THE county career of Kevin McManamon looks to be approaching an end as the Dublin star is currently in Japan helping the Irish boxing team prepare for the upcoming Olympic Games.
Much of the focus over the weekend centred on the future of Dublin captain Stephen Cluxton, with Dessie Farrell confirming the eight-time All-Ireland winner had stepped away from the panel – although the Dubs boss said he remained in the dark about Cluxton’s future intentions.
Following last month’s retirement of another Sky Blue stalwart, Cian O’Sullivan, question marks surrounded McManamon’s involvement too.
The 34-year-old didn’t feature at all in the National League games against Roscommon, Kerry and Galway, and played only five minutes of last year’s All-Ireland Championship – coming on towards the end of Dublin’s convincing Leinster final win over Meath.
And the St Jude’s speedster won’t play any part this summer either as he flew out to Myasaki with the Irish boxing team last week, and won’t return home until after the delayed Games, which conclude on August 8.
McMenamin has been working with the Irish boxers as a performance psychologist since Bernard Dunne - previously part of Jim Gavin's Dublin backroom team - was appointed IABA High Performance director in 2017, with the likes of two-time Olympian Brendan Irvine speaking highly of his role within the set-up.
“Kevin has been a huge help over the past two years, [former Irish rugby player] Gary Longwell too,” said the Belfast flyweight after sealing his spot at Tokyo 2020 last year.
“They know what it’s like to represent people, they know what it’s like to be injured, what it’s like to come out on top and to lose. They pushed me and drove me on.”
McManamon made his name largely as a super-sub with the Dubs, coming off the bench and scoring a goal in the 2011 All-Ireland final as Dublin defeated Kerry to end a 16-year wait for the Sam Maguire.
He also played a part in the seven All-Ireland successes that have followed as the Dubs’ dominance of the last decade rumbles on.
