Kerry star Jonathan Lyne announces inter-county retirement

Kerry's Jonathan Lyne has retired from inter-county football.

The Killarney Legion man made his League debut for the county against Cork in 2011 before making his Championship bow the following year against Clare and was part of the squad that won the county’s 37th and most recent All-Ireland title in 2014.

Lyne made a critical contribution to the epic semi-final replay win over Mayo that year when he kicked two points off the bench and he was ever-present at wing-back the following season as Kerry returned to the All-Ireland final only to lose to Dublin, who won the first of their six titles in succession.

He lost his regular starting place thereafter and was dropped from the panel altogether by Eamonn Fitzmaurice in 2018 before Peter Keane restored him in the following year and his last appearance for the county was off the bench in the drawn All-Ireland final with Dublin in 2019.

The 30-year-old didn’t see any game time for Kerry in 2020 and, when confirming his retirement via Twitter, he made reference to his brother Damien, who died in tragic circumstances after suffering a fall in Killarney last April, among others.

Confirming his retirement via Twitter, Lyne wrote: “The right time has come for me to finish up my Kerry journey and retire. It has been a true honour to represent my family, friends, club and Kerry people.

“I'm looking forward to supporting the lads just like these 3 legends that I lost this year always supported me.”