Cushe first played hurling to a high standard at club level with Naomh Éanna in Gorey.
[3] Cushe later progressed to the under-21 team and won consecutive Leinster U21HC medals, as well as losing the 1985 All-Ireland under-21 final to Galway.
[4] Cushe made his senior team debut in a National Hurling League game against Limerick in October 1990.
[5] He won a Leinster SHC medal in 1996, before playing at full-back when Wexford beat Limerick in the 1996 All-Ireland final.
[7][8] Cushe had just retired from playing when he joined Tony Dempsey's Wexford senior hurling management team as a selector.