Inter-county
Walsh first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kilkenny minor team in the late seventies. He won a Leinster medal in this grade in 1979, however, Kilkenny were later defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland decider.
He immediately moved onto the Kilkenny under-21. He won back-to-back Leinster medals in 1980 and 1981, however, there would be no All-Ireland success either in this grade as Tipperary dominated the championship.
In 1984 Walsh made his first appearance for the Kilkenny senior team when he lined out in the Oireachtas Tournament. He collected a winners' medal from that competition, playing as wing-forward.
Walsh later made several appearances during various National League campaigns but failed to command a regular place on the starting fifteen.
In spite of failing to make it as a member of the Kilkenny senior team, Walsh quickly became a regular on the Kilkenny junior hurling team. In 1986, he won a Leinster medal in this grade before later winning an All-Ireland medal following a five-point defeat of Limerick.
Four years later in 1990 Walsh captured his second Leinster junior medal. He later collected his second All-Ireland junior medal following a 4-21 to 2-11 thrashing of old rivals Tipperary.
In late 1990 Walsh's father, Ollie, was appointed manager of the Kilkenny senior hurling team. He gave his son a chance to play in that year's National Hurling League, and Walsh Jr. later became the first-choice goalkeeper on the senior team. In spite of some criticism of nepotism Walsh went on to have a very successful career at senior level.
Later in 1991 Walsh won his first senior Leinster title with Kilkenny, however, his side were beaten by Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. In spite of this he was still presented with an All-Star award for his great display in the championship.
In 1992 Walsh won his second Leinster title before later claiming his first senior All-Ireland medal following a win over Cork. The following year he captured his third consecutive Leinster title before making his third consecutive appearance in an All-Ireland final. In the final Kilkenny beat Galway by 2-17 to 1-15 and Walsh collected his second All-Ireland medal. He finished off the year by also winning a second All-Star. Over the next few years Offaly emerged as the dominant team in Leinster as Kilkenny began to slide. Walsh did win a National Hurling League medal in 1995, however, there was no more championship success.
In March 1996 Walsh's father died. This was a major blow for Walsh as his father had been a huge influence on his career. He continued to play but he retired following Kilkenny's defeat to Wexford in the Leinster quarter-final.
