Tyrone's double All-Ireland winning captain Brian Dooher has announced his retirement from inter-county football.

Regarded as one of the hardest working players in the game, the 36-year-old was an inspirational figure in Tyrone's capture of the Sam Maguire in 2003, '05 and '08. The Clann na nGael clubman captained the 2005 and '08 winning sides, but has now decided to call time on an illustrious inter-county career stretching back to 1995.

Ravaged by injury in recent seasons, Dooher made his Tyrone senior debut against Kildare in '95 and helped the Red Hands to an Ulster title the following year. He was involved in an incident with Meath's Martin O'Connell that left him requiring staples in his head in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final which Tyrone lost.

After a few lean years, Tyrone regained the Anglo-Celt Cup in 2001 and two years later Dooher was to the fore as they claimed both the National League and All-Ireland crowns.

Following Cormac McAnallen's tragic death in 2004, Dooher was handed the Tyrone captaincy and paid an emotional tribute to the Eglish clubman when receiving the Sam Maguire Cup after the Red Hands' second All-Ireland triumph in 2005.

After missing most of the 2006 campaign with a shattered kneecap, Dooher returned the following year to help Tyrone to another Ulster title, scoing 0-5 in the semi-final win over Donegal.

In 2008, he joined an elite group of players to lift the Sam Maguire Cup twice when Tyrone stormed through the backdoor to beat Kerry in the final. He also received his third All-Star that year.

The busy half forward collected two more Ulster medals in 2009 and 2010, but with injuries taking their toll, was confined to the role of impact sub in this year's championship campaign which ended in a crushing All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Dublin.

Tyrone Chairman Ciaran McLaughlin paid tribute to the dedication that Dooher gave to the county: "Brian's preparation and dedication to Tyrone football over the majority of the last two decades has been incredible. He was the heartbeat of the most successful Tyrone senior football team that we have ever had. He was and I hope will continue to be a brilliant ambassador for Tyrone GAA."

The O'Neill County also released a statement outlining the importance of Dooher to Tyrone: "It's obvious to anyone that knows anything about Gealic Football that Brian Dooher has been a wonderful servant to the Tyrone County Senior Football team since the early 1990's. Brian has been through many serious and career threatening injuries during that period of time however he will go down in history as the first Tyrone man to captain us to two All-Ireland Senior Championships.

"The senior football team will miss his unrelenting drive and very special leadership qualities. He has and will continue to be an inspiration to the current Tyrone panel of players and the many hundreds of club and underage players in the county. The Tyrone GAA family will remember him as someone who worked harder than anyone has ever worked to succeed in a Tyrone jersey." Tweet

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