The Mayo retirements continue with Seamus O’Shea the fourth player to step aside this week.
Similar to Donal Vaughan and Tom Parsons, O’Shea had slipped down the pecking order amid numerous injury problems in recent years and failed to make the matchday 26 for last month’s All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin.
Indeed, goalkeeper David Clarke is the only one of Mayo’s recent retirees to have seen significant game time in the 2020 Championship.
O’Shea, 34, won an All-Ireland under-21 title in 2006 and first featured for the county at senior level in 2008 before making the first of his 51 Championship appearance two years later against Sligo.
In all, the midfielder won seven Connacht titles and a National League during the course of his 13 seasons with Mayo.
In a statement, he said: “After 13 years, I would like to announce my retirement from the Mayo senior football team.
“I’m hugely grateful to everyone who has supported me throughout my career. I would like to thank my family and friends for their constant support and encouragement as well as my club Breaffy for nurturing my development.
“I would also like to thank all of my former teammates, management teams, coaches, medical staff, supporters and everyone who has been involved in this journey.
“I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have played for Mayo alongside an extraordinary group of players. I’m thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to do it for so long and I’ve loved every minute of it.
“Mayo football is in good hands and I look forward to watching my former teammates compete and win over the coming years.”
It remains to be seen what other Mayo players will bring the curtain down on their inter-county careers in the coming days, with question marks hanging over whether Keith Higgins, Colm Boyle and Chris Barrett will be involved in 2021.
