Dooley calls time on long Offaly hurling career

SHANE Dooley has finally called time on his long Offaly senior inter-county hurling career. The Tullamore man announced his retirement at the weekend and in his heyday during the late 2000s towards the 2020 mark, he was one of the top forwards in the country, a prolific scorer from frees and play as he regularly amassed big tallies in games.

He is Offaly's record scorer in senior inter-county hurling, scoring 22-237 in the championship and 35-480 in the National Hurling League.

He made his debut in the National Hurling League against Cork in 2007 and his last appearance was as a sub in the Joe McDonagh Cup final defeat by Carlow this May.

Dooley was an automatic starter from 2008 to 2019 and along with Coolderry's Brian Carroll and Birr's Rory Hanniffy, was among the best Offaly hurlers of what was a fairly traumatic era at times.

He didn't play in 2020 as he was injured and was content to soldier on mainly as impact sub since returning in 2021, using his experience to help new players bed into the inter-county scene. He did start in the league wins over Kerry and Kildare this year and the dead rubber, Joe McDonagh Cup group game against Carlow.

Dooley's scoring exploits in his peak years took the breath away and he got some sensational scores.

His career, however, co-incided with some dark days for Offaly hurling as they ceased to be competitive at provincial and All-Ireland level, apart from a few games when they got some good results and a couple of seasons when they fought so hard to turn the tide. The fact that it was a time of famine for Offaly meant that he didn't get the All-Star recognition that he would have got in an earlier era but he did play regularly for Leinster in the Railway Cup, winning a medal in 2012 as well as playing in the shinty internationals for Ireland against Scotland.

Dooley came from Offaly hurling royalty. His father Joe was one of the great Offaly hurlers, winning All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medals in 1985, 1994 and 1998. He also displayed great longevity and won an All-Star award in 1998 while his famous uncles, Johnny and Billy Dooley were brilliant on the 1994 and '98 All-Ireland winning forward line.

They came from near Clareen, winning Senior Hurling Championship medals with them in the 1980s and 1990s but Joe and his wife Marie, a Cork native, set up their family home in Ballinagar in the late 1980s. Shane lived there for his earlier years but the family had moved into Tullamore by the time he reached playing age and he also gave fantastic service to Tullamore.

He was instrumental in them winning a sensational Senior Hurling Championship in 2009, when they came from nowhere to end a 45 year famine. Dooley was the star player and captain and they showed that was no fluke by returning to the final in 2010, where Coolderry proved too strong. After that they slipped back into the pack and then down the ranks but won senior “B” hurling in 2022 and retained their top flight status this year.

Shane Dooley was also a very good footballer. He played minor and U-21 football with Offaly, won an Intermediate Football Championship title with Tullamore in 2004 and Senior Football Championship medals with them in 2007 and 2013.

He was an important member of the Tullamore football attack for several years, contributing several important scores and was not far off county football standard for Offaly for a couple of years. To make it, however, he would have had to concentrate on football but that was never going to happen as hurling was his first love, his game of choice and his decision to concentrate on that at the highest level was the correct one – he did play a couple of O'Byrne Cup games for Offaly but as games clashed and schedules criss-crossed in hurling and football, being a dual player was not feasible for him.

He was the Offaly senior hurler of the year in 2009 and 2010 and won the intermediate footballer of the year award in 2004 – he played senior hurling for Tullamore this year but has not played senior football in a few seasons.

He is likely to continue playing for Tullamore and Offaly GAA chairman Michael Duignan said:

“Shane Dooley has given outstanding service to Offaly during a lengthy playing career. In his prime, Shane was rightly regarded as one of the country’s top forwards who was very skilful and deadly accurate from both play and placed balls. This was reflected in his selection for Leinster in the Railway Cup and Ireland in the Shinty Internationals. We thank him for his dedication and commitment to the jersey and we wish Shane and his wife Anne Marie the very best for the future.”