Shefflin retires: The character of a legend

Henry Shefflin, who has just anounced his inter-county retirement, proved that for every ounce of talent he possessed, the Ballyhale Shamrocks’ clubman had a grams worth of character.

Shefflin retires: The character of a legend

By Peter McNamara

September 9 2012; Kilkenny's Henry Shefflin watches a second half free go over the bar as Kilkenny supporters celebrate. GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final, Kilkenny v Galway, Croke Park. Picture: Pat Murphy/SPORTSFILE

One John Robert Wooden, the world renowned basketball coach, once said: “Winning takes talent; to repeat takes character”.

Henry Shefflin had an incomparable amount of talent.

However, throughout his most illustrious career Shefflin proved, time and again, that for every ounce of talent he possessed, the Ballyhale Shamrocks’ clubman had a grams worth of character to complement the speckles of stardust.

These days, commentators can wax lyrical all-too-easily about sports men and women at the top of their respective codes.

The positives may be accentuated profusely and the adjectives used to describe them can be equally excessive.

So what can be said about Shefflin, the only man to have earned an unrivalled 10 Celtic Crosses.

Shefflin is a sporting deity, considered so, not just on these shores, but all over the planet.

Messages and reflections will flood in from all over the world in the next 48 hours as news of his retirement reaches the farthest corners of the global landscape.

Already, his achievements have been eulogised since news broke yesterday afternoon of today’s press conference.

Yet, all of the plaudits and silverware are just the tip of an incredibly large iceberg.

The core principal of his standing within Irish sporting and cultural history should be that of a man who adored a game he mastered and felt privileged to play at the most exalted of levels.

Arguably, this theory was illustrated best, not in the moments of title-winning affluence, but rather in his reaction to getting the butt of a hurley in the eye during the All-Ireland quarter-final against Clare in 2004.

July 31 2004; Kilkenny's Henry Shefflin leaves the field with an eye injury. Guinness All-Ireland Hurling Championship Quarter Final Replay, Clare v Kilkenny, Semple Stadium. Picture: Brendan Moran/SPORTSFILE

Shefflin slammed his stick to the ground and shook his head but not in the manner of a spoilt golfer who has hit a poor shot and flung his club far from his grasp.

Instead, it was a reaction that screamed ‘This is not what hurling or our Association is about. We are better than this’.

Shefflin never saw himself as the code’s flagbearer or ‘poster boy’. In fact, he would baulk at such concepts.

And it is such character traits that endear him to the public all the more. As individuals go, he could not be more grounded.

He epitomised what a team leader should represent and we can discuss his sporting relationship with Brian Cody and others too, however today is all about the man himself and not those that were privileged to share his adventures directly.

September 27 2014; Kilkenny manager Brian Cody and Henry Shefflin celebrate after the game. GAA Hurling All Ireland Senior Championship Final Replay, Kilkenny v Tipperary. Croke Park. Picture: David Maher/SPORTSFILE

Even though all of those around him will rejoice in his athletic greatness more so than ever before, Shefflin will be taken aback, humbled by the appreciation.

Revelling in such adoration could not be further from his style.

Yet, it is highly unlikely and saddening that we will not see his like ever again.

Of course, the same was probably said when Christy Ring stepped away from the inter-county limelight.

The debate as to which of those two players were the greatest of all-time will rage during this week, even though, in reality, trying to equate two extremely different eras is difficult, if not nonsensical.

It is equally unlikely, though, he will be away from the inter-county scene for too long.

In fact, it would come as no surprise if Shefflin is on our screens this summer working for RTÉ or Sky Sports, or possibly even both, throughout the championship.

And he has always had an excellent working relationship with the media.

Last year, Shefflin, while attending a PR event, took a call from this writer who was struggling to convey his questions in the howling winds out in the wilds of CIT’s sporting complex.

However, instead of reacting in the manner of a pampered prima donna that so many other sporting stars are, Shefflin found the situation hilarious and rang back later at a more suitable time.

That is the type of character Shefflin is and always will be.

The King is the truest of Irish legends.

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