When recently retired Limerick captain Declan Hannon was asked to summarise his 15-year senior career, one phrase came to mind.
“Roller coaster, an absolute roller coaster.”
Hannon has won five All-Irelands, seven Munster Championships, two National Leagues, and two All-Stars.
There’s absolutely nothing the 33-year-old didn’t achieve in his glittering Limerick career, which came to an end last year.
When reflecting upon his career in green, he said, “[I have] loads of great memories and plenty of bad ones thrown in there as well, along the journey.”
“To be part of it was amazing. I’d probably count myself lucky to have been around over the last 15 years and to have got to play with so many great players, create great memories and have [those] friendships.
“All the accolades [are great], but at the end of the day, none of us would be where we are only for your teammates and again, your mentors and trainers all the way up the line.”
Like all good things, Hannon’s inter-county career came to an end. “It was a great journey, but everything comes to an end at some stage. I’m out to the other side now, and on to the next thing.”
“I suppose for myself, my things are busy outside of the GAA world, and I’m kind of living between Limerick and Dublin, which isn’t ideal for an inter-county player if you’re doing a bit of travelling. You need to be in it 100 percent, and I suppose it probably made the decision a bit easier that I couldn’t commit 100 percent to it again for another year. John [Kiely] understands that.”
Hannon had a special relationship with John Kiely, the manager who moved him to centre-back from where he started his inter-county career, and who has overseen all of Limerick’s success in recent times.
He recalled the meeting he had to inform the Limerick boss of his decision to step away.
“John is very conscious of what’s best for the actual person, not just the player. He understands that there are a lot of things going on outside of the hurling field.”
“It was a nice little conversation, and we ended up just shaking hands and moving on.”
“If you said that to somebody 10 years ago, they’d laugh at you…”
During Hannon’s career, he achieved more than he could have imagined in his wildest dreams alongside his teammates.
He joined the Limerick panel in 2010 as a fresh-faced teenager gearing up for his Leaving Cert exams. He left as the most accomplished captain the sport has ever seen.
“When you list [the accolades] out, I mean, it took Limerick 45 years to win the first All-Ireland,” he said.
“So, you couldn’t have dreamt of winning five All-Irelands and seven Munsters and six of them in a row. I mean, that was unheard of for most teams.”
“I’d say if you said that to somebody 10 years ago, they’d laugh at you. It was just unreal.”
2018: Limerick 3-16 – 1-18 Galway
Many moments from Declan Hannon’s storied career propel him into the pantheon of hurling greats, none more so than on that glorious day in 2018.
In his first year as Limerick captain, Hannon made the heavenly 34-step ascent up the Hogan Stand to collect the Liam McCarthy, becoming the first Limerick man since Eamonn Grimes in 1973.
It was a climb that the Adare man would become all too familiar with, but the first always stands out to Hannon.
“2018 will always be number one. Just because it had been so long since Limerick had won the All-Ireland, it was amazing.”
“I’m still quite young. I don’t see myself getting involved with any teams anytime soon.”
Despite numerous chances to jump straight into coaching, Hannon insisted that it’s not something on his radar for the minute.
“I also don’t think I’ll be any good at coaching, so there’s really no point doing it,” he laughed. “I’m happy enough to have weekends free and a few evenings a week free, but a few teams have been in touch.”
As for his own future, Hannon will continue to ply his trade with his club, Adare. He leaves a legacy as the greatest captain in the sport’s history.