Limerick captain Declan Hannon wears the history he has made lightly. A year ago he emulated Christy Ring as the only other hurler to lift the Liam MacCarthy three times and also equalled an earlier record set by Tipperary’s Mikey Maher from Tubberadora, who captained three All-Ireland winning teams in four years.
Another victory this Sunday would give the Adare man outright record status: first to captain three successive All-Ireland winning teams.
When that possibility was raised at Limerick’s All-Ireland press event, his response was predictably anodyne, but, with the final just days away, how else do you process comparisons with Ring?
“Not really,” he said when asked did he think much about taking the Cloyne master’s record. “I’m not lying but I haven’t really thought about that at all. For players there’s always something else coming around the corner.
“I can’t be thinking about anything other than the next training session and getting ready for that. If I’m distracted by other things I won’t be doing what’s right for the team, and that’s unacceptable.”
In the gallery of excellence that Limerick have curated, Hannon is an interesting exhibit, someone who attracted outsize attention from the start as a young hurler — shooting 1-13 out of his club’s 1-14, 0-4 from play in a Munster semi-final against Newtownshandrum when he was 16.
His intercounty career opened in the forwards in 2011 just after his Leaving Cert and he shot phenomenal totals in that campaign.
Limerick manager John Kiely cast Hannon as a centre back when taking over five seasons ago. It wasn’t a total shot in the dark, as the player had experience of the position in the Harty Cup wins of Ardscoil Rís.
With Covid you couldn’t risk missing an All-Ireland final by going down to the shop, nearly, whereas this year, there’s obviously a lot more freedom to get out and about
His coach at Mary Immaculate, Eamonn Cregan, who used him as a corner forward in the Fitzgibbon Cup and who also had experience of the migration from the forwards to centre back, said of Hannon’s evolution into an All-Ireland winning six: “He’s comfortable anywhere because he has that ability, good first touch and strikes well off the left and the right.”
If the delirium of 2018 and its ending of 45 years without the All-Ireland is unlikely to be repeated, the austerity of the pandemic championships, the winter final of 2020 behind closed doors and last year’s 50 per cent capacity will at least give way to a capacity crowd on Sunday.
That sporting and social isolation two years ago meant that something was missing.
“Definitely, in 2020 we were staying inside as much as possible and trying not to meet anybody. With Covid you couldn’t risk missing an All-Ireland final by going down to the shop, nearly, whereas this year, there’s obviously a lot more freedom to get out and about and bump into the public in our jobs and daily lives, so that’s enjoyable.
“You would miss that side of things as well, there’s a great relationship between the Limerick players and supporters and vice versa, so we’re just enjoying it all at the minute.”
His performances at centre back dovetail with the leadership he displays on the field. With so much defensive power around him, Hannon patrols the middle of the defence, doesn’t move position except on his own initiative and uses possession cleverly.
He also steps up when crisis calls. His injury-time point at the end of the Munster final, shot from the heaving maelstrom of a rush-hour middle third, looked to have won the title until Tony Kelly’s astounding equaliser.
Again, against Galway he rose to the challenge in the semi-final. He acknowledges how close-run a thing it was but also that having room for improvement going into a final is not necessarily a bad thing.
“If that was against Kilkenny you’d be blown off the field. They really pride themselves on the work rate and intensity that they bring to games so we are going to have to match that for the full 70, 75 minutes.”
He says that he doesn’t watch much hurling, as the demands of involvement are so intense.
“It’s kind of time to switch off when you’re not involved. You need that as well, you need to take a break and refresh your mind and your body and everything. We can’t always be constantly hurling 24/7. I think that’s a good thing as well just to step back from it when you can.”
He is happy with the experimental split season.
“I think it works well. I think lads in other counties are in agreement it’s best for the players and for the clubs — there’s a proper season. Everyone knows exactly when they can play matches.
“I know with Adare we could be in for a game or two then back to the county for two or three months, then back to the club. This way is a lot better. Supporters mightn’t be too happy the season is all over in July but for players I think it works really well.”
This will be the third different month that he has played an All-Ireland final, after August 2021 and December 2020. Not that it matters.
“If the All-Ireland is on the first of January we’ll be there.”
