DON'T 'DARE

'Dad warned me transfer to Lilywhites would go to grave with me. He was right I was wrong

- PADDY TIERNEY

IT was one of the most controversial sagas in the modern history of the GAA and the man at the centre of it now admits he regrets the whole debacle.

In 2012 Seanie Johnston's inter-county transfer from Cavan to Kildare, then managed by Kieran McGeeney (inset), caused a national outcry and Johnston ended up lining out against his native county in the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers that summer.

Now Johnston has revealed how the high-profile move led to him developing a gambling issue and spoke in depth about how badly the transfer furore affected his family.

"In my life, in Ireland, in Cavan, this was just a mad time," said Johnston on the BBC's GAA Social Podcast, .

"I think the most important point for me to say - is to say looking back now, I was wrong in a lot of things I did. It's probably taken until nearly 2023 to admit it.

"I was 25 or 26 years of age, I had worked my backside off, in my head, to be the best player I could possibly be and I got too big for my boots.