No more SOS Former All-Star nominee and 1998 Leinster Senior Football Championship medallist Sos Dowling has called time on his career with Kildare. The good news is that he aims to continue to hold the fort with his club Moorefield. In a world of journalism where broadsheet hacks pen pretty colour pieces about wannabes, tabloid correspondents concentrate on hyping all sorts of minutia and magazine people like to decorate their coverage with reams of flowery language, 'Sos' Dowling's decision to retire from inter-county has hardly got a mention. Relatively speaking, Shay Dowling is a big fish in a small pond and his retirement from the county senior panel will ensure that the GAA hierarchy in Kildare will find themselves with a lot of fishing to do in order to hook a fella as committed to the cause as the Moorefield notable. Few counties, even of Kildare's size and population, can ill-afford to lose the services of such a top notch player as our man Dowling. Unlike what we've seen from a ring full of boxers and a studio replete with film stars, there's no question of the Moorefield maestro doing a U-turn and changing his mind on the retirement decision. In short, the man's not for turning; not by Mick O'Dwyer or anyone else in the cockpit of county football affairs. He feels he's "getting on" and although many a fan would argue that point in terms of his ability to match the best there is in racing for a breaking ball or anticipating a flighted pass, the Moorefield player has come to the conclusion that senior intercounty football has become just a bridge too far for him at this point in time. "I thought long and hard about making a decision and I think I've made the right one. "I came to the conclusion that I might find myself struggling to make the Kildare first fifteen next year and to be honest with you, I couldn't go through all that training and travelling just to be a member of the panel. "The thing about retiring now is that I can go out on a reasonably high note. I've had a good innings and I think now is the time to bow out." With over 14 years of intercounty experience under his belt, Sos is well entitled to a break from the arduous, penance-like demands which are asked of players at the highest level nowadays on the GAA scene. He assures us he has no regrets about his playing days but at the same time he's honest enough to admit that he was hurt by the way things panned out for him on the county front at the tail-end of the 1998 championship season. Being dropped for the All-Ireland final clash against Galway was a bitter pill to swallow. Dowling wouldn't have been human if the team-management's decision hadn't wounded his pride and sucked a lot of the season's joy from the bowels of his soul. The fact that Ronan Quinn ultimately cried off through injury, thus allowing the Moorefield man to take his place in the most prestige football game of the year, was a panacea which helped Sos recover his composure but ... "I was still sore about being dropped. I really found it hard to come to terms with after I was told the news that I wouldn't be starting against Galway. "I thought I had done pretty well in the championship up to that point and up until I met Mike Frank Russell in the semi-final, I had only conceded a single point to my direct opponent. "I would be less than honest to say that I wasn't upset at the management's decision but I accepted it and got on with being a member of a panel of players out to win an All-Ireland final," Sos recalls. It's to his eternal credit that Shay Dowling holds no grudges and states that he has no axe to grind with anyone connected with Kildare's bid for the Sam Maguire Cup this year. Instead, he reiterates his statement that he believes that he has reached his sell-by date as far as the intercounty scene is concerned and, in truth, one can sympathise with him in his deliberation for while the likes of Brian Lacey at just 23 years of age has a lot of miles left in his legs, Sos is getting no younger and he patently acknowledges that he is finding his 35 years. "Maybe if I was playing in some other area of the field, I might get away with being a bit slower but not while I'm in the corner-back position; you can't get away with it there; there's no place to hide. "The game seems to becoming even quicker every year and I personally don't think that you'll have fellas over 30 playing intercounty football at the highest level in years to come," Sos explains. The run-up to the All-Ireland final apart, Sos will bring with him to pastures new some delightful memories of '98. The highlight, of course, was the winning of the senior provincial championship title for the first time in 42 years and also the birth of his son James. He admits that this year's achievement was a very pleasant surprise and says that he wouldn't have believed anyone in '96 if they had told him that two years on, that he would have a provincial medal in his back pocket and a place on the Kildare team competing in the blue riband national decider. "We came on a lot as a team over the last couple of years. I think that the three games we had with Meath last year was a watershed for the side. After those games, I think everyone associated with the team felt that we were about to turn the corner," opined Sos who is married to Newbridge lass Colette and who is the proud father of Jane (3) and James (1). An All-Star nominee as far back as '87 and twice the recipient of the Kildare Footballer of the Year trophy, Sos is determined to give as much of his time now to Moorefield as he can. One of very few footballers playing top class football who is self-employed, Sos runs his own carpet business called, appropriately enough, Shay Dowling Carpets. Established by Sos some eleven years ago, the business specialises in selling and fitting carpets and is based at Eyre Street in Newbridge. Enjoying a fine reputation with a whole host of discerning customers stretching over a 60-mile radius from Newbridge, Shay Dowling Carpets is a quality concern which has, understandably, enjoyed a large measure of custom from GAA folk down the years, something which Sos readily acknowledges. "I've enjoyed my career with Kildare and my involvement with the county team over the years hasn't done my business any harm. "I'll miss being involved with Kildare. After all, the county scene has been part of my life for the last 14 years. "There's a lot of mileage on the clock now and with the bit of back trouble I've had on and off in recent years, I feel that it's best I cut back on the football now." Fortunately for Moorefield, Sos will remain as committed as ever to his home town club. Despite the disappointment of losing out to Clane in this year's senior championship semi-final (Moorefield's first semi-final appearance in 33 years), the 35 year old vows to do his damnedest to make sure that the underage talent at the club is afforded the opportunity to blossom and develop. We wouldn't have expected anything less from him. But one wonders will the Lilywhites be sending out an SOS come next May? Time will tell. Written by Kevin Carney and taken from Hogan Stand Friday 25th December 1998 & Friday 1st January 1999       © Copyright 2002, The Lynn Group. All Rights Reserved Tweet

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