Derrick Lynch
One of Clare football’s longest serving stalwarts has called time on his intercounty career.
Miltown’s Gordon Kelly has announced that he has retired his county jersey after 15 years of service to the cause.
He made his debut during the 2006 season after being called into the panel by joint managers Donie Buckley and Michael Brennan.
Kelly, who captained Clare during that time, outlined that wanting to spend more time with his family was one of the main factors in his decision to step back.
“I was looking at the fact that I am 38 next year but a lot of it comes back to family reasons too. I have a wife and two young children which takes up a lot of time. When you are playing both club and county, you are looking at a 10 or 11 month long season and it is unfair on your family to be gone that amount of time so I want to be able to spend more time with them. The season is gone so long now that it takes a big toll on the body so I felt that my body was nearly making the decision for me moreso than the mind really” he noted.
Kelly worked under six different Clare senior football managers since his first call up and also captained Clare during that time. He was part of the Clare team that reached the 2012 Munster final and was a key figure in the Banner’s march to Division Two of the National League.
Kelly confirmed that he will continue lining out for Miltown having captained them to two Clare senior football titles in the last three years.
A full interview with Gordon Kelly will be in this week’s print edition of The Clare Champion.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.