McStay tried to change Kilbride's mind

Roscommon boss Kevin McStay says he tried to persuade veteran forward Senan Kilbride to stay on to play another season of inter-county football.

The St Brigid’s clubman, who made his championship debut for the Rossies in 2008 and featured in their Connacht SFC final replay defeat to Galway in July, announced his retirement on Thursday.

"Senan was a total team player. It didn’t matter who got the praise as long as the team was winning," McStay told the Irish Times.

"A big fella, with a big heart. He was great to work with. I couldn’t speak highly enough of him.

"We tried everything to convince him to stay on but he was honest to the end. Typical of him. He wasn’t going to stick around and hide for the year."

McStay, who was joint manager of the Rossies with Fergal O’Donnell last season, also managed Kilbride in the 2013 St Brigid’s side that became the first Roscommon side to win an All-Ireland club senior football championship title.

And McStay feels Kilbride's loyalty to his club side, with whom he won four Connacht club SFC titles, meant the 31-year-old played too much football in recent years.

"I think all the long seasons with St Brigid’s didn’t help," the Roscommon boss continued.

"They possibly caught up with him. Also the way the modern game is going, with all the demands, he wasn’t enjoying it as much.

"I said to him the other night that I was so glad that our paths had crossed, and that we had had a day out in the sun at club level. It was just a shame we didn’t have the time to replicate it at county level."

Photo (Inpho/ Dan Sheridan)

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