Rebel ace calls time on career
MICHAEL SHIELDS has become the latest Cork footballer to announce his retirement from county duty.
Following the decisions of midfielder Alan O’connor and goalkeeper Ken O’halloran to call time, defender Shields has followed suit, saying that it “wasn’t an immediate decision, it was something I thought about for a while”.
He explained: “I’m really going to miss it but I think this is the right time.
“I’ve had a lot going on in the background with work commitments and family commitments. It’s made it very hard to juggle all three.
“The frustrating thing for me over the last few years is I’ve had a lot of injuries.
“I’ve had problems with my groin, I had Gilmore’s groin on both sides. I had operations on that and then the two winters there when I was getting operations, I was coming back late, I was chasing my fitness,” he told the42.ie.
Shields was on the books of AFL side Carlton from 2007-08 before rejoining the Cork set up and winning an All-ireland in 2010, which is a career highlight.
With regular captain Graham Canty not starting the final win over Down that year due to injury, Shields led the side out.
“Getting over the line in 2010 was great. We’d been knocking on the door for a few years. We came up short in 2009 and in 2007 we were well beaten.
“But we stuck it out as a group and were lucky enough we got the reward. It was a real sign of perseverance.
“Being on the Croke Park pitch that day was a definite highlight. Leading the team around in the parade before was a real honour and one I’ll always remember.”