TIPPERARY DEFENDER JAMES Barry has announced his inter-county retirement.
The Upperchurch Drombane clubman steps away on the back of winning his second All-Ireland medal last August. He also lifted two Munster titles during his senior career with the county, which he described as “the time of my life.”
Barry, 29, made the announcement through a statement on the Tipperary GAA website this morning:
“After careful consideration and reflection I have decided that now is the right time for me to announce my retirement from inter-county hurling with the Tipperary senior hurling team.
“The last 7 years have been an unbelievable experience for me and I will always cherish the time I got to wear the blue and gold of Tipperary at the highest possible level. I have had the time of my life, lived my childhood dream and have memories that will stay with me forever.
“Firstly and most importantly I want to sincerely thank my fiancé Shannon and family especially my parents Seamus and Noreen for their continuous encouragement and support throughout my inter-county career.
“I also want to thank all the managers and backroom teams who helped me along this journey and were very supportive of me as well as Tipperary county board, Tipperary Supporters Club, the GPA and last but not least the Tipperary supporters who have always supported me through thick and thin over the past number of years.
“Equally, I would like to thank my employers Gas Networks Ireland for their understanding and support throughout my time playing with Tipperary.
“To my club Upperchurch Drombane, I want to thank them for the amazing opportunity they gave me to get to play for Tipperary. This is mainly down to the teachers in the primary school and all the devoted coaches in the club. I will forever be indebted to you all. I will always be grateful for my time spent in Thurles CBS and UCC where I learned valuable lessons that were of huge benefit to my hurling career.
Finally, I have had the privilege of playing with and against some of the greatest sportsmen of our time and the friendships I have made over the last 7 years of playing with Tipperary is something I will always treasure.
“I want to thank the players of Tipperary both past and present who have shared a dressing room with me since I first began to play with Tipperary. I have forged friendships there that will last a lifetime and I want to wish all of the players and management continued success in the future.
“It’s been an honour.”
Premier boss Liam Sheedy paid tribute to the departing full-back, adding: “James Barry has been a consistently high performer ever since he first pulled on the Tipperary jersey and was a key player on many teams.
“A player of tremendous ability, James excelled in all he did and showed great leadership within the panel. He departs on a high following his contribution to this year’s All-Ireland triumph and I wish him every success now and for the future.”
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