FORMER DUBLIN ACE Tomas Quinn says a gentle ‘wind down’ towards full retirement after ending his county career was never on the cards.
The holder of All-Ireland medals at club and county level could have been forgiven for going through the motions at club level after departing Dublin last winter.
But he has summoned his very best form to help St Vincent’s back to the AIB Leinster club final where they will face Portlaoise on 8 December.
He booted 1-8 of his team’s 1-14 tally during yesterday’s exciting semi-final defeat of Meath champions Summerhill.
“Well I didn’t expect to wind down,” said Quinn. “I came out of inter-county football and it was the right time for me. My body was in good shape, I felt good and I had a couple of years of serious training under my belt.
I’ve been injury-free and the challenge for me was to stay injury-free and to make an impact at club level.”
Quinn is on the cusp of a second Leinster club success to match his 2007 triumph when the Marino outfit went on to win the All-Ireland title outright. But he warned against underestimating a Portlaoise team that have braved several battles to move within 60 minutes of a record eighth provincial crown.
“They’re probably at the stage where they don’t benchmark themselves against Laois championships, they’re looking for Leinster and All-Irelands,” said Quinn.
Vins were without current Dublin players Ger Brennan and Diarmuid Connolly due to suspension against Summerhill while long-serving goalkeeper Michael Savage was injured.
“It is a cliché that you are only as strong as your panel – we are certainly putting that to the test at the moment,” he added.
