James McCarthy says he’ll walk away from inter-county football when he gets “a right clipping” at Croke Park.
The Dublin icon is planning at least one more year with the county - and hopes for more after that, saying there is "unfinished business," to attend to.
He may have turned 32 back in March, but to McCarthy age is just a number as he looks ahead to a 14th season with Dublin.
“There’s plenty of opinions when you get over 30 but if you are still doing it, you still enjoy it and have the time and the hunger for it, there’s no reason you can’t compete," he says.
“The way I look at it is I have 12 or 13 years of high level training and playing over a fella who is 20 so that’s an advantage for me as well.
“I don’t see it as a limitation. It's more in your mind.
"If you still think you can do it and compete at that level, there’s no reason why you can’t.
“(I) still really enjoy playing at that level on the team and competing. That's what drives me on more.
“I have a lot of close friends there. We are a close group and they are all factors but you will be finished playing long enough.
“That’s how I see it so why not try to play as long as I can, I suppose until someone gives me a right clipping in Croke Park.
“That’d be the time – I'd probably walk away then!”
McCarthy reckons that players in their 30s can still improve: “I think you can but obviously eventually physical limitations will come at you," he continues.
“The evidence shows you do slow down. I picked up more injuries than I would have liked last year.
“But the training is so advanced now. You can improve in loads of different ways and you can hold your form anyway. Maybe you can't get huge jumps but you can still play to a good level.”
McCarthy is one of only two current players with eight All-Ireland medals. His Dublin teammate Michael Fitzsimons is the other.
The duo have had two cracks at a record ninth medal, but following All-Ireland semi-final defeats by Mayo (2021) and Kerry (2022), they are still waiting.
Dublin also suffered a shock relegation from Division 1 last year.
“I definitely think there was a hangover after the semi-final loss against Mayo,” said McCarthy. “We probably didn’t address it quickly enough.
“A lot of players had to have a hard look at ourselves because we just weren’t performing - end of.
"It was a very poor league campaign by us. We got relegated and we deserved to.
“(We) were kind of struggling during the months of January, February, March.
“But in fairness after the relegation we sat down and really had a hard look at ourselves as a group.
“We had a strong discussion amongst ourselves and reset the sights for the summer.
“I thought, in fairness, we were playing some really good football in the summer then.
“Look, we lost an All-Ireland semi-final by a score with the last kick of the game. That’s the way it finished unfortunately.
“That’s not the way we wanted it to finish, but that was the reality. It was a great kick by Sean O’Shea to win it.
“I have been on the other side of that plenty of times over the years, so that’s the way it goes.
“Overall, it wasn’t a great year.”
McCarthy was widely lauded for his role in dragging Dublin back into the Kerry game, with Ciaran Kilkenny also leading the charge in the final quarter.
He did it too with minimal training under his belt following a series of hamstring issues throughout the season that left him "annoyed," as McCarthy considers muscle injuries preventable.
“I’m lucky that I have plenty of experience playing in the big games,” he says.
“When you are missing so much training, you just have to steel the mind and get ready for it. I have past experience to trade off.
“I didn’t have that much training done before the semi-final, but it’s such a big game and so much adrenaline pumping that often games at that stage take a life of their own, particularly in the second half and you forget about injuries.
“You are playing in front of 80,000 and at that stage in my mind you are throwing caution to the wind and going for the jugular.
That was my attitude and I always think it serves you well, playing off your instincts and not overthinking things.
“Obviously there is a huge tactical element to the game too but I like going off the cuff at times and going off instinct.
“A lot of that happens in those games and I find that is sometimes the best way to get into games when you are falling behind or under pressure. Just drive into it as hard as you can.”
**** Dublin’s James McCarthy pictured at Beann Eadair GAA Club/Ballybough. They were on hand to launch AIG’s new Injury Cash product, aimed at sports people and athletes of all levels to help provide some direct financial support and assistance in the event of a covered injury. For more information on AIG’s Injury Cash visit www.aig.ie/injurycash
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