NEWS:WATERFORD STAR Ken McGrath has sensationally announced his retirement from intercounty hurling.

The 33-year-old lined out against Cork in last Sunday’s hurling league clash at Fraher Field, Dungarvan, but that game will, apparently, be his last in the county shirt.

In a phone call to Waterford boss Davy Fitzgerald yesterday, McGrath confirmed that he was calling it a day. And he was not present at training last night at the Waterford IT sports campus at Carriganore, with sources indicating that the player felt too emotional to reveal the news himself.

McGrath started against Cork at midfield last Sunday but was replaced by Eoin Kelly 11 minutes after half-time. The Mount Sion colossus was reportedly unhappy with his performance in the game.

Initial reports from the Waterford camp suggested that McGrath would take a few days to consider the situation, but the three-time All Star moved swiftly to end any speculation about his future.

He made over 50 championship appearances for Waterford, dating back to his debut against Tipperary in June 1996. His last championship appearance was in the All-Ireland semi-final against Tipperary last August.

He captained the Waterford senior hurlers on two separate occasions and won four Munster titles, a NHL title and three All-Stars during the course of his career. At club level, McGrath won six county titles with Mount Sion and a Munster club title in 2002.

Waterford selector Pat Bennett broke the news to the squad at training last night and reflected: “Ken was outstanding. This guy won so many matches for Mount Sion and for Waterford on his own. I remember this guy from under-14, all the way up, and I played alongside his father Pat on the Waterford teams that contested the 1982 and ’83 Munster finals.

“It’s the end of an era with Ken gone. The likes of Ken and Paul Flynn were outstanding guys, Dan Shanahan too. And if you take Séamus Prendergast and John Mullane out of the team from last Sunday, Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh was the oldest player at 26.”