Donal O'Grady retires from inter-county hurling

Donal O'Grady, who captained Limerick to Munster Championship success in 2013, has retired from inter-county hurling.

O'Grady's decision to retire from the game was confirmed by Limerick manager TJ Ryan following the Munster Senior Hurling League defeat of Cork in Mallow on Sunday.

O'Grady, 35, played 46 Championship games for Limerick, having made his debut as a sub against Cork in the 2004 Munster Championship. He started at midfield in the 2007 All-Ireland final defeat to Kilkenny.

In 2013, the Granagh-Ballingarry clubman, who runs a supermarket in his home town of Ballingarry, took over the Limerick captaincy.

It proved to be a memorable year for both player and county, as O'Grady inspired Limerick to a Munster final win over Cork, Limerick's first provincial success since 1996.

Limerick were beaten by Clare and Kilkenny in the 2013 and 2014 All-Ireland semi-finals respectively, denying O'Grady the chance to play in a second All-Ireland final.

In December of 2015, Nickie Quaid was announced as his successor as Limerick captain, casting doubt over O'Grady's future at inter-county level.

Without making any formal announcement, O'Grady steps aways from the game with a reputation as one of the county's best leaders of the modern era, even if the success he enjoyed on the field of play was confined to that Munster success in 2013.

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