Former Tipperary star John O’Dwyer has expressed his disappointment at not getting a call from Liam Cahill last winter.
O’Dwyer announced his retirement from inter-county hurling in February having not appeared for the county since the 2021 All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Waterford as he withdrew from the panel amid injury issues last year.
The 31-year-old said that he didn’t intend on returning in any event but felt that Cahill should have afforded him the respect of a phone call after he succeeded Colm Bonnar.
"I just fell out of love with the game,” O’Dwyer told BBC’s GAA Social podcast. “When you lose that kind of intensity where you need to be at for inter-county, you're just fooling yourself. I didn't have it in me to give 100%. I just called it myself
“Now look, I wasn’t asked back, whether that’s being dropped or not being considered or whatever, I just didn’t have it in me to say, ‘Right, I’m going to give this 100%’ so I just decided to step away.”
Had Cahill got in touch, ‘Bubbles’ says he would have had a rethink but would likely have decided against returning.
“To me, I was done but, if I got that phone call, it’s a long winter, it could have changed but I don’t think it would have changed. But if I got the phone call, you kind of never know.
“Now, I thought I was 100% on that decision but when I didn’t get the phone call then I was kind of thinking back, ‘If the did ring me, Jesus I might have went back’. You’re kind of second-guessing yourself.”
He added: “I would have liked the call out of a respect factor. Like I gave, whatever, nine, 10 years for Tipperary and Liam is from a club just six kilometres up the road.
“So if I got the phone call to say, ‘Look, you’re not part of my plans’, perfect, no problem. I’d take that no problem, but the fact that I didn’t get a phone call to even tell you that was probably the worst thing about the whole me retiring kind of a thing.
“If I was asked back, I wouldn’t have went. I would have thought about it but I wouldn’t have went but if you felt valued you might think about it a bit differently.
“Look, Liam obviously thought that I wasn’t good enough or wasn’t needed or whatever, like, and that’s totally fine but it’s just the… it’s a respect kind of a thing that I didn’t get the phone call is probably the main thing that I’m holding from it anyway.”
The two-time All-Ireland winner said it “like a weight lifted off your shoulders” once he wasn’t involved with Tipperary.
“My mother loved to see me playing for Tipperary but when I stepped away she was delighted. She could have a conversation with me and I could go around and be relaxed instead of constantly being on edge.”
You can listen to the full podcast here.
Ahead of this weekend's hurling semi-finals, O'Dwyer can see a way for Galway to rattle all-conquering Limerick at Croke Park on Saturday evening.
"Compacting the middle third… The only way to beat Limerick now is if you can nullify from five to 12," the former Premier star told Betway.
"They’re massive players from five to 12 and they’re all massive leaders so if you can get on top of 50% of them, it’s a massive help.
"We went with the double-11 in 2021, it worked in the first half and didn’t in the second half. This weekend, it might depend on who sets up at six for Limerick; if it’s Dan Morrissey, a double-11 might work but if it’s a Kyle Hayes or a Barry Nash, you might need to put Cianan Fahy in there to try to nullify their influence on the game.
"It’s all about getting on top of their middle eight players and then having the inside forwards.
"I reckon the way to do it is to compact the whole middle area and try to leave Conor Whelan — I presume Mike Casey will pick him up — inside maybe one-on-one or two-on-two even.
"Maybe try to drag Limerick out, but they are very structured and good at staying in their positions so if you get a couple of scores from outside, then you might drag them out and target Whelan or Kevin Cooney inside."
