Ireland's finest amateur golfer of recent decades, has retired from international competition. At 44, Garth McGimpsey announced yesterday that his leading activities in future, will be confined to the national and provincial championships.

"It has been a long time since I first played for Ireland and I have made many friends in that time," he said yesterday. "But it is time to call it a day. I will miss international golf. It has been the greatest honour for me to play for Ireland and I would like to thank all the captains that I have played under."

One of them, Mick Craddock, said yesterday: "Garth is one of the most gifted players to have represented Ireland and he will be sadly missed on the international scene. His commitment was total and he was a splendid role model for any young player hoping to achieve similar success."

After making his international debut in 1978, one of McGimpsey's first captains was Joe Carr, who immediately recognised the player's potential. Indeed McGimpsey, invariably a modest sportsman, often expressed embarrassment at how highly he was rated by such a legendary figure of the amateur game.

A member of Bangor GC, he was also a member of Royal Portrush, for which he played in the All-Ireland semi-finals of the Bulmers Barton Shield over the Dunluce Course last month. Indeed this proved to be his favourite among all of the leading Irish venues insofar as he won five North of Ireland titles there along with the Irish Close Championship of 1988.

He also played there in the British Amateur, which was to provide a certain television commentator with an insight into the sharper side of his nature. Determined that he should speak to McGimpsey, who had in fact started his round, the commentator caught up with the player on the first hole where he stuck a microphone into his face.

McGimpsey could see an amusing side to the situation while speaking about it afterwards. What did he say to the TV man? "Two short words - and the first one started with f," he said with a typical, half smile.

The pinacle of his golfing achievement was to emulate his mentor, Carr, by capturing the British Amateur Championship at Royal Dornoch in 1985. That led to the first of three Walker Cup appearances, in 1985, in the history-making line-up of 1989 at Peachtree, and in 1991 at Portmarnock. He also represented Britain and Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy on three occasions, including the victorious team of 1988.

Between 1978 and his swansong at Royal Co Down last month, McGimpsey played in 125 matches for Ireland in the Home Internationals, winning 69 and halving 17. At European Championship level, he played 48 matches between 1981 and 1997, winning 28 of them and halving three.

Predictably, his record at interprovincial level was even more impressive. In 116 matches for Ulster between 1979 and 1999, he won 73 and halved three, delivering 149 points in the process. His first appearances for Ireland were at youth level in 1975 and 1976 when he won three of his seven matches.

Enduring supremacy is what separates the truly gifted player from the pack. And McGimpsey emphasised his worth by winning a total of 14 important championships, including the West of Ireland on four occasions and the East of Ireland three times. The only one that eluded him was the South. "It is my intention to continue competing in the national and provincial championships," he concluded.