The 34-year-old has won 72 caps but was not used during the RBS 6 Nations Championship as Ireland won the Triple Crown.

Humphreys will continue playing for Celtic League side Ulster after agreeing a new one-year deal.

I have not played so much with Ireland this year and its now time to concentrate on Ulster a bit more, said Humphreys.

It would have been very easy to retire completely but looking at the quality of young players coming through I think there are very exciting times ahead for Ulster and I want to be a part of that.

Humphreys made his Ireland debut in the Five Nations against France in 1996 and went on to score 560 Test points.

But since the 2003 World Cup in Australia he has played the role of understudy to Irelands first-choice fly-half Ronan OGara - a situation he was no longer happy with.

This was not a decision that I came to lightly and I have thought about it a lot in recent months, he told the BBC.

It has been an enormous privilege to play for Ireland for 11 years but for family and rugby reasons, now is the time to call it a day.

Humphreys, a trained solicitor, is married with three children.

Its a family decision. They have not pressured me but because I have been away from home so much I have missed the first five or six years of my children growing up, he said.