Walter Walsh says Padraig Walsh is a trend-setter in how he ended his Kilkenny career without making the traditional 'retirement statement.'
Cillian Buckley did the same thing with Tullogher Rosbercon's Walsh following in their footsteps most recently having called time on his Kilkenny career last week.
Kilkenny GAA announced their retirements with quotes from the county board and Derek Lyng, but not from the players themselves.
The 33-year-old said it was only after the club season ended this year when he settled on his decision to hang up the boots, adding that injuries including a particularly debilitating thumb issue played their part.
He said he's been shocked at the amount of well-wishes he's received since, adding that he's looking forward to playing with his club, and getting back into rugby with New Ross.
"Padraig must be setting the trend. I'm not sure is it a trend," he said of the lack of a retirement statement.
"I rang Derek Lyng and met with Derek, probably a month ago now. I rang the county board a week or two later and asked them what way to go about retiring.
"They said Cillian did it this way and I said 'yeah I'd like something similar to that. Just not a whole lot of fuss, that's what I wanted.
"I just wanted to announce it I suppose so as to draw a line in the sand and people wouldn't be asking me would I be going back for another year."
"I didn't know how I was going to retire to be honest so it probably was just because Buckley did a few weeks before me and I thought that looked alright, I'll do the same, there wasn't too much thought put into it," he added.
Walsh gave more details on the injury issues that have caused him problems, having torn his groin off the bone back in February.
"I've needed an operation on my thumb for five or six years now. The joint on my thumb is all over the place, needing to fuse two bones together and ligaments are ruptured in it as well. I've very little strength in it."
"I always have the thumb strapped but the strapping can only do so much," he said.
"From day-to-day work-wise, I'm a teacher and a dairy farmer as well, so I just need to get that fixed, so I don't know when exactly I'm getting that operated on."
"I tore my groin off the bone against Offaly in February as well and I did a lot of rehab to get back, after being out for almost 16/17 weeks. There's more rehab to do as well, it's still catching me a small bit...so between the two of them pretty severe injuries, so I'd say my body wouldn't be able to compete at the high level of inter-county hurling as it is now."
"I wasn't sure after the Clare game. I thought it might be my last time but I probably thought that for a few years, and I definitely wasn't sure. I said I'd go onto the club and see how that goes.
"Mooncoin beat us in the intermediate quarter final and I think coming off the field that day I just got the feeling that's me finished with Kilkenny. Maybe some of it was because I didn't have a particularly good game that day, that might have fed into it. But for some reason I thought that was it."
A rugby player in his younger days, Walsh played at 15 for New Ross last weekend and is excited to get back
"I was a bit rusty! It will take a while to get back into the swing of things. I enjoy it. I'd told the lads I'd come back and play whenever I'm finished with Kilkenny so I'm telling them that six or seven years."
Pictured is former Kilkenny hurler, Walter Walsh who has teamed up with AIB to support the GOAL mile. As part the campaign AIB is offering people who register for the GOAL Mile the chance to win one of the ten €1,000 prizes for their GAA, Camogie, or LGFA club. To win, people need to register for their GOAL Mile and then enter the AIB GAA GOAL Mile competition at www.aibgaagoalmile2024.com
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
