A fortnight after Clare’s All-Ireland SFC campaign ended back in June, Keelan Sexton announced his intercounty retirement.
Still just 28, he explained in a local newspaper interview that his work in the legal profession in Dublin, and increasing responsibilities, meant that something had to give.
“I wish it were different,” he said at the time, leaving nobody in any doubt that it was a matter of the head ruling the heart.
He had already transferred clubs from Kilmurry-Ibrickane to Na Fianna on Dublin’s north side.
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And on Sunday afternoon, Sexton displayed his full value to his adopted club with a game-changing impact from the bench in their dramatic county quarter-final defeat of Ballymun Kickhams.
A “bit of a knock” meant he didn’t start, but the 1-4 he sniped in the second half helped turn a lost cause – Na Fianna trailed by 11 points after 34 minutes – into a landmark one-point win, securing a glamour semi-final date with Kilmacud Crokes.
His first score was a two-pointer, from play, his second a goal from a penalty and his third, another two-pointer from play, which levelled a barnburner of a championship tie at 1-17 apiece. Sexton beat his chest in celebration after that last score.
“That’s the way the new game has gone, isn’t it?” he said, referencing the potential for wild swings in scoring that the new rules have brought.
But how did a man who competed in the Clare SFC final just last October find himself in the middle of such mayhem in the capital?
“I live here, I work here,” he explained. “I was living in Stoneybatter for a long time and my best mate, Dean Ryan, played with Na Fianna for years. They were good enough to accommodate me when I was trying to train, while playing with my club at home.
“This year I just said, you know what, I couldn’t put two legs in either county again. So I just said I’d commit to my life in Dublin for the next few years.”
He is grateful to Na Fianna for allowing him to join, but it’s a win-win for both parties.
Three years ago, Sexton scored 2-6 in a Croke Park win over Roscommon that secured an All-Ireland quarter-final place for Clare. He also holds the rare distinction of playing minor, under-21 and senior football for Clare in the same year, 2015.
Naturally, neither Clare nor Kilmurry-Ibrickane wanted to lose a player with more than 100 county appearances. Sexton felt the wrench himself.
“It’s definitely one of the toughest things you can do,” said Sexton of switching clubs. “Look, we all know what’s going on in the world, different aspects, there are children in Gaza under pressure and all sorts.
“For me, in sport, this is the toughest thing I’ve had to do. Leaving home is tough. Not a lot of people understand it, you know, where I’m from, west Clare, you’re born into a club, they give you everything and you want to give them everything back.
“But I was burning the candle at each end, and I was kind of falling out of love with football for a while. I just wasn’t putting in as much effort because it was so tough to get up and down the road.
“You’re not really a part of the slogging. The boys are running in November and very rarely would I get running midweek with them. I just felt that I was detached from the group a little bit. It’s nice to be up here, and you’re part of the group.”
Perhaps he’ll be back at some stage, for club or even county.
Clare GAA wished Sexton the best after he retired, adding that they hoped “to see him back competing for another Jack Daly Cup with Kilmurry-Ibrickane”.
If that’s how it goes, he will return knowing that he mixed it with the very best in Dublin.
“There are certain teams in Clare that are high quality as well, no more than the one I came from,” said Sexton, when asked to compare the two championships.
“The one thing I’d say here is that the athletic ability of most players is through the roof. Nobody’s eating kebabs at the weekend up here!
“It’s great to be in there and to test yourself when you’re one-on-one against the likes of John Small and James McCarthy. Where else would you rather be? Kind of just lets you know where you’re at.
“And I’ve always thought I’m good enough to play against these players. And, luckily enough, I’m playing alongside some good players myself.”
