Eamon McGee reckons his wee brother Neil will go down as one of the Donegal greats.
McGee, who turns 37 in November, retired yesterday as one of the most decorated footballers in Donegal GAA history.
The Gaoth Dobhair man holds one All-Ireland, five Ulster titles, three All Stars, one Donegal Championships and an Ulster club title.
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McGee also represented Ireland in the International Rules series.
The only Donegal footballer with more All Stars than McGee is Karl Lacey (4), while Michael Murphy also has an All-Ireland, five Ulsters and three All Stars, as well as three Donegal titles.
McGee’s retirement means there are only three inter-county footballers left from this year’s Championship who made their debut in the same season or earlier than he did - Laois man Ross Munnelly (39), Offaly’s Niall McNamee and Antrim’s Michael McCann.
Munnelly is the daddy of them all, having debuted back in 2003, the year Laois won their first Leinster title in 57 years.
McNamee, who turns 37 next month, made his Offaly debut back in 2003 at 17 years of age.
McCann debuted for Antrim in 2005 and is 37 years of age.
McGee made his Donegal debut in the 2005 McKenna Cup and was still a starter in 2020 at 34 - a remarkable feat for a defender operating at the highest level - before injury caught up with him that season.
A back problem sustained against Tyrone was the beginning of his issues with spasms hitting him every few months after that.
McGee - a pipe layer - appeared briefly at the end of this year’s Ulster semi-final victory over Cavan, but that marked the end for the teak-tough defender.
He announced the news yesterday after earlier popping a message into a Whatsapp group he has with his brothers.
It’s just over a decade since Jim McGuinness orchestrated Donegal’s remarkable All-Ireland coup, as the county landed their second Sam Maguire with McGee to the fore.
His retirement brings back some happy memories for brother Eamon, and they weren’t all revolving around winning big games and Championships.
Eamon McGee said: “We have had a good career. We have been relatively successful in terms of the club and the county.
“The winning is satisfying but when you look back 10 years, or go back 20 years, that’s when the real good feelings come - what it was all about.
“The memories come back in terms of the journeys.
“It was good crack too. When we were going down on the bus after an Ulster final win, or any of the Croke Park wins, me and Neill would have been challenging each other.
“I would have went up to the mic, or Neil would have went up to the mic.
‘You are only a pussy,’ ‘I’m the hardest McGee,’ or something like that.
“The boys used to laugh and start winding me up. You see, I kept on taking the bait with a few in me. I’d be away up challenging him then. Just good memories.
“I’d go up the mic then and call him out. It was just good crack.
“All the lads used to love this when the two of us would clash. They really, really enjoyed it.”
McGee continues: “There were great times on the field too.
“I was chatting to Mickey Conroy (former Mayo forward) at ‘Center Parcs’ last week. I think it was one of the best lines I have heard on the field in a long time.
“He couldn’t stop laughing. Kieran Shannon was in doing a bit of sports psych with Mayo, the time we beat them in 2012 (All-Ireland final).
“After the second goal, Neil said to Mickey, ‘What would Kieran Shannon have to say about these two goals now? Has he prepared you for them?’
“I thought it was a great one.”
McGee was a popular figure with his Donegal team mates, 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.
“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.
His no-nonsense style of defending and commitment endeared him to Donegal fans.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
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