Offaly stalwart Shane Dooley announces inter-county retirement

Offaly's all-time leading scorer Shane Dooley has announced his retirement from inter-county hurling after a 17-year career.

Dooley, an heir to the famous hurling dynasty, was one of the leading lights during a lean era for the county, racking up an enormous tally of 22-237 in championship hurling.

The son of three-time All-Ireland winner Joe, and nephew of Billy and Johnny, made his debut against Cork in the National League in 2007, emerging as a prodigious scorer in the early 2010s, racking up 3-39 and 4-21 in the 2010 and 2012 championships respectively, finishing secnd in the scoring charts.

Dooley attracted national acclaim for bumper displays as Offaly ran Galway to a replay in the 2010 Leinster championship, and then struck 1-08 in their 2012 Leinster SHC win over Wexford, the county's last championship victory over top-tier opposition.

He subsequently topped the championship scoring charts for the 2016 campaign.

The star attacker, who turned 37 in September, made his final appearance for Offaly in their Joe McDonagh Cup final defeat to Carlow this summer.

At club level, he captained Tullamore - traditionally a football heartland - to the 2009 Offaly SHC title, their first since 1964. He also briefly represented Offaly in football, featuring in the O'Byrne Cup before opting to concentrate on hurling.

In addition, Dooley won a Railway Cup medal with Leinster in 2012 and represented Ireland in the Hurling/Shinty series against Scotland.

Offaly county board chairman Michael Duignan paid tribute to Dooley, saying he had "given outstanding service to Offaly during a lengthy playing career.

"In his prime, Shane was rightly regarded as one of the country's top forwards, who was very skilful and deadly accurate from both play and