Offaly ace Dunne confirms inter-county retirement

Nigel Dunne of Offaly and his son Ogie after the Allianz FL Division 3 final win over Kildare at Croke Park ©INPHO/James Lawlor

Offaly forward Nigel Dunne has confirmed his retirement from inter-county football after decade-and-a-half in the green, white and gold.

Dunne made his debut for the Faithful County in 2010, with the last couple of seasons seeing him battling acute tendonitis in his right ankle.

The Shamrocks clubman was convinced by co-managers Declan Kelly and Mickey Harte to give it another season back in December and he contribute 0-7 in the team’s successful Allianz League Division 3 campaign.

However, he decided to call it a day after the Faithful men’s Leinster SFC semi-final defeat to Meath earlier this month.

"I do so with no regrets," Dunne told RTE Sport. "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.

"I am a lot happier walking around now these past few days that there is no mental anguish internally. I’m just relieved to have made the call."

On his decision to try and give it another year, the 35-year-old stated: "After a few running sessions in December I felt sore and said to the management that I could leave, but I was swayed maybe by the reassurance that it was pre-season and that level of training would ease off," he says.

"Then three or four games into the league I came on for 20 minutes against Antrim and while I did fine and scored three points, I remember saying to Dad that night that I was done.

"I met Declan the week after and again I have such time for him that after listening to him I decided I would hang on.

"Against Kildare in the league final and against Meath in the championship I didn’t play. People were saying to me that I should have got game time, but in my mind I was embarrassed to be on the 26 (match-day panel) 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."