One of the greatest hurlers of all time, Tommy Walsh announced his retirement this morning live on KCLR in Kilkenny. He won nine All-Ireland titles and even more astonishingly, won nine All-Stars in a row between 2003 (the first year he was a regular starter) and 2011.
Was there a more beautiful sight to Kilkenny supporters than that of Tommy Walsh, 5ft nothing, sailing through the air, catching balls over the heads of lads a foot taller than him?
Here is our photo tribute to the man for whom the word 'swashbuckling' could have been invented.
All photos courtesy of Sportsfile.
We saw his mettle early on
One rousing clearance after another...
He ruled the skies during the 2011 All-Ireland final
Brian Gavin apologised to him shortly afterwards for getting in the way of his hurley
2009 Hurler of the Year: He took a lot of punishment that year
He disposed of the red helmet for the 2007 All-Ireland final
Lar was always desperate to talk to him
2012 was his last All-Ireland on the field of play
He didn't mind flying hurls
Willie John McBride's maxim about backward steps? Tommy didn't need to be told
Too many All-stars tours...
He togged for Ireland in the hurling/shinty international in 2009, 2010 and 2012
He hurled Fitzgibbon Cup for UCC
Celebrating with the boss
No ego: Was always ready to come off the bench
The Definitive Tommy Walsh image
