Doyle retires on high after 15 years with Kildare

Kildare 1-22 Westmeath 0-9

Doyle was named captain for the day and received the loudest cheer of the afternoon when he was introduced as a 62nd-minute sub during the Lilies’ facile win against Westmeath. However, his eight-minute cameo was to prove his final appearance in a Kildare shirt as he announced his retirement in the dressing room after the game.

Doyle, who turned 36 in January, only returned to the panel in recent weeks having sat out the early months of the year after his wife Siobhán gave birth to twin girls before Christmas. A second-half substitute appearance against Derry in the penultimate round of the league was his first game of 2014 but just seven days later, the 2010 All Star decided to call it a day. Doyle made his championship debut for Kildare in 2000 when they won their second Leinster title in three years under Mick O’Dwyer. The Allenwood ace was the sole survivor from the 2000-winning side left in the panel so his departure is a huge blow to manager Jason Ryan ahead of this year’s Leinster campaign.