David 'Dotsy' O'Callaghan almost made a return to the Dublin hurlers but ultimately shook Pat Gilroy's hand and wished him well.
O'Callaghan announced his retirement from intercounty duty last summer after 15 seasons but was tempted to complete a dramatic u-turn when Gilroy took over. In the end, the 34-year-old opted not to follow in the footsteps of Johnny McCaffrey and Conal Keaney:
"I did try. I went to the regional trial and to be honest I was more going out there to nearly shake Pat Gilroy's hand and wish him well," he told The Irish Independent.
"That's pretty much how it was to be honest. David Curtin had taken the Dublin south team and he was dragging me to go out. I said I'd go out to just see. There was slight niggles and stuff and mentally as well it just felt like the time to step away.
"I just shook Pat Gilroy's hand and wished him well. He obviously gave me access to physios and medical support and he was great like that. But from my own point of view it was just a case of making the step to move on a bit."
Tweet