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Trips away, loyalty and setbacks: An inside look at the careers of 6 retiring Mayo greats
The recent spate of retirements in Mayo has an end of an era feel to it. By Kevin O Brien Thursday 4 Feb 2021, 8:00 PM Feb 4th 2021, 8:00 PM 27,364 Views 12 Comments
LIKE THE REST of us, inter-county players are creatures of habit.
Often times a new member of a squad will arrive into the dressing room for the first time, plonk himself down in a seat and remain in that spot for the remainder of his days on the panel.
The same applies on the team bus.
Everyone approaches game day differently. Some players tend to have a chat or a laugh on the bus journey to keep their minds relaxed. Others prefer to get pumped up by listening to music or sit silently with their own thoughts.
Mayo great Keith Higgins announces retirement
Updated / Saturday, 23 Jan 2021
21:19
Mayo defender Keith Higgins has announced his inter-county retirement aged 35.
The sixth Mayo player to retire since the beginning of 2021, Higgins tweeted this afternoon: The time has come to step away. It s been an unbelievable journey and an absolute privilege. Thank you.
The time has come to step away. It s been an unbelievable journey and an absolute privilege. Thank you. ???? pic.twitter.com/qgNcT35cZE Keith Higgins (@keithhiggins7) January 23, 2021
Making his senior inter-county debut in 2005, Higgins went onto establish himself as one of the finest defenders in the country and one of Mayo s greatest ever players.
Updated / Friday, 15 Jan 2021
14:53
Chris Barrett has become the latest Mayo senior footballer to announce his retirement.
The defender joins team-mates David Clarke, Seamus O Shea, Tom Parsons and Donie Vaughan in retiring since the turn of the year.
The 33-year-old Belmullet man wore the green and red for 13 seasons after making his debut in the Allianz Football League in 2008.
Last December s All Ireland final defeat to Dublin, his fourth, was the corner-back s 47th championship game. He was one of 12 Mayo players nominated today for the All-Star awards.
After an underage career that included an All-Ireland U-21 triumph in 2006, Barrett went on to win seven senior Connacht titles and a league crown in 2019.
All-Star defender Barrett becomes latest long-serving Mayo stalwart to retire
The Belmullet native has called time on his 13-year senior career. By Emma Duffy Friday 15 Jan 2021, 2:53 PM Jan 15th 2021, 2:53 PM 8,465 Views 8 Comments
End of an era: Chris Barrett.
Image: Tommy Dickson/INPHO
Image: Tommy Dickson/INPHO
MAYO DEFENDER CHRIS Barrett has called time on his inter-county football career after 13 seasons.
2017 All-Star Barrett becomes the latest Green and Red stalwart to retire, after Donal Vaughan, David Clarke, Tom Parsons and Seamus O’Shea all stepped away in the space of four days last week.
While others had been confined to bench roles in recent times, 33-year-old Barrett was a defensive mainstay right up to the close of the 2020 season where his final appearance of 85 and his 47th championship outing ca
Seamie O Shea
Seamie O Shea was the powerhouse of the Mayo team for a long number of years playing at midfield.
That s according to the Breaffy GAA Chairman Gerry Bourke who says Seamie was blighted with injuries throughout his career and the pain barrier that he went through to get back on the field was phenomenal.
The Breaffy man made his debut 13 years ago and today called time on his inter-county career becoming the fourth player in as many days to do so.
Midfielder O Shea follows Tom Parsons, David Clarke and Donal Vaughan in departing the inter county scene.
Throughout his senior career he claimed seven Connacht titles and one national football league.