Leitrim talisman Emlyn Mulligan has ruled himself out for the entire 2015 season.

The disillusioned county captain, who is a Dublin-based Garda, is taking a year-long career break and will play club football in Boston. The news comes as a devastating blow to new Leitrim manager Shane Ward, who has lost his best player before a ball has been kicked.

"I'm heading off in February," the 26-year-old confirms in The Irish Independent. "The opportunity came up in work to take a bit of a career break, so I don't think I'll ever get the chance to do it again.

"It probably came at the right time. It is no harm to get a bit of a break from competitive football. Over the years I've put so much into football. The saying goes that 'you get out of it what you put into it' and I don't really feel that. I've been putting a lot into the game and not getting much out of it.

"The last few games with Leitrim in the qualifiers and even in the championship against Roscommon, it was very frustrating. You lose the hunger for it a wee bit when you are being beaten by nine or ten points and you question the whole thing.

"It wasn't really up for negotiations as such. My decision was made."

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