Munster have announced that Denis Hurley, BJ Botha and Cathal Sheridan are among the players who will leave the province at the end of the season.

Coincidentally, the Scarlets were the opposition for long-serving Hurley's first and final games for Munster.

He made his debut at Stradley Park in 2006 before revealing on social media that last weekend's season finale against the Welsh side, a 31-15 victory that secured Champions Cup qualification, was his final outing with the province.

“All the memories this pitch has given us over the years and it culminated in a quiet moment for us to savour as a family,” he wrote alongside an Instagram post with his baby daughter at Thomond Park after the match.

“Happy to have played out my dreams here but now a new challenge awaits and we're excited about what may lie ahead. Thanks for all the support over the years.”

The ever-versatile Hurley made his breakthrough during the European Cup winning campaign of 2007/08 and started in the decider against Toulouse and would make a total of 166 appearances, the most experienced player in the current squad.

Hurley added Pro12 titles in 2009 and 2011 and played in the famous win over Australia at Thomond Park in 2010.

Botha has made just 11 appearances in an injury-hampered season, but has not featured since the Champions Cup defeat to Stade Francais in January where he ruptured his ACL.

A World Cup winner with South Africa in 2007, the 36-year-old tighthead prop has made 111 appearances since joining from Ulster in five years ago.

A product of the Munster Rugby Academy, scrum-half Cathal Sheridan departs after just 35 games since making his debut against Edinburgh at Musgrave Park in 2013.

The Sligo native has struggled for game time and has been vying with Tomás O’Leary as back-up for Conor Murray.

Gerhard Van den Heever is another to have struggled to make a consistent impression on the starting team since his arrival three years ago.

The winger scored six tries in 29 appearances, with the highlight being his Heineken Cup debut where Munster comprehensively defeated Toulouse in the 2014 quarter- final.

A former Academy Player of the Year, Shane Buckley spent two seasons in the senior squad where he made eight Pro12 appearances, the first of which came as a starter against Edinburgh at Thomond Park in September 2014.

It was recently confirmed that backrower Jordan Coghlan will join Nottingham Rugby next season.