Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Veteran Ross not stopping
ROSS MUNNELLY has confirmed that he will continue to play for Laois once inter-county action gets the green light in 2021.
Munnelly, who turned 38 in December, is the second longest-serving player in the game after Dublin goalkeeper Stephen
Cluxton, who is a year his senior and made his debut in 2001, two years before the Arles-kilcruise man.
Munnelly could hardly have timed his arrival on the scene any better, with Laois winning their first Leinster title in 57 years in his debut season in 2003 and while they have slipped down the pecking order since, his enthusiasm hasn’t waned.
November’s Leinster semi-final defeat to Dublin, in which he came off the bench to score a point, was his 79th Championship
appearance, leaving him eighth in the all-time list.
Speaking on the GPA’S Players’ Voice podcast, Munnelly said that the decision of the Government this week to withdraw elite status for inter-county activity would have no bearing on whether he will make himself available to manager Mike Quirke or not.
He said: “It’s clear now, we’re not going to be back for a while but I think every inter-county player in the country has been working hard individually over the last number of months.
“When the time is right we’ll be back playing football and the most important thing at the moment is that people stay safe.
“I’m really looking forward to it and when that decision is made we’re going to have brilliant GAA Championships once again this year.”