BY MICHAEL O’LEARY
In July, Grace Walsh announced her departure from the Inter-County Camogie scene following a very successful career that saw her win three Senior All-Irelands along with three All-Stars.
The Tullaroan native was part of the Kilkenny Underage Teams that were a dominant force in winning All-Irelands, before going on to make her debut with the County Senior Team.
However, it wasn’t an instant success as Grace was part of The Kilkenny set-up that lost All-Irelands in 2013 and 2014, but it would come right afterwards.
Grace was part of the Tullaroan Team that enjoyed their greatest day when they won the Leinster Intermediate Final against Myshall in 2015, while in 2016 she won the first of her three Senior All-Irelands as she was part of the Kilkenny Panel that won their first All-Ireland in 22 years.
Unfortunately, disappointment followed with three consecutive All-Ireland final defeats in 2017, 2018 and 2019, but they made amends with All-Ireland triumph in 2020.
2020 was a most challenging year with COVID-19, and for Grace in particular it was most intense while working as a nurse in Dublin. However, the year would start and end with memorable All-Ireland triumphs both for her family and for herself.
In January of 2020, she was in in Croke Park to cheer on Tullaroan as her four brothers Tommy, Padraig, Shane and Martin were part of the Tullaroan Team that won a memorable epic All-Ireland Intermediate Club Final against Fr. O’Neills of Cork.
The occassion was made extra special with Shane scoring the winning point, while also captaining the Team in the process.
With COVID-19 forcing on field activities to be postponed for several months, a split season unfolded which meant that the Inter-County season would not be played until November and December.
The All-Ireland Final was played in December, and Grace along with her Kilkenny Teammates made amends for the heartbreak of the previous three years with victory against Galway.
Grace was rewarded for her outstanding performances in 2020 with a 2nd All-Star having won her 1st in 2018, while she was also nominated for The Player of The Year Award that was won by her Kilkenny Teammate Denise Gaule.
She was also part of The Kilkenny Team that won The 2022 All-Ireland Final while also picking up a 3rd All-Star.
Also in 2022, Grace was one of 50 inter county players that included former Kilkenny Senior Hurler Paul Murphy who travelled to Kenya to participate in The Plant The Planet Games.
The Plant The Planet Games was part of The Warriors for Humanity campaign organized by former Galway dual player Alan Kerins in partnership with Self Help Africa and The Gaelic Players Association.
Grace and the rest of the contingent participated in the first All-Star game played in Africa along with the first combined male and female GAA game, and more importantly helped plant one million trees for local African communities. Their was a huge fundraising effort by all of the 50 players involved, as each tree planted for an African family gave much needed hope especially to the less fortunate.
Having now departed the Inter-County scene, Grace has most certainly left a legacy where she made a difference both on and off the field.
