Long-serving Finn Harps defender Declan Boyle has opted to retire from senior football.

34-year-old Boyle, who works as a Regional Development Officer with the FAI in Leitrim, has said his increasing workload was one of the main reasons behind his decision.

'Last year was very difficult trying to commute to work and train with the first team so I made the decision that it was just too much to juggle,' the Killybegs native said.

'It wasn't really a difficult decision to arrive at as I've had a good run at it and now there's plenty of young lads there who can come in for me.

'I might play a bit of soccer here and there in the future, but nothing's decided yet. I'll see what happens, but as I said, last year was difficult with me trying to train as much as possible and then being away to Leitrim or Sligo or whatever with work.'

Boyle was a loyal servant of Harps, signing for the club on four different occasions and captaining them to the 2004 First Division championship. He made his debut in March 1992 as a teenager, when he marked current Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce, who was then at Limerick FC.

After moving on, Boyle won the First Division, FAI Cup and League Cup in 1993/94 at Sligo Rovers before having a stint at Celtic, where he played for the club's reserves.

Boyle was then a Premier Division title winner at Felix Healy's Derry City and was an FAI Cup runner-up in the same year, 1997.

He also had spells with Omagh Town and Letterkenny Rovers.

In total, he played 362 games for Harps, scoring 21 goals in all.

RTE