How quaint and faraway it all seems now. Nineteen ninety-five - those blistering, sweltering months and the last true summer of Sam in Dublin. Jason Sherlock, of course, blazed a trail across our consciousness like some exotic supernova. The boy who stole the world.

That spontaneous evening when he was besieged by an army of kids a few nights before the All-Ireland final is the stuff of GAA folklore now. Something wonderful that just happened out of the blue. Blame it on the perfect weather. You'd wonder about the kids that made the crazy run across the field to their hero that night. Fifteen, 16 years of age; young and busy and probably old enough to know that they are never going to be like Jayo.

But when Sherlock plays for Dublin tomorrow we will wonder if even he feels like Jayo anymore. He remains the single most identifiable athlete playing Gaelic games. With that short back and sides, in fact, he looks little different than he did when he charmed the country with his openness and had it spat back in his face.

Not that Tom Carr has him in the team for image. Sherlock has begun to demonstrate a new dimension to the game. Always the cheeky chaser, the master of the half-chance, a devastatingly effective playmaker, he is now beginning to shimmer with potential as a score-taker. Against Westmeath in Croke Park, he twice arced bolts from distance between the posts. "There is no doubt that he has shown tremendous improvements in this regard in recent months and it has been an element we have worked very hard on over the year," Carr said this week.

"There was a flaw there before in terms of his kicking technique and Jason has put in untold practice to try and reverse it and the results are starting to show."

Last September, Sherlock announced that he was suspending his soccer career with Shamrock Rovers, resigning himself at last to the impossibility of playing at a high level in two codes. Though the division must have been a frustration for Carr, he always showed faith in Sherlock .

"I think my attitude towards it was always fairly transparent in that I did accommodate him in whatever way possible, I recognised what it meant to him. But the fact that he has been able to commit himself fully to Dublin has led to the obvious improvements in his game."

Trawl through some of the more fantastic elements of the post-1995 Sherlock story and the surprise is that he still feels an inclination to have anything to do with the GAA at all. He has, at times, been treated appallingly. In October of 1995, when the Sam Maguire was back in the city, the then president of the GAA, Jack Boothman made a remark to the effect that he "didn't believe anyone could expect to make a living in the GAA from appearance fees".

Although there was ambiguity behind the remark, the consensus was that it was directed at Jayo and he found himself on RTE's Liveline clearing the matter up. "I think the issue's blown over. I think Jack has kinda taken back his remark," he said.

Two years later, another storm arose from an incident during which a prominent Dublin GAA official spat at Sherlock, who was on the sidelines watching his Dublin under-21 colleagues playing Offaly.

Sherlock's dual commitments were even then compromising his availability, something that rankled within the organisation. Although Sherlock's written complaint about the incident at the under-21 game was investigated, and was substantiated by several witnesses, there was an official refusal to endorse it. The incident caused bitter division within Dublin GAA circles.

"People seem quick to forget that when the schools needed visiting with the Sam Maguire for promotion and the like, Jason was never found wanting," his team-mate Keith Barr said at the time. "His efforts for the GAA and Dublin deserve better."

But Sherlock is in many respects the antithesis of the traditional, steadfastly-humble GAA figure. He never talked his game up but he knows his appeal and has been open about it.

Television production company COCO were drawn to him, but it was not easy to convince him to take a chance, says Stewart Switzer, who is the series producer of sports-based show Rapid.

"To be honest, Jason was a bit reticent about doing the series at first and wasn't sure he could pull it off. He seemed genuinely surprised and pleased that we felt he had that potential," he explains. "The thing about him is that he is an open and genuinely friendly fella. He does not have an enormous ego. That translates on the TV."

While he needs to work at it "there seems to be no reason why he can't develop and expand his range. I feel that, yes, he absolutely could make a career out of this", says Switzer.

The notion of a GAA man making a career out of his looks and disposition is anathema to the darker elements in the GAA. There is an unspoken code of conduct, based upon the mantra that whatever you say, say nothing. Despite the massive forward strides taken over the past decade, there is still ambivalence in the GAA in terms of how it truly feels about progress.

Tomorrow, Jayo is at once a representative of the future and an emblem of the recent but already fading past. He was, in the truest sense of the word, a sensation - half charisma, half media overkill.

Truth is, he is no longer the kid he was - Jayo's a father now - and is happy to concentrate on kicking points.

He still has vehement critics of his skill as a Gaelic footballer, people who see him as a lightweight waste of a good jersey. Others argue that the subtle immensity of his contribution to 1995 was overlooked in both that year's All Star scheme and by those who claim he is dispensable. Sherlock has taken too much to be hurt by criticism but deep down he must be digging for redemption this year. For the first time, he is applying himself to one sport, having dropped his beloved basketball years ago, and now his soccer.

The irony is of course that his broad understanding of sports has aided his Gaelic career and Carr has wisely given him the opportunity to exploit this.

"Jason has an innate understanding of the game, a fine ability to read it and he can predict situations if you like. With someone like that, you don't try and restrict their game but give them licence to exploit the situations which might only be apparent to them."

There has been a furtive nature about Dublin this year, none of the old swagger and humorous bluster we traditionally expect from the Blues. For such a high-profile side, they have maintained an astonishingly quiet front. Although the shrewd money is probably on Kildare, another long season for the Dubs would put a bit of sparkle in this championship. It needs a star, a story, something to set it apart. If Dublin win, the snappers will inevitably chase Sherlock again. But surely he has had those 15 minutes of intensity? Could it all happen again?

"I certainly believe so. He has those same qualities and if Dublin are successful this year, there will be an obvious focus on Jason," says Carr. "But he is well able to cope with it now and it won't prove a distraction to his primary duties as a Dublin forward."

So who knows: Jayo Two and GAA fever making music in the suburbs five years on. Seems unlikely, but the weird thing is the weather has been kinda . . . brilliant of late.