[1] He played hurling with his local club Faythe Harriers and at senior level for the Wexford county team in the 1950s and 1960s.
McGrath first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Wexford minor hurling team in the mid-1950s.
McGrath made his senior debut in the National Hurling League in the autumn of 1956 and he quickly became a regular on the team.
When the crowd were finally moved off the pitch Tipperary continued playing with only twelve men, however, Wexford won the game on a score line of 2-15 to 0-11 giving McGrath his first All-Ireland medal.
After just ninety seconds the Leinster champions were down by 2 goals, however, the game turned out to be much closer than people expected.