Ciaran Sheehan was born to play football. Two All-Ireland senior football winners medals in 2010 and 2011 is testament to his prowess at full forward for Cork, but now he embarks on a new career in Australian rules football.

Sheehan, 23, was initially tempted into defecting to the AFL after training with Carlton alongside Laois footballer Zach Tuohy in 2009. While Tuohy stayed and went on to establish himself as an elite AFL player, Sheehan, who was just a teenager at the time, became homesick and returned to Ireland. Fast-forward five years and after his standout performances for Ireland in 2013's international rules series, Sheehan didn't need much persuading when Carlton's recruiters waved professional 'footy' forms for signing.

“I definitely feel the time is right for me to play in the AFL because having won two All-Ireland winners medals I don’t have any unfinished business back in the GAA for Cork,” Sheehan told The Evening Echo.

“Growing up in County Cork all I wanted to do was to play Gaelic football and hurling for Eire Og Cork and I’ve been very lucky in having had those opportunities, but now I want to test myself as a professional sportsman in Australian rules.

“When I first trained with Carlton in 2009 I was homesick and wanted to complete my engineering studies at the Cork Institute of Technology alongside playing in the GAA. This year I was ready for a new challenge and the support of my family and all of my Cork teammates was crucial in helping me make the decision to sign for Carlton.

“There hasn’t been a single negative comment from anyone in Cork and from the first day that I arrived in Melbourne, everyone at Carlton and all of my teammates have supported me and given me every encouragement without putting any pressure on me.

“Carlton is a unified club with all of the players helping each other on and off the field. The club has won the most premierships (16) jointly with Essendon but the last one was in 1995 so everyone is working towards winning another one. The good thing is that we don’t really talk about that. Instead, the coaches and all of the players are working hard to improve week in and week out. If we keep improving then we will get to where we want to be.”

In contrast to the feelings of homesickness that marred his first experience at Carlton in 09, Sheehan is altogether more settled this time around. His girlfriend Amy has accompanied him across the other side of the world and Louth’s Ciaran Byrne, who also signed on as an international rookie, together with senior listed Zach Tuohy, have made it a trio of Navy Blues Irish players.  Sheehan believes that Carlton, who currently have more Irish players on their books than any of the other 18 AFL sides, are the ideal club to help former GAA players settle into life as professional sportsmen ‘Down Under’.

“There’s no doubt that if I was on my own as the only Irish player at Carlton it would be a lot harder to make the transition from the GAA,” Sheehan explains.

“I’m very lucky to be at a club where the Irish players are made to feel an equal part of the team like our Australian teammates. Having Amy here with me has also made a massive difference and we can even find plenty of Irish food in Melbourne!

“Everything is in place for me to develop as an AFL player and establish myself like Zach has done but I know it won’t be easy. I’m learning how to kick the oval (Sherrin) ball and learning how it bounces. The toughest aspect is coming to terms with the structure of Australian rules but I am learning everyday and working on my skills.”