Kilkenny midfielder Derek Lyng has announced his inter-county retirement.

In doing so, he becomes the first member of the Cats' four-in-a-row winning team - which was denied an historic five-in-a-row by Tipperary last September - to officially retire. It was reported after the All-Ireland final defeat that long-serving defenders Michael Kavanagh and James Ryall had retired, but this was quickly denied by the Kilkenny county board.

The 32-year-old Lyng enjoyed an illustrious nine-year career with the Cats which saw him win six All-Ireland senior medals, nine Leinster championships, four National Leagues, four Inter-provincial championships and two All-Star awards.

The Urlingford man said: "There is never an ideal time to do something like this, but the time is right for me now. I had a great innings. I played with and against some of the greatest hurlers who ever lived and I picked up a few honours along the way."

He continued: "Playing with Kilkenny always meant a huge amount to me. I always had massive pride in it and I never took anything for granted. If you relaxed, someone would have overtaken you and you would be gone.

"I loved everything about it, the training, the camaraderie, the atmosphere of the big match. I found playing for your county in a full Croke Park to be inspiring."

Lyng will continue to line out for his club Emeralds. Tweet

Most Read Stories