Henry, it’s been an absolute privilege.
It didn’t exactly come as a surprise, but the reality of no longer seeing Henry Shefflin in a Kilkenny jersey really hit home when he confirmed that he would be retiring from inter-county hurling this afternoon.
Shefflin confirmed the inevitable news at a press conference in Kilkenny this afternoon, but also delivered the good news that he’ll continue to play with his club Ballyhale Shamrocks, with whom he won a third All-Ireland club title on St. Patrick’s Day.
Certainly the greatest hurler of his generation, Shefflin will deservedly go down as one of the all-time greats and it’s fair to say we’re not going to see his like for a long time.
It’s also highly unlikely that anyone will match his ridiculous haul of ten All-Ireland titles, 11 All-Star awards, three All-Ireland club titles and three Hurler of the Year awards, achievements which tell only half the tale of his influence in black and amber over the years.
A leader, a warrior, a genius and a gentleman, we’ll miss him but he’s had one hell of a career.
On the announcement of his retirement earlier, Twitter queued up to pay tribute to the greatest of them all.
Standing ovation for Henry Shefflin on his retirement announcement pic.twitter.com/22T0XmmA4E
— Kilkenny GAA (@KilkennyCLG) March 25, 2015
Standing ovation for @ShefflinHenry after delivering his retirement statement. Some people in Tears in the gallery. #GAA #HenryShefflin
— Pat Nolan (@pat_nolan) March 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/DaveMcIntyreNT/status/580707427491909633
JJ Delaney and Tommy Walsh his toughest opponents, received with applause.
— Shane Stapleton (@ShaneSaint) March 25, 2015
Best wishes in retirement to Henry Shefflin who did the simple things spectacularly well & made the spectacular look simple
— Tipperary GAA (@TipperaryGAA) March 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/johnodwyer14/status/580707238861475840
@ShefflinHenry the greatest of the greats. A leader and humble. Had great team around him too. But top of the pile for me. Enjoy retirement
— Tomás Ó Sé (@tomas5ky) March 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/Jamwall7/status/580495691044286464
https://twitter.com/nbrez/status/580697076650110976
Henry Shefflin leaving press conference with all his medals! Joy to watch him play the game. Will go down as the best pic.twitter.com/kkgHjPaBGu
— Mark McHugh (@MarkMcHugh1) March 25, 2015
Henry Shefflin tomorrow .. https://t.co/xEVBcRBt88
— Pundit Arena (@PunditArena) March 24, 2015
