Sheehan first played
Gaelic football and
hurling with
Thomas Davis, the underage section of the Mallow club. After winning the Cork MFC title in 1984, he subsequently progressed onto the club's top adult team in both codes and was part of the Mallow team that won the
Cork IFC title in
1992. He also earned selection with
Avondhu and was part of the divisional team that won the
1996 Cork SHC. Sheehan first appeared on the inter-county scene as a
dual player at minor level and won
Munster MFC and
Munster MHC medals in 1985 and 1986 but lost three All-Ireland finals in that grade in the space of 12 months. He was an unused substitute when Cork beat
Kilkenny in the
1988 All-Ireland U21HC final. Sheehan
captained the
Cork junior football team to the
1993 All-Ireland JFC title after a defeat of
Laois in the
final. He became a dual All-Ireland junior-winner when he came on as a substitute for Cork's defeat of Kilkenny in the
1994 All-Ireland JHC final. Sheehan also made a number of appearances for the Cork senior teams in both codes in a number of tournament and National League games. Sheehan retired from the club scene in 2006 but immediately became involved in coaching and team management. He managed the Mallow team to the
Cork PIFC title in
2007. ==Political career==