He brought along a skipping rope and did some running as well but Jack McCaffrey believes he actually lost precious little fitness during his year away from Dublin football. Not that he once felt sure he’d ever play again.
And although it didn’t change him in a “deep, philosophical way”, his trip to Africa as part of his medical studies at UCD completely revived his love of the game, which he felt he’d lost at the end of 2015 – despite winning his second All-Ireland with Dublin, and then being named Footballer of the Year.
As it turned out, McCaffrey did walk straight back into the Dublin team, and although he missed the tail end of the league with a hamstring injury, he feels ready to pick up where he left off in 2015, and help Dublin secure a third successive All-Ireland for the first time since 1923.
Still, when reflecting on his decision to opt out last year, McCaffrey admits it was pretty spontaneous, and when discussing it with his father, Noel, who also played for Dublin, realised he might well be opting out for good.
“I can understand how it might strike some people as strange,” he says.
“Playing for Dublin was a childhood dream of mine, and I love every minute of it. But for some reason the spark was gone that year. I have no issue with how anyone reacted. I didn’t get any kind of negative feedback. It was all kind of supportive.
“And I had to be okay with the possibility that I’d never play for Dublin again. That was the tough part about making the decision. The Dublin team is so competitive and it was a departure for a year, of my own volition. That was probably the thing I discussed with my dad, and he said. ‘just so you’re aware, hopefully it won’t happen’, and luckily it hasn’t happened, but it was a possibility, and I ended up being okay with it.
“I could have come back and got injured. I could have come back in awful shape. Three wing-backs could have just impressed. Any multitude of things. There’s always the possibility. There was probably a little concern that this was a knee-jerk reaction and there was some weird stuff going on but once we had a chat they [his parents] were happy enough that I was happy.”
Very competitive
The trip, meanwhile, clearly served its purpose: first to Ethiopia, then Kenya, Zambia, Malawi and finally Tanzania. It’s something he’d like to do again, later in his medical career, but for now he sees himself recommitted to Dublin football for the long haul.
Speaking at the launch of AIB’s sponsorship of the football championship, McCaffrey also reckons his success of 2015 had little bearing on his decision to opt out for 2016, although perhaps it helped convince him to try something different.
“My head just wasn’t in the football. And the one thing about intercounty football is you don’t half-do it. You’ll be found out if you do that. I went off to Thailand with a few of my friends around Christmas time of 2015 and came back at the start of 2016 and thought that it would just take me a while to get back into it. But it quickly became apparent that I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I’m used to and as I am now. Plus it’s a very competitive team. I don’t think that would have been feasible.
“I was enjoying it a lot, when I won it. It probably actually is one of the reasons, when I look back at the year before, I was having the time of the life and it led to this. It’s nearly not fair to yourself ,to try and push it on. I don’t know what it was. You’re not even thinking of the Footballer of the Year stuff. But I don’t think the success that led up to it was a factor in it.
“It was a year on. I made the decision on the here and now, rather than anything about the year before.”
Still only 23, he hasn’t ruled out returning to Africa sometime down the road. “It was great, I really enjoyed it. I came back pretty much the same as when I left. It was an eye-opening experience and something that will maybe give a desire when I am bit older a bit greyer when I’m in a place that I can actually make a bit of a difference.
“When I was over there I was a bit, not that I’m in the way, but I’m not exactly qualified to do much at the minute. But no, I don’t think it changed me hugely to be honest.
“And I don’t think I lost a whole pile of fitness. I was actually injured when I went off right away. I had a skipping rope with me. I did some rehab stuff, core exercise stuff. Then towards the end of the trip I was coming back to join Clontarf’s league campaign looking for promotion so I starting doing a bit of running, building it up.
“Some of the lads I was travelling with were into their exercise as well. It was grand. Once I got back, played a bit with Clontarf, we got promoted through to play-offs then straight into Sigerson and Dublin. To be honest I feel 100 per cent.”
