Herity hangs up Cats hurley

Goalkeeper David Herity has become the second Kilkenny hurler to bow out at the top following September’s All-Ireland success.

The Dunamaggin man, 32 in April, has confirmed his retirement from the inter-county game just days after Tommy Walsh’s similar decision.

Like Walsh, Herity was restricted to a bench role for this year’s All-Ireland finals behind Eoin Murphy though he was between the sticks for the 2011 and 2012 final wins.

His decision to retire will surprise some given his relatively young age and the fact that he and Murphy had swapped the No 1 jersey last summer.

Herity started this year’s All-Ireland semi-final win over Limerick and in difficult conditions kept a clean sheet, though was replaced by Murphy for the finals against Tipperary.

“I have played against some truly outstanding warriors and I am so proud to have represented my county during such a historic era for Kilkenny hurling,” said Herity. “It isn’t a journey you travel alone, however, and I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the many people who helped me throughout my career, in particularly my family and girlfriend whose support underpinned my commitment to Kilkenny hurling.”

Herity was involved with Kilkenny for seven years and collected five All-Ireland winners’ medals.

Walsh’s retirement was less of a surprise for neutrals, though Cats colleague TJ Reid didn’t see it coming.

Hurler of the Year nominee Reid revealed that Walsh informed his Kilkenny colleagues by text last week that he was calling it at day.

“It was a bit shock to the system, just seeing the message from Tommy and presuming it would be ‘best of luck at the weekend with Ballyhale’,” said Reid, who suggested Walsh had more to offer in 2015.

“I think so, yeah. He was up in the forwards this year with us. I would have liked to see him maybe back in the backs. But I’m not Brian Cody or management. He’s 31 I think so it’s a reasonably young age to retire.”