Evergreen Canning enjoying medal-laden golden years

OLLIE CANNING is heading into his 17th year as a senior hurler with Portumna — and he is as keen and fired-up now as he was when donned the jersey for the first time as a 16-year old.

He was unburdened by the weight of silverware during the first decade with Portumna but since the autumn of 2003 five county medals and three All-Irelands have been garnered.

He admits: “It is not too hard to stay motivated when you have success. It’s a lot harder to keep putting the effort in when things are not going your way.