 Fennelly announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 29 December 2017 and from club hurling on 28 May 2020.After much success at underage levels, including four successive under-21 championships, Fennelly quickly joined the Ballyhale Shamrocks senior team.Two years later he was deployed further out the field as Ballyhale faced O'Loughlin Gaels in the senior decider.