Long-serving Doyle considering his Kildare future

Johnny Doyle will defer any decision on his future with Kildare until early next year.

Doyle has been the epitome of durability since making his championship debut against Louth in 2000, starting every championship game for Kildare in the intervening period.

That amazing record is a tremendous testament to the 35-year-old’s remarkable fitness and conditioning, while the fact he had scored in 50 consecutive championship games until the 2011 All-Ireland quarter-final against Donegal, when he picked up an ankle injury, attests to his consistency.

In all, the outgoing captain has played 63 championship ties and accumulated a tally of 8-245, twice finishing the season as the country’s top championship scorer.

Pádraic Joyce and Brian McGuigan are two of Doyle’s attacking contemporaries that have called it quits this year and the Kildare ace, who turns 36 next month, is now considering his own future.

“I haven’t decided yet” said Doyle yesterday.

“I am training away myself at the moment and I’ll keep doing that but I’m not really sure at the moment and will make a call in the new year.

“The commitment required is huge now, and I’ve given everything to football. It mightn’t have been the right thing to do but it’s how it always was for me, before and since I came into the senior panel in 1999.

“You mightn’t have won as much as you’d like but you still give it your best shot and I’ve always done that.

“It’s a young man’s game and I’m not getting any younger. Having said that, I’m in good shape. I don’t mind the training and feel that I could still contribute something.”

Loughrea full-forward Johnny Maher has been suspended by the Galway Hearings Committee for eight weeks arising out of incidents in the concluding stages of the Galway senior hurling final.

The incidents involving Maher went viral on YouTube with over 150,000 people viewing them. The 29-year old full-forward was not penalised by the referee during the game.

Urgent negotiations are ongoing to secure a sponsor for Galway hurlers and footballers for next year after the Galway County Board this week voted that there will be just one sponsor for their two senior teams from now on.

Galway hurlers have been sponsored for the past 22 years by Supermacs while the footballers have been without a backer for the past two seasons and carry the Cancer Care West logo as part of a joint fundraising drive. Galway will now wear one jersey, with one crest and one common sponsor on their shirt.