Niall McNamee has announced his retirement from inter-county football. The former Offaly captain played in the 2006 Leinster final and earned an All Star nominee that year.
He was one of the sharpest forwards in the game, but he came along at a lean time in the Faithful County’s history and ’06 was the closest he came to winning a provincial medal.
The Rhode man became almost as well known for campaigning to raise awareness about gambling addiction, having overcome his own betting demons that nearly destroyed his life.
Announcing his decision on Instagram, McNamee, who turns 32 in October, said: "Only seems like yesterday that I made my debut. It's been a huge honour to represent and captain my county.
"The time has now come to step away. I want to say a huge thank you to all of my team mates that I've been lucky to take the field with down through the years. Thank you to all the managers who showed faith in me.
"I've been extremely lucky to fulfil a lot of my childhood dreams and it is truly with a heavy heart that I call it a day.
"A massive thank you to all the Faithful supporters for your support throughout the years both on and off the field.
"Finally a big thank you to my parents, brothers and sister and my girlfriend for always being there in the good days and the not so good days. I couldn't have done it without you all.
"I'm really looking forward to supporting the boys next year and beyond and I pray that the glory days return to Offaly in the not too distant future," said McNamee, who also thanked the Gaelic Players’ Association in his message.
He enjoyed great success with his club Rhode in the Offaly Senior Football Championship, but they were unable to convert that into Leinster honours, losing a number of provincial finals down through the years.
