Lee Keegan

Known as one of Mayo GAA's "greatest", the much-loved Westport man announced his retirement from inter-county football last week, stating that he "couldn't ...

Bart's for honeymoon after winter wedding to wife Megan Hoare](https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/gallery/galway-gaa-star-joe-canning-28862154) [RTE’s Ryan Tubridy poses with mum Catherine in rare family photo](https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/rtes-ryan-tubridy-poses-mum-28936276) The Westport man married his teenage sweetheart Aoife in 2019 having had been a relationship for 13 years prior. All though having been deprived of the Sam Maguire cup on six occasions in Croke Park, Keegan has had a credible inter-county career. “All good things must come to an end. A variety of guests are due to hit the hotseat with Ryan Tubridy. The former Mayo defender has been in the spotlight recently, having announced his retirement from intercounty football just last week.

IT IS difficult to imagine a world in which Lee Keegan is not running out at Croke Park, wearing a Mayo jersey.And yet, as revealed by the man himself.

He continued: " I got to under-21, then, and got the big question then; will I either commit to playing in front of thousands, which I didn't really see at the time, or playing maybe semi-pro or professional rugby contract? "I thought the choice was funny because I wasn't playing a lot of football at that time - didn't make the minor team with Mayo - so I didn't really have the baggage of gaelic growing up as much. "At under-17 level then, I got called up to the Connacht academy and then I saw the professional side of things from a young age.

Diarmuid Connolly has praised Lee Keegan's influence after the Mayo man announced his retirement from inter-county football ahead of the 2023 season.

He was a top player for the Mayo side and they’ll miss him this season.” We were lucky to win that game; they didn’t get over the line against us, so it may be disappointing for him never to get a Celtic Cross medal. It was a bit of a shock to me to see him hang up the boots so early to be honest.

He might be regarded as one of the greatest forwards of the modern era but Diarmuid Connolly has no problem admitting that when it came to being marked by ...

We were lucky to win that game; they didn’t get over the line against us, so it may be disappointing for him never to get a Celtic Cross medal. “He may have been sent to man-mark me but sometimes I ended up doing the marking. He was a top player for the Mayo side and they’ll miss him this season.”

Lee Keegan gave a typically classy interview on the Late Late Show tonight and discussed how he ended up choosing gaelic football over rugby.

[Henshaw excelled at both sports but famously chose rugby.](https://www.balls.ie/rugby/robbie-henshaw-marist-college-athlone-540001) Keegan's journey took him towards gaelic football and he attained iconic status as a Mayo player. "I thought the choice was funny because I wasn't playing a lot of football at that time - didn't make the minor team with Mayo - so I didn't really have the baggage of gaelic growing up as much. "I got to under-21 [with Mayo], then, and got the big question then; will I either commit to playing in front of thousands, which I didn't really see at the time, or playing maybe semi-pro or professional rugby contract? "Then, rugby became kind of a stronghold in our house and with the group of lads I was hanging around at the time, so I took that up from a young age. "At under-17 level then, I got called up to the Connacht academy and then I saw the professional side of things from a young age. The pathway to a career as a professional sportsman was there, since Keegan was in the Connacht academy and offered a semi-pro contract with Corinthians.

Mayo Gaelic football legend Lee Keegan says he would welcome a career as a GAA pundit after announcing his retirement from inter-county football earlier ...

Asked if he would consider a career as a sports pundit, he said: “It’s definitely something I would love to look at. The reality is that I have had to rely on a lot of people – most notably my wife Aoife – to give me the time and space to pursue my dream. “Every person that plays GAA will say the same thing – you have to be very selfish; if you’re not you’re not going to succeed at the top level. Now that we have two young children, Lile and Rhea, I am keenly aware that I am no longer able to commit to inter-county football in the way I did over the past eleven years. In a statement issued to the county board, he said: “I have enjoyed every minute of my time with Mayo. For me, it was always about wearing that Mayo jersey with pride every single day, and I was honoured to play alongside players who were of the same mind, and under managers who drove high standards on and off the pitch.”