After just over a decade of magnificent service to the Kerry jersey, Declan O’Sullivan had decided to hang up his boots.
The Dromid Pearses man revealed his decision to call it a day in a statement on the Kerry GAA website this morning, two months after winning his fifth All-Ireland with the Kingdom and 11 years after making his senior championship debut in green and gold.
Although O’Sullivan only turns 31 next month, the decision isn’t exactly a huge surprise as he has been plagued by knee injuries in recent years which seriously limited his involvement in this season’s All-Ireland winning campaign.
There have been few better forwards in the entire country in the modern era and as well as winning five All-Ireland titles, O’Sullivan is one of only eight players to have lifted the Sam Maguire twice as captain, doing so in 2006 and again in 2007.
O’Sullivan scored 8-83 in 70 Championship appearances for Kerry and collected three consecutive All-Star awards between 2007 and 2009. With a little rest and recovery, O’Sullivan is hoping to play club football for a few years to come but he’ll be badly missed from the inter-county scene, where has shone brightly for the last 11 years.
In a statement released this morning, O’Sullivan said: “Today, I would like to announce my retirement from inter-county football.
“It has been an incredibly difficult decision to arrive at but, after a lot of consideration, I feel now is the right time. Unfortunately, due to some long-standing injuries, it would be impossible for me to physically compete at the required level in 2015. Hopefully, after a long rest and some corrective work on my knees, I will be able to enjoy playing with my club for a number of years to come.
“It has been a huge honour for me to wear the green and gold for the past 15 years, with 13 of those at senior level. I shared this fantastic journey with incredible team-mates. I would like to thank each and every one of them for their friendship and support throughout my career.
“Being part of a group with such spirit, togetherness and toughness, during good times and bad, has been the highlight of my career. It has also been a huge honour to compete against great teams and players during this time. I have huge respect and admiration for all those players”.
Kerry manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice added: “On behalf of the Kerry management and players I would like to congratulate Declan O’Sullivan on his retirement. Páidí Ó Sé brought Declan into the squad in the summer of 2002 just after he completed his Leaving cert and he has been ever present since.
“He has won everything and has lifted Sam Maguire twice as captain. His honesty, the warrior like way he leads by example and his innate football ability meant his team mates loved him.
“He also has a stubborn streak that meant he always fought his corner obstinately, be it in an argument or to win a breaking ball that might turn a game. That obdurate part of his character meant he was never beaten and was probably the trait that endeared him most to the Kerry faithful.”
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