McGinley bows out

November 18, 2011

Tyrone's Enda McGinley
Tyrone has been rocked by another high-profile retirement after Enda McGinley confirmed his inter-county career is over.

An All-Star midfielder in 2008, McGinley has decided to follow fellow three-time All-Ireland winners Brian Dooher, Philip Jordan and Brian McGuigan into retirement, telling the Irish Mirror "the time has come" to end his glittering Tyrone career.

A highly versatile player, McGinley won an All-Ireland minor medal in 1998 and two All-Ireland U21s in 2000 and 2001 before going on to capture Celtic Crosses in 2003, 2005 and '08. He also won a NFL medal in 2003. All of his inter-county honours were won under Tyrone manager and fellow Errigal Ciaran clubman Mickey Harte.

The 31-year-old physio has suffered his fair share of injuries over the years and it's believed this, coupled with the fact that he now has a young family, contributed to his decision to retire. He famously suffered a broken neck in the early stages of the 2003 All-Ireland final, but unaware of the seriousness of his injury, played on before spending several weeks in a neck brace afterwards.

In 2004 he fractured his skull in a training ground accident, while in 2005 he almost missed the All-Ireland final after picking up a leg injury in the semi-final against Armagh.

McGinley's best ever season was undoubtedly 2008 when he excelled in a new midfield role as the Red Hands claimed the Sam Maguire for a third time. He capped off a memorable season by representing Ireland in the International Rules series.

He is expected to continue his club career with Errigal Ciaran.

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