By Paul Keane

Three-time All-Ireland medallist and current All-Star full-back Rory O'Carroll has admitted there's a possibility he may have played his last football game for Dublin.

O'Carroll was just 25 when he helped Dublin claim the Sam Maguire Cup last September, the third triumph of his glittering career which began with a Championship debut back in 2009.

The powerful defender has been a virtual ever present since the 2010 season, starting all but one of Dublin's championship games in that period and remarkably earning an All-Star nomination in each of those six seasons.

But having told manager Jim Gavin in late December that he won't be available this year due to an extended travel break in New Zealand, O'Carroll has now added to the disappointment of Dublin supporters by revealing that he has no definite return date.

He and his girlfriend have secured 12-month visas which will allow them to work and travel in New Zealand and O'Carroll says they could ultimately be away for 'six months or six years' depending on how things go.

"I don't believe in retiring as such," said O'Carroll. "What I have said to Jim is that I asked him not to consider me for selection for the 2016 season. That could last forever and I might never play for Dublin again but I don't like to put any limits or titles on things.

"I'm open to the idea I could play again and I'm open to the idea I may never play again. I'll just see how it goes. I'm not too worried about what is down the line."

O'Carroll has had extended breaks from the Dublin panel in the past, travelling with friends during the summer of 2009 soon after his Championship debut and studying in France across 2010 and early 2011.

He accepted that he may be leaving behind the opportunity for several more All-Ireland title wins, though he rejected the suggestion that he is departing because of the workload placed upon top players in the modern game.

"I'm not stepping away because of the demands of it," said O'Carroll at the launch of the adidas and Life Style Sports Boost run. "Obviously they are high demands and I was a student for a lot of it so that helped and when you're working it is a lot harder but nobody forces you to go training.

"You're not under any contract or anything like that so it's up to yourself if you want to commit and give that commitment or not and most players would say they enjoy it.

"So no, it's not because of that. I would have just stopped playing in that case as opposed to leaving the country. That would have been an extreme way to get away!"

O'Carroll said that he thought long and hard about the decision to depart and that he and his girlfriend only fully agreed to do so on St Stephen's Day last. They will fly out to New Zealand in under three weeks and O'Carroll, an AIB All-Ireland club medallist with Kilmacud Crokes, said that he leaves with Gavin's blessing.

"There's always been a part of me that wanted to go and no matter what you do, you're always going to have some regrets regardless, no matter what decision you make," said O'Carroll.

"Jim was really nice. He said that as long as he was manager then I was always welcome back for a trial or whatever in the future. I told him I had made up my mind so I think he knew. He was very supportive and just asked if there was anything he could do.

"It probably did make it easier that we got the All-Ireland last year. But I probably would have gone anyway, to be honest, given my age. But it did make the decision easier."

O'Carroll, also a talented hurler, expects to play Gaelic Games while travelling.

"The great thing about the GAA is that no matter where you go there's always a GAA club somewhere," he said. "In Auckland alone, I think there's three GAA clubs so I'm sure I'll play, keep myself active in some way and probably kick ball."

The two-time All-Star said that Dublin, currently bidding for four Allianz League titles in a row, have the capabilities to win more All-Irelands in the coming years. But he believes he won't be tormented by potentially missing out on them.

"Older players might be able to answer this better but do they look back on their careers and think about how many medals they won or do they think about the different times and the moments and this match or that match?" questioned O'Carroll. "I'd like to think that those are the things I'd think about in 30 years' time rather than the number of medals I actually won. That's the way I look at it."