The All-Ireland winner has a way with words.
Four-time All-Ireland champion Kieran Donaghy recently retired from inter-county Gaelic football after 14 years at the top of his game.
The popular Kerry footballer cut a relaxed figure on the couch of the Late Late Show on Friday night as he looked back on a hugely impressive career.
“There’s not as much expectation around the place, so it’s a nice place to be,” he told host Ryan Tubridy at the beginning of their chat.
Tubridy noted that Donaghy took a slightly unusual approach in announcing his retirement, opting to pen a poem rather than issue a press release or formal public statement.
“I was only telling my wife coming up in the car today that I’m not really sure why,” Donaghy smiled.
“We do poetry in the family. My uncle is very good, my sister is very good. If we want to get something passionate across, that’s the way we go about it. When my uncle retired from the guards, my sister wrote him a lovely poem about his time there and his time helping us when we were youngsters. I just felt it was a bit more personal.
“I think the statements are quite cold and I wanted to let the people of Kerry know that I really appreciated being afforded the opportunity of being able to play for them for 14 years,” he concluded.
And with that, there was only one thing to do next as Donaghy recited the poem aloud for those watching.
.@starryboy14 reciting the poem that announced the end of his inter-county career with Kerry #latelate pic.twitter.com/IsBTbJw2FP
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) September 21, 2018
Donaghy was met with a rapturous reception from the audience and many took to social media to pay tribute to the man.
You can watch the interview in full below via the RTÉ GAA Twitter account.
Kieran Donaghy talks all things family, football and a little bit of basketball on the Late Late Show. https://t.co/eNvg00zv1m
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) September 21, 2018
