The breadth of Lee Keegan’s Mayo career is nicely captured by the first roommate he had and the last.
When he first overnighted with the team in 2011, a Connacht Championship opener in London, he shared with Peadar Gardiner, a child of the late 1970s.
Those games against the exiles naturally bring a party vibe for supporters, some of which impacted on his and Gardiner’s sleep the night before a game in which Mayo very nearly suffered a shock defeat.
“I remember getting a phone call at half two from someone at home on the beer,” says Keegan.
“I heard a grunt in the bed. I don’t think Peadar was too pleased so I went into the toilet but there was more of an echo from the toilet than if I had sat on the bed.”
Fast-forward to this year’s League game against Monaghan and he’s had Leaving Cert student Sam Callinan for company, who wasn’t born until well into the 2000s.
Recently, Keegan did runs with the teenager at training.
“After about three runs that was never going to happen again! You see that naivety and the rawness of a young guy coming in.
“He doesn’t see the stuff we’ve probably seen over the years and the concept of the game. It’s the innocence of youth and for me as one of the older guys I love that because that used to be us.”
Yet, while Keegan is 32 now, he’s not looking at retirement just yet and projects that there may be a few years left in his Mayo career yet. And for all the misery that the pandemic inflicted over the past couple of years, his approach to football was reset for the better.
“The pandemic came at a great time for myself, personally - and kids, they put a lot of perspective on life. Football is no longer your main focus anymore. Whereas football before was your sole goal, if you're committed into it like we in Mayo are.
“It just engrosses, and takes over your life. That's a good thing because it's a good thing to have. Since the pandemic a lot of stuff has been put into perspective.
“I enjoy it more than I ever have. It's more of a break for me to go in and enjoy the social aspect, keeping fit, keeping healthy.”
And the Mayo management are amenable to adapting his training given the mileage he has accumulated.
“I still think I'm 21 sometimes. I probably tailor it more to how I feel and just be smarter all around about how the season is going to progress.
“I'd say this year, because it's a shorter season, any injury is going to put you off so it's just about minding yourself as much as possible. It's hard when you've games coming thick and fast, and Division One is the way it is.
“I'm lucky to have the likes of Conor Finn (S&C coach) who I can just give a phone call to about a gym session, or whatever it might be, and we might tip it back for training the next night. For myself it's been about being smart over the last three, four, five years.”
His role in the team has evolved in the last few years too, from a rampaging wing-back to a marking job on the inside line.
“It shows James [Horan] has a lot of trust in me still to mark some of the top guys out there. It's interesting, at times. But I do enjoy it. If I look at my career over 10, 12 years, I've gone from an out-and-out attacking half-back to being solely a corner or full-back with the option of sometimes going out to the half-back line.
“So I'm gone from a freelance scorer to whatever I am at the moment. But James still gives me licence to get forward as best I can.
“I'm probably just a bit smarter in how I do it. I can't do what I did when I was 23, 24 and make 15 runs a half. I have to be a bit smarter with how I use my runs and energy.
“It has definitely changed. It's a challenge and I'm enjoying it. I've had some good days and bad days, but the bad days always make you come out for the better once you learn from them.”
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