Mahonys, which lasted until 1986, his successes included three Senior Championship medals in 1979, '81 and '85, when he was captain, and, quite amazingly, he was back 18 years after that initial Keegan Cup triumph to help the Brews Hill men to success in 1997.
Damien was at the very opposite end of the Pairc Tailteann pitch this time, lining out at full-forward and contributing a point in the 1-10 to 0-7 final victory over Trim.
After his initial spell with O'Mahonys he played with the John Mitchels club in England and won three Senior Championship medals with them, as well as a British Club Championship in 1988 when he had the added satisfaction of training the team.
He recalled playing against Nemo Rangers from Cork in an All-Ireland quarter-final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
"We had some super players on that team, including Johnny Mooney from Offaly," he said. "My brother Eamonn partnered me at midfield. I remember we missed a penalty against Nemo which cost us dear."
Damien played with and against some outstanding footballers in his lengthy career, but who were the best he came up against?
"Dinny Allen played for Nemo in that All-Ireland quarter-final," he added. "He was a fantastic player and you just couldn't afford to let him get the ball. But that was easier said that done.
"I went back to play with Cavan in 1985 when Eugene McGee asked me. We lost to Tyrone in the Ulster Championship and I was marking Eugene McKenna. He was some player."
Damien, now trainer of the highly successful Seneschalstown ladies' team, was a fair player himself and all the signs are that the Sheridan children are following very much in his footsteps.
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