IRELAND’S FERGAL O’BRIEN will retire from professional snooker at the end of the current season.

The Dubliner confirmed his plans to RTÉ Sport, ultimately ending a 33-year career.

Former British Open winner and 2001 Masters finalist O’Brien has decided to move into other areas of snooker, including media work and coaching. It has been a ‘Plan B’ in recent years, he explained.

“I’m initially sad at the thought of not playing anymore because obviously I’ve been a professional for 33 years. It’s been my life,” the 51-year-old told RTÉ.

“I could be on my own playing, you know, happy as anything, just playing. I’ll still be playing, but obviously not the same amount or the same intensity. I will miss that.

“Obviously I have had some success. I would have liked more, of course, but I think ultimately for me, without sounding too corny, the journey is the reward. I always wanted to play snooker.

“I loved playing snooker and even the bad days and the disappointments were still, in some ways fulfilling. You’re still alive. You still felt something.

“I loved playing. I didn’t want to do anything else. But I’m fortunate now that I do have other options still in snooker. That’s going to soften the blow.”

O’Brien was relegated from the professional World Snooker Tour last year but quickly regained his status in Q School.

He missed out on the last eight of the British Open in September.