John Joe Sheehy
John Joseph Sheehy (16 October 1897 – 12 January 1980) was an Irish political/military activist and sportsperson. He participated in the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War in the Irish Republican Army, where he was a senior figure in County Kerry. He also gained fame as a successful Gaelic Footballer for Kerry.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Seán Seosamh Ó Síoda | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Left corner-forward | ||
| Born | Tralee, County Kerry | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
1920s-1930s
1920s-1930s | Tralee Parnells | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Kerry titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
1919-1930 | Kerry | 35 (4-22) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 7 | ||
| All-Irelands | 4 | ||
| NFL | 2 | ||
IRA activities
Sheehy commanded the Boherbee company of the IRA, and later of the Tralee battalion.[1]:238[2] His brother Jimmy was killed in the British Army in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.[1]:299
He sided against the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922, like most of the IRA in Kerry. In the Civil War, when Free State troops landed in Kerry as part of a seaborne offensive, he was in command of the Anti-Treaty garrison in Tralee. After the Army took the town, Sheehy retreated, burning the barracks there.[1]:356 As the conflict became a guerrilla affair, he found himself in charge of three 'columns', or around 75 men in total, in the Ballymacthomas area.[3]:161 He and Tom McEllistrim were in charge of an attack on Castlemaine in January 1923.[3]:251
Just after the Civil War, when Sheehy was still on the run, he managed to play football for Kerry. Kerry captain Con Brosnan, though a member of the Free State army, would guarantee his safe passage. And so Sheehy would pay into Munster and All Ireland finals, slip off his street clothes, play, and then at the final whistle, disappear back into the crowd.[4]
Sporting career
He played Gaelic football with his local club John Mitchels and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1919 until 1930. He also played hurling with Tralee Parnells. Sheehy captained Kerry to the All-Ireland title in 1930. Three of his sons - Seán Óg, Niall and Paudie - all won All-Ireland titles with Kerry in the 1960s.[5] He played in the Railway Cup Hurling final in 1927 and was captain of the Football team the same year and won other medals in 1931.
Later life
Sheehy remained a staunch supporter of Sinn Féin, and was critical of the moves to end abstension by the party in the late 1960s. He sided with the Provisionals in the split at the 1970 Ard Fheis and remained active in Provisional Sinn Féin until his death, supporting the IRA's guerrilla campaign.
References
- T. Ryle Dwyer, Tans Terror and Troubles, Kerry's real fighting story
- Niall C. Harrington, Kerry Landing, p. 83.
- Tom Doyle, The Civil War in Kerry
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2009-01-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "125 Most Influential People In GAA History (76-100)". Sunday Tribune. 2009-01-04. Archived from the original on 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tom O'Mahony (gaelic footballer) |
Kerry Senior Football Captain 1926 |
Succeeded by Joe Barrett |
| Preceded by Joe Barrett |
Kerry Senior Football Captain 1927-1928 |
Succeeded by Joe Barrett |
| Preceded by Joe Barrett |
Kerry Senior Football Captain 1930 |
Succeeded by Con Brosnan |
| Achievements | ||
| Preceded by - (Galway) |
All-Ireland Senior Football winning captain 1926 |
Succeeded by Mick Buckley (Kildare) |
| Achievements | ||
| Preceded by Joe Barrett (Kerry) |
All-Ireland Senior Football winning captain 1930 |
Succeeded by Con Brosnan (Kerry) |