Well we did predict it.
At the weekend, when we brought you the news that James Woodlock was quitting the Tipperary hurling panel, just 24 hours after Conor O’Mahony quit the scene, we expected another announcement in the coming days.
And the latest bombshell coming out of the Premier has dropped this morning, with confirmation that Shane McGrath is stepping away from the senior squad.
The 31-year-old is a two-time all-Star and an All-Ireland winner with the county in 2010.
His departure was confirmed in a statement on the Tipperary website this morning in which McGrath reveals the background to his decision.
“After over 10 years on the Tipperary senior hurling panel, I have decided that now is the right time to announce my retirement from inter-county hurling.
“It was a great honour and privilege for me to play with Tipperary and I will greatly miss being involved with the special group of people that is the Tipperary senior hurling panel.
“I was fortunate to enjoy some wonderful moments during my career and it was a great honour for me to have been Munster Player of the Year in 2008, to captain Munster and Tipperary and to win 2 All Star Awards. Most special of course was being part of Tipperary’s All Ireland winning team in 2010, it was simply unforgettable.”
“I come from a small club, Ballinahinch, and it was a great privilege to represent them when I wore the blue and gold.”
McGrath’s departure means that new manager Michael Ryan is shorn of three of the most experienced Tipperary hurlers of the last decade for next season.
https://twitter.com/DaveMcIntyreNT/status/666553845854691328
The retirements of Shane McGrath, Conor O'Mahony and James Woodlock in the space of four days has a coordinated look about it #TippGAA
— Shane Brophy (@BrophShane) November 17, 2015
