Legendary Westmeath forward Dessie Dolan isn’t sure whether or not he’s going to play for the county this season and he’s going to leave them hanging for a few weeks yet.
Dolan’s club Garrycastle will contest the All-Ireland Club Final with Ulster kingpins and giants of the club game Crossmaglen on Paddy’s Day and Dolan won’t be pushed into making a decision until at least after that game is over.
If you take into account the subsequent celebrations/drowning of sorrows after that game, it could be the end of the month before Dolan decides whether to carry on for what would be his 14th season in a Westmeath jersey.
“I was at the game on Sunday (Westmeath’s win over Galway), it was a great result and they did very well,” Dolan – who was yesterday awarded the AIB Leinster Club Player of the Year – is quoted as saying in the Irish Independent.
“I hadn’t been at too much before that and I don’t know what the story is. I will see how the club final goes and then I’ll see how it goes after that.
“I’m not too sure if I’ll be back, to be honest, I’ll wait and see. I’ll decide after the club final. I’m 32, I know you think I’m way younger, but I wish,” he added.
Dolan has already enjoyed a distinguished career with his native country, having been a pivotal member of the only Westmeath team to win a Leinster title in 2004, a year in which he also won his only All-Star award.
If there was a transfer market in GAA, Dolan would have been the most sought-after talents in the game over the last decade or so and although he’s not getting any younger at 32, we get the feeling we haven’t seen the last of him.
In fact, if you compare him to this guy, he’s a long, long way to go yet.
