Paddy Keenan, Louth’s one and only All-Star, says he wishes he pushed back his retirement by a couple of years.
The inspirational midfielder made history for the county by picking up his All-Star award in 2010.
But he called it quits at the age of just 29 in 2014 due to work commitments and wishes he stayed on for longer.
Speaking in a coaching and games webinar organised by Louth GAA, Australia based Keenan said his ‘crazy’ days back then began at 6am and ended at 10.30pm, amounting to ‘pure and utter exhaustion at the end of it’.
Keenan said: “For me at that time, it was simply impossible and something had to give. I knew there was a huge injury or something coming down the tracks because my body was so seized up tight from sitting down all day, sitting in trains and cars and going straight out then onto pitches and just not getting the recovery.
“In hindsight, would I, if I had the choice, have given up the job to extend my career a couple of years? I probably would, in hindsight.
"You only have one shot at it. Would I have done it differently? Probably.
"But it’s hard to make those decisions. As a GAA player you can’t just focus on football. You have your career, your education and your job and that sort of thing outside of it.
“I’m sure the Dublin players don’t have the same issues, they’re not commuting to the same extent as a Louth player or a Mayo player. They have a lot of advantages that way.”
