Austin Gleeson announces his retirement from inter-county hurling

Austin Gleeson has drawn a firm line under his Waterford career, saying he is “fully done” with inter-county hurling while admitting he is now paying the price for not looking after his body better in his prime years.

The 31-year-old Mount Sion forward, who was named both Hurler of the Year and Young Hurler of the Year in 2016, was last week confirmed among a group of experienced Déise players not included in Stephen Molumphy’s 2027 panel.

Gleeson had been in and out of the squad over the past couple of seasons under Peter Queally, having previously stepped away from the Waterford panel in 2024. But when asked on Off The Ball on Thursday night whether it was a case of “never say never”, he made it clear that his inter-county career is over.

“I’m fully done now,” Gleeson told Eoin Sheehan.

While content with the decision, Gleeson admitted there are things he would change if he had his time again, particularly around recovery, gym work and how he managed himself away from the game.

“Looking back at it, I probably didn’t look after my body in my early 20s or mid-20s and I’m probably paying the price for it now,” he said. 

“And then miles on the clock and just getting older.” 

Gleeson said he was slower than others to embrace the recovery work that has become such a central part of modern inter-county preparation.

“I know a lot of lads that would do recovery sessions and I felt, ‘No, I’m grand’,” he said. 

“And I only started doing them in recent years. Gym-wise, I wouldn’t have been first in and last out of the gym. I just liked to get in, get it done, and it wouldn’t have been my favourite thing to do.” 

He also acknowledged that his off-season habits were not always at the level required to extend his time at the top.

“The off-season, it was probably well documented, I didn’t look after myself in the off-seasons as well as I should have,” Gleeson said.

Those reflections come at the end of a Waterford career that featured some memorable highs, not least his spectacular 2016 campaign, when he emerged as one of the most exciting hurlers in the country. Injuries, form and selection issues all played a part in later years, but Gleeson said he is not leaving with bitterness.

“There are regrets, 100%, but I’m fairly content in stepping away now,” he said. “I do wish that I did look after myself a bit more seven or eight years ago and that I could have prolonged it for another year or two.”