Ciarán Kilkenny believes Kobe McDonald has all the attributes required to excel at Aussie Rules.Kilkenny famously ended his fledgling AFL career with Hawthorn in 2013 after just four months Down Under, with the Castleknock player opting instead to return to Ireland where he immediately rejoined the Dublin senior football squad.And while Kilkenny, who recently announced his intercounty retirement, would love to see McDonald playing on these shores over the coming years, he understands the opportunity now in front of the Mayo teenager in Australia.“I’m a massive fan of his, I think he’s a phenomenal talent,” says Kilkenny. “I just think he’s such an incredible player and athlete. From an athleticism point of view, you just see him glide by people. He’s like a gazelle the way he runs around and he has so much confidence in himself, he’s a great player.“As a Gaelic football supporter, I’d obviously love to see him play Gaelic football but of course I’d encourage him to take the opportunity and see how it is for himself and see how he likes it. I wish him all the best. He’s had an incredible year with Mayo.“For me, I was very happy with my decision playing with Dublin. You look at other players like David Clifford who potentially could have gone to Australia and he stayed, and I suppose he brought a lot of happiness to the Kerry supporters. “You’d love to keep the best talent in Ireland but definitely you’d wish Kobe all the best and encourage him to see how he gets on and how he enjoys it.”Kobe McDonald after the All-Ireland final. Photograph: Tom O’Hanlon/Inpho The connections with community and playing alongside friends were the big draws that persuaded Kilkenny to fly back to the northern hemisphere more than a decade ago.“I don’t think there’s anything like representing your club or your county at the highest level. Personally, that’s my own opinion,” he says. “I think it’s the best game in the world, but I’m very biased.”[ FAI remain silent on support for beleaguered Fifa boss Gianni InfantinoOpens in new window ]Kilkenny’s glittering Dublin career included many memorable matches against Mayo, but like the rest of the country he got caught up in their historic victory two weeks ago.“Their supporters are incredible and I think everyone was quite emotional at the end of the game to see how much it meant to people in the stands, the players, their families,” says Kilkenny.“And even seeing their celebrations, going to every individual player’s club and seeing how much it means to their clubs and all the people there. You couldn’t but be happy for Mayo people. “There are lot of Mayo people in my club as well, so you couldn’t but be delighted for them. But of course you’d be hoping now that Dublin can hopefully next year push on and be in a similar position.”Kilkenny will not be part of that push, though, having privately made up his mind at the start of the year that this season would be his last. The long goodbye.“I suppose when it went out to the knockout stage of the championship, I knew every game then could potentially be the last I’d ever play for Dublin. So each game was quite emotional.Shane Walsh of Galway with Ciarán Kilkenny of Dublin. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho “We ended up getting a good bit of momentum after and put in good performances against Donegal and Galway and we put in a good performance against Kerry, albeit our conversion rate wasn’t as good as we’d like it to have been. “So, it felt very emotional and I probably haven’t really processed the fact that I’m retired yet and that it’ll probably hit home when pre-season starts next season.”Kilkenny has also decided to take a career break from teaching as he enters the next phase of his life, post-Dublin. “As I said in the [retirement] statement, it’s been the greatest honour of my life playing for Dublin, it’s something that I’ve dreamt of ever since I’ve been a kid brought to games with my dad and my two sisters on the train from Coolmine to Drumcondra walking down to watch Dublin play. “It’s always been my dream to play for Dublin and the friendships, bonds and people you meet in the GAA, not only Dublin GAA but the whole GAA, are quite special. So it’s been a whirlwind of 15 seasons and it just goes in the blink of your eyes, it goes so fast.” Pádraic Joyce of Galway with Ciarán Kilkenny. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho And while his absence will certainly be felt in the Dublin dressingroom, Kilkenny believes there is a Sam Maguire triumph in the current squad. “I definitely see the potential, they have all the ingredients to win an All-Ireland,” says Kilkenny. “We beat Donegal and Galway, who are two of the top teams in the country and, if our conversion rate was a bit better against Kerry, who knows, we could have got over the line there as well. “So, I do think there’s great potential within the group and there’s a great buzz and energy around the group and I think Dublin supporters can be very excited about what’s to come.”♦ Kilkenny is an ambassador for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, which returns to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, August 29th when TCU Horned Frogs will face the UNC Tar Heels.