Bubbles O'Dwyer says that if had he received a phone call from Liam Cahill asking him to be part of the Tipperary hurling panel for this season, he probably would have turned the new manager down.
O'Dwyer announced his retirement in February, but only because he was "sick" of people asking when he'd be back playing with Tipperary.
"I stepped away last year - I was injured or whatever," O'Dwyer told The 2 Johnnies Podcast.
"This year, it didn't pan out whether I was back on the panel or whatever. When you're going around in your everyday life, and everyone is asking you, 'When are you back? Why aren't you on the panel?' I was sick of people asking.
"I was sitting down at home watching Laochra Gael with the mother. She said it to me, 'When are you getting one of them?' I said, 'Sure I haven't retired'. She said I needed to put out a statement. People were asking me constantly so I said I'd put it out.
"I just got it in my head, contacted the county board. They said, 'Do you want to write up something there?' I said, 'No. Did you see Pauric Mahony's statement a few weeks ago? That'll do'.
"Nice and simple, nice and handy. I didn't want to be going into too much detail. He said he'd do up something. I asked him to add one thing. He was talking about the U21, and I said to add in that I was captain in 2012."
John Bubbles O Dwyer on the famous extra time free, 2014 All Ireland Final.
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The two-time All-Ireland winner, an All-Star in 2014, said there was no contact between him and Liam Cahill, who succeeded Colm Bonnar as Tipperary manager last year.
"You're either part of the panel or you're not," said O'Dwyer.
"If you're part of it, you get a phone call; if you're not, you don't, I suppose. One manager might like you and the other might think that 'I don't want him being part of my panel because he might not suit the way I want to play'.
"What do you want, a hug and a kiss? At inter-county level, that's just the cutthroat business of it, isn't it? That's just the way it goes, you have to move on. Everyone moves on. I had enough of it anyway."
O'Dywer stepped away from the Tipperary panel in 2022 due to injury. He knew he was done for the season following a training session in February.
4 September 2016; Cathal Barrett, left, and John O'Dwyer of Tipperary celebrate following the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Kilkenny and Tipperary at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
"Even last year, when I stepped away last year... I went in and gave it a go and was trying but couldn't get injuries right," he said.
"I remember coming out from training one night and I was walking out with Seamie (Callanan) and Bonner (Maher) and I was actually happy walking out.
"I said it to the lads there and then, I made the decision, I said, 'Lads, I won't be back'. I said, 'I can't do it anymore'. When you stop enjoying it, that's when you know you need to go.
"You want to be on the pitch, and you want to be playing, but if you're injured or not fit, you're probably pulling from the rest of the group.
"Instead of doing that, I said I'd take myself out of it, and told management. They knew it was coming anyway. I walked out with Seamie and Bonner, shook hands with the two boys, and said, 'That's me'.
Asked about a hypothetical called call from Cahill last November, O'Dwyer, said, "I don't think I would have went in. It's a hard one to answer. I think my time was done, and I had enough of it."
See Also: Liam Sheedy 'Open-Minded' About Return To Hurling Management
