Quirke: It’s right time to bow out
“I’ve had a good few texts and calls,” he admitted last night. “There have been loads of messages.”
And he admitted that some are more important than others. “Yes, you would hold onto the ones from your teammates. You’d put special value on those words from lads you played with for years.”
Ending a relationship which goes back to 2002 can’t have been easy.
Quirke has been part of the county scene for nine years however lack of game time this season forced him to ask for a heart-to-heart with Jack O’Connor about his role in the manager’s plans for the remainder of the season.
But he insists that he has no ill feelings about the parting of the ways.
“The bottom line was that I had made up my mind last year that I was finishing. But Jack was keeping in touch with me for a few month about coming back. When David Moran did his cruciate it exacerbated the (midfield) situation, so I came back in earlier than expected. Now that you have Byran (Sheehan), Anthony (Maher) flying and Seamus Scanlon there, it means there is no problem and no lack of bodies around midfield.”
Things were challenging on the domestic front also with the arrival of twins to the Quirke household earlier this year. “I have two six-month old boys who I have barely seen in recent times. On top of that I also have a back injury for the last two years.”
Though Kerry are within 140 minutes of a possible All-Ireland title, Quirke isn’t the type who would sit back quietly for another few weeks in the hope of securing a potential medal to add to his collection.
“I met with Jack and was honest with him. My attitude was that if I am not playing, then I have no interest. At this stage in my life I am passed all of that. It is fine when you start out to sit on the bench and bide your time. That is part and parcel of inter-county football for a young player. But not now. I am nearly 32 and there were days when I was coming home from work at half four, and then to training straight away. It was crazy stuff.
“As I said that is all fine if you are playing but not when you are going out there just to make up the numbers.
“I discussed all of this with Jack. At the end of the day we shook hands and walked away. We had no hassles.”
Last night Kerry boss O’Connor paid a glowing tribute to Quirke. He said: “He is one of the best fielders of the ball that there is. There is no question about that. Last year against Limerick in the Munster final when we were in big trouble in the middle of the field Mike came in and transformed the game. That’s what he was capable of. In the year that I was in charge of Kerins O’Rahillys he took us to the county final on his back. He was a colossus in the middle of the field that year. He was a great leader around the squad. He will be missed around the place.”
The one question which Quirke struggles with is when asked to name the highlight of his inter-county career.
“I never played minor and had one year U21 and a lot of people felt Micheal Quirke was never supposed to play with Kerry seniors. So there was no one highlight. Instead it was everything I achieved.”
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