James O'Donoghue announces Kerry retirement

O'Donoghue was named the Footballer in the Year in 2014 after helping the Kingdom to All-Ireland SFC glory but he was not part of championship panel last year, when they were beaten in the semi-final by Tyrone.

The 31-year-old told OTB Sport's 'The Football Pod': "It's all over bar the shouting. Last year, I was fighting an uphill battle. Realistically, I stepped away from the panel just before the going got very serious because I wasn’t really contributing. "I told them at that stage that I was retiring but because Kerry were going too well, we decided not to put out a statement and throw all the good vibes out of the camp. So we just kept it under wraps. It’s a painful one, it’s definitely something that’s going to be hard, but it’s the right thing."

O'Donoghue, a two-time All Star, has been plagued by injuries in recent years. He has vowed to continue playing with his club Killarney Legion, adding: "I actually did give a go at getting into very good nick for it, just to see if I could give it one last go, but do you know what, my body wasn't up to it.

"I’ll go back to the club now, tailor my programme and I guarantee you that I might not see another injury, just the slight drop in intensity might suit me. If I was right I could have picked up the phone and we’d have had a chat, but it just didn’t feel right."

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