Offaly Star Gives Admirable Reason For Mid-Season Inter-County Retirement

Offaly footballer Nigel Dunne has retired from inter-county football, citing injuries and a wish not to take opportunities off younger players in the county.

Shamrocks club-man Dunne made his debut for Offaly in 2010 but injuries have taken their toll fifteen years later, with the 35-year-old admitting he let his heart rule his head in deciding to come back to play this year.

Dunne praised Offaly's joint-management team of Declan Kelly and Mickey Harte, saying their enthusiasm played a big role in his decision to return this year after some niggles during pre-season training.

He has struggled with tendonitis in his right ankle over the past number of seasons.

But he knew after Offaly's defeat of Antrim in the league that his days in the Offaly jersey were over, despite scoring 0-3 (0-1m) when coming on as a sub for the last twenty minutes of the game.

He said Declan Kelly convinced him to stay on once again before they won the Division Three title against Kildare in Croke Park but this time Dunne is not for turning.

He didn't feature in either of Offaly's most recent games where they defeated Kildare in the Division Three league final before losing to Meath in the Leinster championship.

He had no qualms about being left off and says he felt 'embarrassed to be on the match-day 26 because the management were 100% right not to bring me on.'

"I shouldn’t have taken a young lad’s spot on the panel based on the credit I had in the bank over the years," he added in a statement to RTÉ Sport.

"I do so with no regrets."

"I gave it everything I had for as long as I could, and genuinely the body can’t go for one minute longer than it has with the load that is required for intercounty football."