EAMON MCGEE WAS always one for doing things the Eamon McGee way – and the Gaoth Dobhair man’s retirement from inter-county football was no different.
The enigmatic McGee played 154 times for Donegal – 57 of those games in the Championship. He won the All-Ireland in 2012, three Ulster titles and a Division 1 League crown in 2007.
“I’d have got away with playing another year, but I feel that it’s the right time,” McGee told Donegal Sport Hub.
[adrotate group=”38″]“It’s a good time to get away and I’m happy to go out with no-one pushing me out the door or telling me it was a good time to retire. I’m happy to go playing relatively well.
“I have a lot of good memories and hopefully I’ll be remembered as a good player for Donegal.”
McGee followed Colm McFadden in stepping off the carousel and is bowing out on his own terms.
[adrotate group=”68″]McGee had a good year in the green and gold but has decided to step away.
He said: “I’d say that Rory (Gallagher), or whoever, was drawing up their 15 for next year I wouldn’t be far away from it. You see it when boys hang on a bit to long and tarnish their memories and their legacy.”
McGee had the unique and unwanted distinction of being dropped from the Donegal panel by four different managers.
Mickey Moran, Brian McIver, John Joe Doherty and Jim McGuinness all banished McGee at different junctures in his career and the Gaoth Dobhair man doesn’t shy away from his dark days.
[adrotate group=”46″]He said: “One of the regrets is that I never applied myself. My ability at the start of my career was never truly fulfilled. There was another level in there that I should have reached. Some games you’d see it; most games you wouldn’t.
“Some people never got a second chance. I got a third and fourth chance. I had a lot of people who supported me through that.”
Before the Championship in 2011, after spending the early part of that year playing in Division 4 with London, McGee was drafted back by McGuinness and, after biding his time, was thrust back into action during the epic All-Ireland quarter-final against Kildare.
[adrotate group=”37″]From that night at Croke Park, McGee never looked back and was unlucky not to win an All-Star in either 2012 or 2014.
McGee insists that he enjoyed the last few years, despite some suggestions to the contrary.
He said: “You’re bringing the ‘A’ game to training every night and you’re switched on for video analysis. It’s tough but it’s enjoyable.
“People come out and say that the fun is out of it. I wouldn’t have been about if the fun wasn’t there; it takes up too much time of your life not to be.”
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsporthub-club-notes/eamon-mcgee-talks-inter-county-retirement
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