Johnny Doyle’s remarkable 30 year GAA adult football playing career came to an end over the weekend.

The Kildare Leinster Championship winner and All Star forward called it a day at 46 years of age after a senior championship defeat by Athy.

Doyle made his club championship debut in 1995 and played for 30 years for his club, helping Allenwood to a Senior Championship title in 2004, when he was also Kildare Player of the Year.

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Back in 2022 he missed a club championship game for the first time in 27 years after picking up an injury.

Last year, Doyle helped Allenwood to Kildare and Leinster intermediate titles although there was no fairytale ending at Croke Park after they were beaten by St. Patrick’s Cullyhanna (Armagh) in the semi-final.

Doyle first announced himself on the national stage as a Leinster Championship winner with Kildare in 2000 under Mick O’Dwyer.

In 2008 and 2010 he finished overall top scorer in the All-Ireland Championship, a testimony to his kicking skills from dead balls and play.

Doyle also won a Division 2 title in 2012 with Kildare and two O’Byrne Cups in a 15 year inter-county playing career that ended in April 2014, when he announced his retirement at 36 years of age.

Doyle played 154 times in total for Kildare, scoring 8-258 (282) with 67 of those appearances coming in championship games.

Strangely he never hit a goal in a Leinster Championship match, firing 0-111 in 33 appearances in the competition, but he did hit eight goals in 34 All-Ireland series games.

After retiring in 2015, Doyle returned in 2019 to line out for Kildare juniors, while continuing to play with his club.

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