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O'Driscoll, 33, became only the eighth Munster player to reach 200 appearances this season having made his debut against Neath in the Heineken Cup way back in 1998. He spent five years in the side before heading to France to play for Perpignan for two seasons.
He then returned to Munster and has played a further 154 times for his home province, including appearances in three Heineken Cup finals. He also won 23 full Irish caps and played 15 times for the A team
"Retiring has been a tough decision, one that I haven't taken lightly. I have really enjoyed my career, but I feel now is the right time for me to move on," O'Driscoll told the Limerick Leader..
"This is my 14th season playing professional rugby and I'm happy to go now when I think I am still playing relatively well. It's not that I fell out of love with rugby, but I was just finding it harder and harder to get motivated.
"A couple of people I have spoken to said that 33 was an early age to retire. It is young, but I have played for 14 years too. The big thing for me is that I don't want to plod on for the sake of it either.
"I got what I wanted out of rugby and I've no plans to get involved in coaching at the moment. I am making a clean, clean break from the game..
"There were plenty of highlights. Back in 1998, when I played my first game for the province would be up there. Then you have the two Heineken Cup wins and I suppose games in adversity likes the 'Miracle Match' against Gloucester, those sort of games. Days when we had our backs to the wall and we came out on top, they were always good games to be involved in and special moments."
