Kilkenny's Pádraig Walsh has retired from inter-county hurling to concentrate fully on his club career. The 31-year-old holds two All-Ireland medals, seven Leinster titles, and two All-Stars.
The versatile Cats player said that he is “starting to feel it in the body” and can't continue to play at the inter-county level anymore. The full priority now is with his club, Tullaroan.
"It's just gone to that stage now. I’ve been there a good few years, and I’m starting to feel it in the body, just finding it harder to recover," Walsh told the Irish Independent. "I just want to give a few good years to the club, so I said I'd call it a day. There was no big reason or anything. I kind of knew at the start of this year, this was going to be my last year, no matter what."
What a point this is from Padraig Walsh! Outrageous 😍pic.twitter.com/dn3ZgKHFPy
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) June 15, 2019
Kilkenny released their own statement after the news and congratulated their former player for his stellar contribution to the team.
In the statement, Kilkenny GAA added, "Pádraig Walsh is retiring from inter-county hurling following a stellar career in the black and amber. A pillar of the Kilkenny defence, Pádraig has won seven Leinster titles and two All-Irelands, along with many other accolades, over the course of his career with Kilkenny.
"On behalf of Derek Lyng and his management team and Kilkenny County Board, we wish Pádraig the very best in his retirement from inter-county hurling. Padraig’s achievements and service to Kilkenny GAA speak for themselves."
