Born and raised in Rathmore, the picturesque village lying immediately west of the border with Cork. It lies at the heart of the Sliabh Luachra area known for its traditional Irish music and culture and of course its proud and rich GAA tradition.  Rathmore GAA of which Aidan is a very proud playing member also boasts another Kerry county senior footballer in defender Tom O’Sullivan. 

 Things haven’t gone to plan for Kerry this year with a few average performances, “We were going well in training but we just didn’t take the work on to the playing field.  I think the games we played in the qualifiers were very tough as we were favourites in every game and all the teams that played us, seemed to throw off the shackles and have a right go at us, as they had nothing to lose. We gave one of the best performances of the year against Dublin and we know we still have a lot of work to do if we are to reach the all Ireland final this year.”

After that defeat by cork in the Munster semi final they went on to meet Longford at Pearse Park in a hugely disappointing game, beating ‘The Slashers’ with a score line of  0-11 to 1-12.  They then went on to meet Sligo at Austin Stack Park beating the Treaty County by only one point.  After that close affair, they played the surprise package in Ulster this year, Antrim in O’Connor Park, Tullamore beating ‘The Saffrons’ on a score line of 1-10 to 2-12 in a hardly convincing display.  Aidan said of their backdoor route, “The way I look at it is that I’m very lucky to be able to go out each year and put on that Kerry jersey and represent my club and county. I suppose the good thing about the backdoor is that you get very competitive games and if you can get through the qualifiers it sets you up nicely for a quarter final. These games will test you to the limit and I think teams learn a lot from the backdoor route and it gave the management a chance to try new players and new ideas.”

The performance against Dublin in the All Ireland quarter final on 3 August is being hailed by many pundits and experts as the greatest first half display of football seen in Croke Park.  Indeed, it just might have been the revival of this Kerry team who had failed to impress throughout the whole competition.  Aidan was not selected to start in that game, but had the utmost praise for his team mates “The boys gave a great performance and silenced a lot of critics but that game is in the past now and we are just concentrating on the semi final. I think every player finds it tough looking in, you just want to be on that field getting stuck in, but all that was in my head that day was if I was needed during the game I was going to be ready and I was totally focused on doing whatever assignment I was given.” Aidan, although dropped from the starting fifteen is still a committed team player and this is a quality he has always carried with distinction playing for club, County and Country.

Although he has won many honours in the game and is widely recognised as one of the best defenders in the modern game, does it make it easier for the backs when there is such quality forwards like the ‘Gooch’? “Yes, Colm’s unbelievable player, one of a kind and it’s great to be playing in the same team as him. He’s a genius with the ball and can change a game in a split second with a pass or a score.  Also he’s a tough customer to mark at training!”

A lot has been written and commented upon about the ‘Greatest team of the decade’.  Is it Tyrone, is it Kerry? “We haven’t really thought about Tyrone, we are only taking one game at a time and all we are concentrating on now is our own game with Meath in the semi final. This is going to be our biggest test to date all year and we are going to have to be at our very best if  we’re going to have a chance of getting to a sixth all Ireland final.”

Obviously being selected to play for the Kerry senior football team is a dream come true for any aspiring young footballer, “When I was growing up I went to Kerry games and looked on in awe at the players wearing that green and gold jersey. The friendships you make with the panel of players is just unbelievable. You become like a family.  Training and games become part of your every day life and no player in Kerry would ever change that.  I think every day you go out with that jersey on your back you just have to look back and think of the Kerry greats that have worn that jersey before. Its a dream come true for me and I take pride in representing my family, club and county”

But has he still got the hunger, the passion the desire to win?  “I think every year you need to have a goal, and mine is that I go out ever year, whether it’ my club Rathmore or Kerry, I give 100%, win as much as I can and when I retire, I can look back and have no regrets. I’ve been lucky to have won all Irelands and all stars, represent Ireland but my aim is to better that each year…..”