Football

Tyrone's Ronan McNamee calls time on his inter-county career

RONAN McNamee has called time on his Tyrone career after over 10 years of service in the red and white jersey.

A fearless defender, McNamee plied his trade in the full-back line, making his Championship debut in 2012 under Mickey Harte’s reign.

He lined out for the Red Hands in that now infamous Championship clash with Kerry in Killarney, where the Kingdom exacted a form of revenge for their three Championship defeats to Harte’s men throughout the noughties.

The Aghyaran clubman played a similar role under the management of Brian Dooher and Fergal Logan and was often detailed with limiting the influence of the opposition’s best player.

The 32-year-old won three Ulster Championship titles in 2016, 2017 and in 2021 when the Red Hands collected the Sam Maguire Cup for the fourth time in their history.

During that season, McNamee went toe-to-toe with the likes of Aidan O’Shea and David Clifford on their run to glory, which eventually ended in a 2-15 to 0-14 victory over Mayo, and he even went up the field to kick a point in the decider.

He also picked up his one and only Allstar award in 2019 when Tyrone reached the All-Ireland semi-final but lost to arch-rivals Kerry.