A distraction or a masterstroke? Time will tell on Dessie Farrell’s shock decision to restore Stephen Cluxton to the Dublin panel.
Farrell insists that Cluxton is returning to fight for his old No 1 jersey and should he, at 41, see off the competition between the posts and inspire Dublin to another All-Ireland this year - and a record-breaking ninth for him - it would be one of the greatest comeback stories of all.
Recalling All-Ireland winners in mid-season can bring mixed results, however.
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Mike McCarthy (Kerry)
McCarthy was just 28 when he made the surprise decision to retire after Kerry’s 2006 All-Ireland win, his third, though he was tempted back three years later with the team enduring a mid-season slump.
After the decisive Munster semi-final replay defeat to Cork, manager Jack O’Connor persuaded the Kilcummin man to return and he made his reappearance in a narrow third round qualifier win over Sligo.
Notably, he played at centre-back in his second coming despite having won three All Stars in the full-back line, and it was his driving run from No 6 that laid on Colm Cooper’s early goal in the quarter-final demolition of Dublin as Kerry swept to another All-Ireland.
Later, O’Connor managed to coax Eoin Brosnan out of retirement in similar circumstances, though an earlier attempt to bring back Maurice Fitzgerald failed.
Jimmy Keaveney (Dublin)
Having retired two years earlier, Jimmy Keaveney watched Dublin’s opening round Championship win over Wexford in 1974 from Hill 16.
Manager Kevin Heffernan was in touch that week, however, and by the time Dublin played Louth in Navan the following Sunday, the 29-year-old had scored 0-6 from full-forward. From relative obscurity, they stormed to that year’s All-Ireland, changing the culture of Gaelic games in the capital in the process.
Keaveney’s was one of the great comebacks as, in the second phase of his career, he won three All-Irelands, six Leinster titles, two Leagues, three All Stars and was Footballer of the Year in 1976 and ‘77.
Gerry McEntee (Meath)
Having played what was seemingly his last game for Meath in the 1990 All-Ireland final defeat to Cork, McEntee grew increasingly uneasy when watching his former teammates play out a second successive draw with Dublin in the first round of the 1991 Leinster Championship.
He immediately made himself available to manager Sean Boylan afterwards and was introduced off the bench in the third and fourth games in the famous saga as Meath eventually churned out a dramatic one-point victory.
The 35-year-old was restored to the starting team as Meath went all the way to the All-Ireland final against Down. Despite a two-point defeat, it was one of McEntee’s finest displays in a Meath jersey though, this time, it did prove to be his last appearance for the county.
Stephen O’Neill (Tyrone)
All’s well that ends well, but Mickey Harte’s decision to recall Stephen O’Neill ahead of the 2008 All-Ireland final was fraught with danger.
The Tuesday night after their semi-final win over Wexford, Harte summoned his players to a meeting where he put it to them that he wished to restore O’Neill to the panel ahead of the Kerry game. With the players’ approval, O’Neill returned having quit earlier that year after enduring a difficult spell with injury.
He was introduced after 25 minutes of the final and, though he had a role in Tommy McGuigan’s crucial second half goal as Tyrone won a third title in six seasons, he was largely peripheral and later refused to accept what would have been his third All-Ireland medal.
The 2005 Footballer of the Year was back to his best the following season, turning in a memorable display against Dublin at Croke Park in the 2009 League opener, and lined out for the county until 2014.
Graham Geraghty (Meath)
At 38, and three years after he had last played for the county, Graham Geraghty was sensationally recalled to the Meath squad by manager Seamus McEnaney in 2011. Indeed, McEnaney also made an audacious attempt to bring Darren Fay back to the fold though the legendary full-back decided against it.
Two selectors, Liam Harnan and Barry Callaghan, resigned following Geraghty’s return, citing issues with the way in which the matter was handled by McEnaney.
As it turned out, Geraghty made his return off the bench against Kildare in the Leinster Championship and had a goal controversially disallowed. An Achilles injury meant that his comeback never really got going after that, though he remained on board as one of McEnaney’s selectors.
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