Well lads, we all felt it was coming but didn't want to believe it but looks like its true. Announced on Galway Bay FM that both lads have decided to call it a day, but there's a chance we might see Padraic back for the league but for the minute, two of Galway's stars of the last ten years have played their last game in a maroon shirt. Thanks for everything lads, too of Galway's best ever players.
Feck it, I was hoping they would give it another year as both are just about the 30 mark. Both have been outstanding servants to Galway over the past 10 years and definitely 2 of the best ever to don the Galway Jersey. Thanks for everything lads, ye leave us some wonderful memories :)
Announced on Galway Bay FM that both lads have decided to call it a day, but there's a chance we might see Padraic back for the league
Why would Joyce announce his retirement and then someone say that he might be back for the league ???
Two great servants for Galway, but in truth neither has played well for a few years now. Donnellan never really got over the Groin operation and Joyce just seemed to lose his appetite
OkeyDoke, Donnellan has a good season two years ago after he had won the all ireland with salthill.
Thats true, he was the reason they won it. Had forgot about the club, was only really thinking about county level.
If it is true then Connacht football has lost two of its best ever footballers. Joyce in particular. I don't think Donnellan always got the best out of his talent but in forty years time people will still talk about his performance in the 1998 AI Final and that point will still be in peoples memories.
They are young enough though and you would not rule out a return at some stage - is Forde the problem?
Them two boys would be a fine addition to many a county (Antrim, Cavan, Clare etc).
If it were me though I'd prefer to be put out to stud.
"but there's a chance we might see Padraic back for the league "
Strange sort of retirement.
Two absolutely class footballers in their day. Football will be all the duller for their absence.
Probably the correct decision for Donnellan as he seems to have lost a lot of that blistering pace that was so much of his game.
He was the reason that Salthill won the club AI, had a brilliant second half that day. Would have given him MOTM instead of Finian Hanley.
Joyce could play on for few more years I'd imagine if the desire was still there. Was a pale shadow of himself this year,
anonymous in McHale Park for Connacht final.
Two fantastic players and the game will miss them. Donnellan was often the difference for Galway on their big days. His display in the '98 final was huge. I hadn't seen a lad from Connacht do this before. Galway were supposed to be the sacrificial lamb on the altar of Micko's greatness but this young upstart ran the crap out of them. Straight down the barrel of the gun to rob a phrase from Martin McHugh/Seán O'Neill. When he was motoring he was some sight.
Joyce is one of my all time favs and will remain so (despite his dive in '99 in Markievicz!). He was one of if not the most celebrated forwards in the game and even with the demands of intercounty football he never forgot about his club and that to me is what a true GAA star should be like. Immensely talented and not lacking in bottle even if things were going a bit wrong. Evidence of this is the AI final in 2001 when in the first half he looked like he'd kicked the game away only to produce magical stuff in the second. Another enduring image for me is also against Kildare (sorry Dinny) on the shocking wet day. It was scrappy, Galway or their opponents not playing great but he was roasting his man and demanding the ball at every turn from his teammates. Real leadership. And like all the best players, a citeog. ;)
QuoteAnother enduring image for me is also against Kildare (sorry Dinny) on the shocking wet day. It was scrappy, Galway or their opponents not playing great but he was roasting his man and demanding the ball at every turn from his teammates. Real leadership. And like all the best players, a citeog
He was fantastic that day, Kildare tried everything legal and illegal, John O'Mahony though made sure the linesman knew what was going on resulting in John Finn been sent off. That Galway team broke my heart but those two boys and Ja were class personified..
Modern day greats
It's a pity, it's Connacht's loss as well as Galway. As Dinny Breen said themselves and Ja were incredible in 98.
Donnellan in 1998 and Joyce in 2001 are two of the all-time great marquee All-Ireland performances, up there with Mo Fitz in 1997. I'll never forget them.
It's a mark of how demanding and draining our games are that two guys like this, hovering around the 30 mark, have long since passed their best because the cumulative effect of injuries or lost hunger.
Have to say I'm a bit shocked. I knew it was a possibility but neither of them are particularly old and I thought there would be another 2 years left in them at least. To be fair the milage would be pretty high alright. Pretty much irreplaceable those two and will take us a long time to replace them.
Joyce IMO was up there with Peter Canavan as the best forward of their respective eras. Just one of those players that oozed class on the ball. Donnellan was outrageously talented but I know what people mean when they say he underachieved with the God given talent he had but to be fair to him he suffered terribly from niggling injuries ever since the 2001 All-Ireland. Those injuries robbed him of his coruscating pace. He was still a superb all-round footballer and athlete though. The true mark of great players is when they perform brilliantly when they have to on the big days and both Joyce and Donnellan stamped their class on two All-Ireland finals and virtually made them their own. When Donnellan got the ball in his prime the crowd almost took a collective breath waiting for the fireworks to begin. I had never seen a gaelic footballer before that moved with such speed and grace. He seemed to glide over the ground.
As for Joyce it's well recounted at this stage that at half-time in the 2001 All-Ireland final he apologised to his team-mates for his first half display but said to them to keep giving him the ball and he'd win the game for them in the 2nd half. And he did.
Two legends in Galway. Thanks for everything lads. I can see Padraig Joyce as a future Galway coach. He was always a very clever reader of a game.
Padraig Joyce in particular ... the full GAA footballer article. A class, class act on and off the field. Even when he ws destroying your own team you could only admire him.
Thanks for it all.
QuoteI can see Padraig Joyce as a future Galway coach
I thought he was managing the last few years
i know it was coming but still... two great footballers. galway and football in general will miss them. good luck to them both....
If it is true it's the end of an golden era for Galway football. Only the three in a row can surpass what these two in particular did for Galway football. Ever since they were seen at schools and under age everyone could see they were talented. I'm just glad they did it on the big stage where they stepped up to the plate, Donnellan in'98, Joyce in '01.
It's time to give the youth a chance but it will be a while before we see players of their calibre in the maroon
Could we be facing another 32 years hard to replace the types of players we've lost over the last few years. The two guys will continue to be two of the top club players in Galway class acts both of them.
Concur with all that has been already said, two great footballers who were a joy to watch (except when we were in the firing line!), and delivered on the big day. Galway will have a difficult job to replace them.
That point by Donnelan in '98 will long live in the memory, probably one of the best points I have ever witnessed in the flesh
Hope the two boys enjoy their retirement
Two great Galway footballers. It'll be a long time before we see Galway in Croke Park again on All Ireland football final day.
2 class acts wish them the best in their retirement!!
Donnellan was a class act, with a serious engine. Plagued by injuries over the last few years though. Joyce will go down as one of Galways greats, but in fairness he has done nothing for Galway since 2001. Both are around the 30 mark, the fact that Peter Ford is back again this year probably made the decision for them. With that lad as manager Galway are going nowhere. I don't think they fulfilled their true potential could have won a few more all irelands.
Pity to see them go.
They have contributed so much to the game and played in many entertaining matches.
Good luck to both of them...
QuoteI don't think they fulfilled their true potential could have won a few more all irelands
Hard to say really. As Meatloaf said 2 out 3 ain't bad. 2000 was a missed opportunity but they probably wouldn't have won it in 2001 if they won in 2000. Such is the way these things go.
Looking back 1999 was probably the real lost chance considering Ja and Kevin Walsh carried injuries all though the 2000 championship. The Meath team that won it in 99 wasn't fantastic IMO and it was a poor enough championship in general that was there to be won. In fairness after waiting 32 years for an All-Ireland the county went mad so the team probably wasn't as sharp as it should have been that year (some of the players had wintered a little too well) and they ended up getting ambushed in Tuam by Mayo. Had they kept themselves in peak mental and physical condition then 1999 was there for the taking by them.
By 2002 a lot ot them had their 2 celtic crosses and the hunger was diminishing.
Did the boys forget to tell Ford? or are they retiring at all?
Galway manager Peter Ford has rubbished reports that star footballers Paraic Joyce and Michael Donnellan have announced their retirement.
"That's not official. They're just not back with us yet," said Ford. "We started back this week, but Paraic Joyce definitely would hope to be involved after Christmas.
"I have spoken to both of them and I don't know where that (the retirements) came out of."
The Mayo native revealed that Joyce has put football on hold until the New Year in an effort to allow a troublesome Achilles tendon problem clear up before next year's campaign.
"Paraic Joyce had an Achilles tendon injury all last year so he's just taking a complete break trying to get that right," he said. "He'll be talking to me again after Christmas.
"I'm hopeful (to have him for the National League). He has no intention of retiring anyway."
Donnellan, meanwhile, is not planning to line out for the Tribesmen next year but, according to Ford, he has not quit the intercounty scene indefinitely.
"Michael Donnellan doesn't intend playing again but he hasn't retired, that's just how he feels right now," added Ford.
"He has been injured the last two years and he had a stomach operation there four years ago. He hasn't recovered from that you know and he's playing with pain. He feels he has enough of it right now.
"He (Donnellan) has ruled himself out for next year but that could change again. At the same time he hasn't announced his retirement. You'd expect that. He has been on the go so long and has been struggling with injury and he hasn't been playing as well as he can.
"They (Joyce and Donnellan) just want to get their injuries right first. We'll give them a bit of space and if the injuries clear up and they're going well then they'll be back again."
I'm wondering what's going on alright. I haven't seen it confirmed officially anywhere yet and I've been listening to sports reports all day.
2 of the best ever..reckon Joyce will be back after xmas tho!
Joyce should probably come back next year.
Would not be so sure about Donnellan.
Right there appears to have been a lot of wires crossed along the way somehow. What seems to have happened is the Galway panel returned to training with a panel of 24 last week but minus Padraic and Mikey. Mikey Donnellan it appears is taking a break for a year anyway and probably has retired but Padraic has just ruled himself out of the FBD and could even be back for the national league. I think somebody just jumped the gun, put 2 and 2 together and got a hundred and forty five. I think Padraic will be back for the championship if not before that to be honest. Donnellan I'd say we've probably seen the last of, that's been doing the rounds for a while, but crucially, there's been no official word confirming retirement from either player so we'll see.
Joyce in particular was some yoke, no doubt.
A joy to watch.
From Hoganstand:
Joyce says injury is priority
18 November 2006
Galway football star Padraic Joyce says getting rid of a niggling achilles problem is his priority rather than wondering why he has been left out of the Galway panel.
Both Joyce and Michael Donnellan have been axed from the county panel by manager Peter Ford.
However for his part, Joyce isn't contemplating retirement or anything else other than getting himself fit.
"I've been bothered for some time by an achilles tendon problem that won't go away," admitted Joyce.
"I need to get that sorted and then see how I feel.
"Getting that sorted out is the main objective at this stage," the Galway star added.
"Galway's Donnellan retires from inter-county football
19:08 Saturday November 18th 2006
Michael Donnellan has announced his retirement from inter-county football.
The Galway star was an All-Ireland winner and Footballer of the Year in 1998 and 2001."
From Unison/The Irish Independent
Brings a very literal meaning to lazy journalism
I wouldn't be surprised to see either of them back in action in the maroon shirt come the summer. Two great talents that still have plenty to offer the inter-county scene.
From RTE Aertel today:
DONNELLAN BOWS OUT
FROM TRIBAL SERVICE
-------------
Galway's Michael Donnellan has
announced his retirement from
intercounty competition.
Donnellan pulls the curtain down on a
career during which he won nearly ever
honour in the game. He was footballer
of the year and won All-Ireland medals
in 1998 and 2001 and was also named on
the All Star in those years, as well as
2000.
A Donnellan point in the 1998 All-
Ireland final was also voted the top
GAA Moment of the TV age. He had picked
the ball up in the heart of his own
defence and soloed the length of the
field before Seán Óg de Paor eventually
finished the move off with a point.
Yeah Donnellan is gone.
Joyce will probably be back maybe for the league.
Two great players alright, looks like only Donnellan has retired though and I'd say he might be back yet.
Maybe they can both make comebacks when galway hit the first round of the qualifiers next may.................
Didn't think that Joyce would have retired.
Donnellan is/was a fantastic footballer, one of the best to come out of Connacht. Mad in the head though, will he write a book I wonder? He might even admit to assaulting match officials
Quotewill he write a book I wonder?
Not sure. He's a pretty private individual. Think about how many times he did interviews for the TV or newspapers. Hardly ever. Would be an good read though I imagine.
Already lookin forward to Connacht c.ship now that o Mahony is in the Mayo job...DE i wonder who is on this pre xmas Galway panel???? Has Forde cast the net at all? ???
Quote from: Galway15 on November 21, 2006, 06:15:26 PM
Already lookin forward to Connacht c.ship now that o Mahony is in the Mayo job...DE i wonder who is on this pre xmas Galway panel???? Has Forde cast the net at all? ???
No idea to be honest. Away from home during the week so haven't really heard anything. Any suggestions about who should get a run? Young Hughes from Menlough is a name a lot are mentioning. Our own Tom Hughes did a great job on Joe Bergin in the county quarter finals during the summer, could be worth a look. I suppose a couple of Corofin lads will get a look as well after they finish up the club championship. One thing I did hear though, don't know if it's true or not, but Forde supposedly didn't contact Padraic or Mikey about the first meeting with the panel at all but told the rest of the lads they wouldn't be available without consulting with them at all. If it's true then he's bang out of order and should be told where to go.
As regards Mikey Donnellan writing a book, I seriously doubt it, very private lad, rarely talks to the newspapers never mind write a whole book about himself. Class player, he'll be missed.
Had the great pleasure of playing with both when they started out their careers at st. Jartlaths, Even though Donnellan was only 15 back then you could see the potential scored a class goal against St. Comans in a Hogan cup final in Longford in 1993 to me that was the start of his brilliant career. Its hard to believe the two boys won't be playing at county level again there's not to many playing at the moment that have as much natural talent.
More confusion over the futures of these two? Padraig Joyce doesn't seem to think Donnellan has retired just yet?
Joyce denies retirement talk
Padraic Joyce raises the 2004 Cormac McAnallen Cup
24 November 2006
Galway full forward Padraic Joyce has denied reports that both he and Michael Donnellan have retired from inter-county football.
A local radio station ran out a report last weekend that both players, who were key figures in the 1998 and 2001 All-Ireland triumphs, had decided to hang up their boots. However, Joyce insists that neither he nor Donnellan have decided to bow out.
"Michael will have a think about the situation in the New Year," Joyce said.
"He'll wait until January or February before making any move – it was different when the league started before Christmas.
"I spoke to Peter Ford last Monday week and told him about my intentions, but I spoke to nobody in the media."
Joyce is due to see a specialist about the Achilles tendon injury that hampered him this year.