GALWAY SUPERSTAR SHANE WALSH FEELS THAT his controversial move to Kilmacud Crokes would help him have a longer career in the GAA.
Last month it was reported that the man playing for Kilkerrin-Clonberne (Galway) wanted to move to Dublin due to study and training commitments.
Walsh (29) is currently studying for a BA (Hons) in Physical Education at Portobello Institute and believes that moving to Dublin would prolong his career.
Walsh spoke to the Irish platform Off The Ball at St. Vincent's GAA in Dublin during the week and said, "It's circumstantial, the fact that I'm not 21 years of age anymore and flying around the place. That was probably a big part for me, moving up to Dublin going back to college and that."
"It didn't really stem until February or March time, I started to pick up a couple of niggles around my hips and my back and it was starting to take the enjoyment out of it.
“We’re a small club, numbers in rural areas are dwindling as well, so it is tough going. It’s the travelling that no one kind of sees." — GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 10, 2022
Shane Walsh speaks out about his decision to move to Kilmacud Crokes. pic.twitter.com/oWthyfNbon
"I was coming up from training and sometimes I wasn't able to train and there's nothing worse than driving two and a half hours down the road and then you're tight and you're not able to train and you're literally getting physio and going back up again.
"For me, anyone that knows me knows that I love playing football, that's what it's all about for me and I want to play football as long as I can. It might have taken Galway 21 years to get to an All-Ireland final, but I mightn't be able to go another 21 years playing football, but I'd love the idea of it."
Although the move has come with a heap of backlash, the All-Ireland final star said he would like to come back to Kilkerrin-Clonberne later in his career.
"That for me is what it is and for me, I'm hoping to prolong my career by shortening the travel distance for the period that I'm up in Dublin but as I said, I'll be back down to Kilkerrin-Clonberne in the future," he added.
