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Best in the West: John Muldoon will retire at the end of the season

The pride of Portumna will ride off into the sunset in May.

CONNACHT LEGEND JOHN Muldoon this morning announced that, after a 15th season as a senior professional, he will hang up his boots this year.

John Muldoon bring the trophy back to the dressing room Muldoon celebrates the Pro12 win over Leinster in Murrayfield. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

The 35-year-old, who led Connacht to their Pro12 title success in 2016, made the announcement in a heartfelt Instagram post where he thanks fans for ‘endless support’ after a succinct bullet point list summarising a career packed with too many memories to fit in one place.

Muldoon wrote: “17 years. 320 games. Broken bones. Big wins. Bad losses. Dozens of teammates. Fewer coaches. Europe. Russia. Celtic league. Pro12. Pro14. Flights. Buses. Friends. Supporters. I’ve been so proud to be part of it all, but every journey sadly must come to an end and for me that end will be this season. Thank you all for your endless support.”

While the Portumna man was continually an invaluable presence for Connacht, injury haunted his steps in to the international stage. After winning the first two (of three) international caps in the summer of 2009, he started a 2010 Test in New Zealand only to suffer a broken arm. Towards the end of Declan Kidney’s time in charge of Ireland, Muldoon suffered damaged knee ligaments on Ireland ‘A’ duty against Fiji in November 2012.

John Muldoon dejected after the game Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

With Connacht earning a home quarter-final berth in the Challenge Cup, Muldoon will be gunning to add another trophy to his list of memories before bowing out for good.

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