O'SHEAING POWER

Veteran will still be Aidan Mayo cause

- KARL O'KANE

AIDAN O'SHEA says he'll continue to play on with Mayo for as long as he can.

The big Breaffy man reckons he's not that old at 34, although he is already one of the longest serving players in Division 1 and the inter-county game in general.

Daddy of them all is Stephen Cluxton (43), now in his 23rd season with Dublin, but very few current outfield players have soldiered longer than O'Shea.

One of those is recently returned Donegal All-Ireland winning skipper Michael Murphy (35), who made his Championship debut back in 2007.

Darren Hughes continues to plough on with Monaghan at 37, while former Farney All Star wing back Karl O'Connell is 36.

Wexford's Ben Brosnan is 37 and in his 18th season with the Model men, having debuted in the League back in 2008 and in the Championship in 2010-and Offaly forward Nigel Dunne is 35.

Other remarkable survivors include Galway's Paul Conroy, Harte and Mattie Donnelly.

Conroy landed the footballer of the year award last season at 35. He turns 36 in May, while Donnelly and Harte are both 34.

But there aren't many footballers from the late noughties era still playing inter-county.

Former Ireland captain O'Shea is Mayo's most experienced player by a distance now, having made his Championship debut against New York back in 2009.

O'Shea, who turns 35 in May, says the new rules had very little to do with his decision to continue in the green and red of Mayo.