Recently retired Kerry footballer Micheal Quirke has added his voice to the debate over whether or not Jack O'Connor was right to drop Kieran Donaghy for last Sunday's Munster SFC win over Tipperary.

In his column in the Kerry Eye newspaper, Quirke wrote: "Let's be clear, I like the way Jack runs his ship. Always have.

"Discipline to opponents, officials and team-mates is always high on his agenda. But I think, on this occasion, from the outside looking in, he made a bad call.

"It's been reported that Kieran went to Munich to the Champions League final the weekend before the Tipp game, against the best wishes of management, and was also late for a training game in the past two weeks.

"I can only assume Jack felt he had to take a stand.

"The point I would make, is that Donaghy deserved a little better. This is a guy who played a National League game for Kerry earlier this year only two days after his father had passed away.

"It's unfair to suggest that by dropping him he was not fully committed to the cause. And even more than his demotion, what really bothered me was the fact that the whole country knew exactly what had gone on."

The former midfielder continued: "If Donaghy was left off the team for purely footballing reasons, the decision wouldn't even have been questioned. But these guys are not professionals, they are entitled to live some sort of life away from football.

"And while I'm on Kieran Donaghy, he showed a great attitude when introduced."