Donegal's Michael Murphy announces his retirement from inter-county football

Michael Murphy has announced his retirement from inter-county football with immediate effect.

The Donegal captain has stepped aside following an inter-county career that began in 2007 when he debuted for the seniors under Brian McIver in the Dr McKenna Cup as a 17-year-old and made his championship debut that summer against Leitrim.

Murphy, 33, said he made up his mind in June following Donegal’s loss to Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers and said that day in the dugouts at St Tiernach’s Park he told his teammates: “Whatever happens in the future, Donegal will always go on.”

Murphy won five Ulster SFC crowns with Donegal and captained the side to victory in the 2012 All-Ireland.

“To have the chance to combine a sport I love with the place I love for 20 years of my life is a privilege and honour for which I am very grateful,” Murphy told DonegalLive. “But I always knew the day would come when this chapter of my life would have to close. Now, that day has arrived. 

“I still love gaelic football and I still love Donegal. However, in the team I'm proud to have captained, to compete at the level which Donegal deserves requires the best I can give every day. I no longer feel I have the energy and capacity to reach the performance levels to give my best to Donegal.

“The last time we sat together in the changing rooms in Clones, I told my teammates that whatever happened in the future, Donegal will always go on. That’s still my belief. I cannot and never will be able to express how thankful I am to my teammates and managers and those giving expert support over the seasons. Friendships and bonds have been forged which go with me throughout my life.”

Murphy went on to pay tribute to the people of Donegal, those who supported him in his time as a player and to his family, for the sacrifices they have made for him. He will now follow the team, like he did before he ever dawned the county jersey, and suggested he will always be available to assist his county in any way possible.

“To those good people who support our county team and everyone I know in Donegal: they say we are different up here. Well, we are different in the best of ways. Thank you to all of you who have made this journey very special for me. I look forward to pulling on a Donegal jersey and joining you in the terraces to support our teams.

“To my own family and my club Glenswilly GAA, you've always been there for me, through the highs and the lows. It was you who made the sacrifices so that I could follow my dream. My family and my club are at the centre of all my plans for the future. They deserve the best of me too. Maybe in the years ahead, I'll find new ways to offer something more to my home county.”