Retirements

[From the Bunker]

Kieran Fitzgerald announces his retirement, some career he had.

https://m.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/galway-and-corofin-stalwart-kieran-fitzgerald-announces-his-retirement-39157902.html?

Yes, and hit with the death of his girlfriend Mairead Meehan (sister of the Meehans Caltra) in 2007.

Not sure what place that has here, I don't think Kieran himself would appreciate comments like that.

Did not mean any malice. It was not meant in distaste more in an acknowledgement of this strife against struggles in his life. Apologies if offence was caused. 

[Cunny Funt]

Daniel St Ledger has brought the curtain down on his inter-county career with Carlow.

[Gael85]

Daniel St Ledger has brought the curtain down on his inter-county career with Carlow.

Great servant to Carlow football.  Must of played every position bar goal for his county. Think he originally from Clare.

[trueblue1234]

Colm Cavanagh. A great player that overcame a lot of negativity within the county to become a fantastic player for Tyrone. A real leader gone from the squad.

[From the Bunker]

Colm Cavanagh. A great player that overcame a lot of negativity within the county to become a fantastic player for Tyrone. A real leader gone from the squad.

With such a late announcement, you'd be thinking he does not see a AI Championship taking place!

[Angelo]

Colm Cavanagh. A great player that overcame a lot of negativity within the county to become a fantastic player for Tyrone. A real leader gone from the squad.

With such a late announcement, you'd be thinking he does not see a AI Championship taking place!

Struggling with a few injuries I think and a first round knockout game against Donegal probably hastened it.

[Blowitupref]

Peter Kelly (Kildare) has announced his retirement from inter-county football this evening.

[mouview]

Gary Sice 'unretired' for Galway this week.

[rodney trotter]

Diarmuid Connolly

[Angelo]

Connolly was one of the most gifted and complete footballers I've seen play the game but his questionable temperament let him and his team down at times and probably stopped him from being one of the greats.

I wonder would he be held in greater regard if he hadn't been with Dublin, the bottom line is Dublin didn't need Diarmud Connolly to win All Irelands. They were an outstanding team packed with match winners all over the pitch. If Connolly had been at a lesser team where he would have been the go to man, had everything go through him and constantly being tagged by 3 or 4 markers, would we have seen more of him?

[sid waddell]

Diarmuid Connolly

A sad day, a true Dublin folk hero

But his last match was the five in a row, what a way to go out

I retain hope that I might yet get to see him play again for St Vincent's under the lights at a packed Parnell Park some time in the not too distant future - there was a mythical quality about those nights - they always seemed to be nights - everybody was there to see Dermo, and he always seemed to pull something special out of the bag

Gaelic football's Ronnie O'Sullivan

[Blowitupref]

What was his form like for St Vincents this year did it play a part in that retirement?

[GiveItToTheShooters]

Diarmuid Connolly

One of the best players of all time. Sad day for the GAA.

[sid waddell]

What was his form like for St Vincents this year did it play a part in that retirement?

Didn't see much of Vincent's this year but I think he pulled something out of the bag in the last group game which they won to qualify for the quarter-finals, they were beaten fairly comfortably in the quarter-final

Vincent's have been in decline for a good few years, certainly since 2017 at the latest, they were pitiful last year when they scored about 0-4 against Judes in a Dublin quarter-final, Dermo not being quite the force of old was part of that

There were some flashes of the old brilliance when he came back for Dublin last year but at the same time it was obvious he wasn't the same force he had been

Dermo had that gift where he could make you feel things that other players couldn't, you have to go back to early Jayo, Vinnie Murphy, Keith Barr, Kieran Duff etc. for players who could exhilarate you in anything like the same way, he was old school Dublin - being visibly and audibly Dublin, and a certain type of Dub matters in terms of folk hero status - you (generally) have to be Northside, you have to have a swagger about you and if you have a temper and get dirty every now and again it helps

His two points late in the semi-finals against Kerry in 2013 and 2016 were exhilarating, pure poetry, they were mirror images of each other, one from the right, one from the left

I was sitting high up in the Hogan Stand towards the Railway End for the point in 2016, pretty much above where he hit it from, I wouldn't have been anywhere else in the stadium, even the Hill, just to see that point from that angle, I can picture it my mind's eye, that score will go down as one of the greatest Dublin scores ever, it was a glorious release of emotion

And I wouldn't have been anywhere else but where I was on the Hill for his point in 2013, the last few minutes of that semi-final were even better than the final in 2011

[imtommygunn]

Seems quite young to retire at 33 but I suppose the game is like that these days. That performance he gave in the ai club final , against castle bar was it?, has to be one of the best individual performances ever.