Kerry lost a crown but gained a Star.
The Kingdom’s defeat to Dublin in last month’s All-Ireland final denied captain Kieran Donaghy the chance to crown his career by lifting the Sam Maguire, but he has admitted that might have been his final act in green and gold.
As it is, the loss has whetted the 32 year old’s appetite for more road under Eamonn Fitzmaurice and he has pushed any ideas of retirement out of his head for the winter.
However he admits in today’s Irish Independent that a fifth All-Ireland medal, even won from the bench, would have inspired the Austin Stacks full-forward to retire from inter-county ball.
“That’s the kind of mindset I suppose was gearing towards. And when you don’t get named for a team for a big game you find you start saying, ‘Look if we can find a way to win this, I’ll have gone unbelievably higher than I ever expected to have’.
“So I probably would have called it a day at that and that’s where I was at. I’ll have to see now whether that determines what I’ll do next year and that’s where I am with it.
“But if we had to have won the All-Ireland, I probably would have finished up,” said Donaghy, who will concentrate on his new baby daughter and his new job laying artificial pitches before chatting with the Kerry management.
“I’ll have a lot weighed up by the New Year and have more of an idea where I stand – I’ll talk to Eamonn and the family. They are the main thing and I’ll see what their thoughts are. There is a lot to ponder – but I have time on my side.”
