Cork's nine-time All-Ireland winner Aoife Murray on retirement: 'It's like a really bad break-up'

Cork's nine-time All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Aoife Murray has spoken about her camogie retirement.

The Cloughduv stopper brought the curtain down on 18 years of inter-county camogie ahead of this season, a career that reached its pinnacle in 2018 when she captained Cork to the O'Duffy Cup.

"You've got to call it yourself rather than it be somebody taking the decision for you," she told RTÉ 2fm's Game On.

"We were lucky that we had a really good group of minors (then U-16) in 1998 and we all stuck together. The fact I’m saying ’98 gives you a good idea of how long we’ve been together.

"When you have that core that keeps the ship going, things do fall your way.

It has been the main part of my life since seven and I played with Cork since I was 14. It's almost like a really bad break-up because it’s the only thing I’ve known all my life.

Murray still says she's satisfied with her decision, even if she gets pangs of regret when Cork are in action.

"This is probably the happiest I've ever been with a decision but at the same time, it's really hard and I thought I had it all sorted mentally. Then I met somebody a couple of weeks ago who asked what my plan of action was and I just looked at him and went ‘What?’.

"I kind of panicked for a couple of weeks and began to think what I should do for the next couple of months to keep my mind off camogie, but coronavirus has taken that off my hands for a little while! But I have to start planning.

"I took myself off [the team WhatsApp group] and was quite happy with the decision but then the first round of the League, it hit me really hard not to be there and not knowing what was going on.

"I didn’t know the plan for the day and that’s what I found really hard, weirdly. Maybe it’s that institutionalised feeling where you’re meant to hate it but you love it. That’s what I’m finding really hard now.

"I actually find myself almost going to the computer and on to the app we used to use to look at the stats of the game. You're no longer a part of that. I miss the team meeting before the game because you could feel the intensity and concentration rising, and the bit of craic in the dressing-room and friendships."

Murray still has close connections to the panel, and not just through those friendships, with her brother, Paudie, into his ninth year as manager. More Murray siblings have also been involved, with Damien the logistics manager and Kevin acting as coach until stepping away this year to concentrate on his PhD.

"Me stepping away hasn't meant a huge amount because I still have family involved.

It’s not like Cork camogie has left the house, it’s still there. It’s the lads' thing now, it’s no longer mine.

"At least I can still see my nieces and nephews going to the camogie matches and that’s one of the most important things for me."