IMPACT SIBLING HAD AT TOP OF THE
Retiring McGee hailed by brother
“I thought it was a great one.” McGee was a popular figure with his Donegal teammates, who he minded like they were his own family.
“You ask the likes of Ryan McHugh, Paddy McBrearty and any younger players — he would definitely have looked after them, and they know that,” continued Eamon.
“That’s why they hold him in such high respect. Even if he wasn’t playing last year he was still a respected voice.
“That’s part of the reason why they all looked up to him, because he was so protective of them.
“That was one of Neil’s strengths I believe. He was very, very loyal to his teammates.”
McGee knew when to party and when to get serious.
“Neil enjoyed the crack the time we (Gaoth Dobhair) won the Ulster club final (2018). Himself and Kevin (Cassidy) were front and centre of the celebrations.
Balance
“He would have had a good balance. When it was time to train, he trained and he trained hard. You’d struggle to get a person that trained harder than him.
“Then when it was time to enjoy yourself, he definitely enjoyed himself. He had good discipline. He knew when to do it and when not to do it.”
McGee also had a serious ability to shut down opposition dangermen, with deceptive pace and obvious strength.
"Obviously I am going to be biased," says McGee. "People will say he had the blanket (defence) in front of him, but even before that when Neil really focused in on inter-county, he was still a good, good defender. A good full-back.
“We seen that in club games. We see that in an era where Donegal wouldn’t have had any cover in the defence at all. He was handling big, big players.
“He was very well respected in among the Compromise Rules with Ireland, so he will definitely go down as one of the Donegal greats, but you might be better off asking someone else for an unbiased and impartial point of view. (centre) (right)
“But for me he was a big, big Donegal player."
McGee continued: “Neil loved it. If you read Neil’s statement he will never be one of these boys that will say it’s not sustainable in terms of your life, or that he wasn’t enjoying it.
“Neil had a lot of tough years with no success, but he loved the whole life.
Elite
“We don’t hear enough of that story and that side of things in the inter-county game, in terms of the opportunity to be elite. He enjoyed training and being in the gym all the time.
“The facilities were there to afford him to be the best he could be.
“That’s what we should be hearing a lot more than people saying, ‘Ah, it’s too serious.’
“Neil loved the lifestyle. He just couldn’t do it any more with the body.”