GAA
Limerick stalwart and All Ireland winner Séamus Hickey today announced his retirement form Intercounty hurling via a statement on the GPA website.
“It has been God’s great blessing and an enormous privilege to wear the Limerick jersey from my teenage years through my entire adult life.
It is an even greater blessing to have been part of an incredible group of people in 2018 and to deliver to Limerick what the proud sporting county deserved: the Liam McCarthy.
Hickey won back to back Harty Cup medals with St Flannan’s College in 2004 and 2005 with the 2005 campaign culminating in a 2-15 to 2-12 Croke Cup win over St Kierans College (Kilkenny) at Semple Stadium.
He was also involved in the 2004 and 2005 Limerick minor championship campaigns and after an unsuccessfully opening season reached the 2005 minor final scoring two points from midfield in a 3-12 to 0-17 loss to Galway. Having taken up his studies at UL the Fitzgibbon Cup was the next impressive achievement in his career winning the 2011 title with a 1-17 to 2-11 win over UL in a full back line that contained Michael Brick Walsh and Paddy Stapleton.
Football was also something that Hickey enjoyed and added a Limerick Senior Championship medal to his collection having come on a substitute during Monaleen’s 1-12 to 0-7 victory over Newcastlewest in 2011.
The Murroe Boher club man made his senior Championship debut for Limerick in 2006 against Tipperary and wen on to make a total of 44 championship appearances. The years of hard work and effort finally paid off with Limerick’s epic 2018 win and following that achievement, Hickey has decided to step away from the game at the highest level.
“I have now decided to step away from the Limerick senior hurling panel. I am eternally grateful to my club Murroe Boher, to the GPA for their incredible support and guidance, to the exceptional teammates I’ve had, the inspiring managers, the perennially selfless backroom teams, the successes, the failures and everything I have learned along the way.
“It was all made possible by the phenomenal support I receive constantly from my extraordinary wife and children, my parents and my family. They have given so much of themselves so that I could live my dream. My dream off the field has now grown bigger than the one on it and I look forward to being the very best husband, father, brother and son I can be.
“God is good, Luimneach abú!”