Maurice Shanahan still holding onto Waterford dream but admits ‘it’s not looking likely’

The phone call from Liam Cahill 18 months ago to tell him he was no longer part of the Waterford set-up was a difficult one to stomach

Former Waterford hurler Maurice Shanahan: ‘The last 15 minutes of the Kilkenny game when Stephen [Bennett] got the goal to bring on the comeback, I had to walk out to the back garden for five minutes because it kind of hit home. Jesus, I would have loved to have been there with them.’ Picture: Dan Sheridan

Maurice Shanahan believes he still has something to offer at inter-county level, but says it is unlikely he’ll ever again pull on the Waterford jersey.

Having featured in three of Waterford’s four championship games during the summer of 2019, Shanahan was dropped from the panel in November of that year by new manager Liam Cahill.

Being axed from the Waterford set-up, after 11 seasons of service, “still hurts me to this day”, Shanahan has admitted. And while he has not given up hope of a recall at some point in the future, the 31-year-old said “it is probably not looking likely” that he’ll ever again wear the Waterford shirt.

“Personally, I do think I still have something to offer. But like that, Liam has his own plans and I’m not part of that plan, which is fine as well.

“Liam might not be there next year, you just don’t know. And if someone came in, you might be back in their plans so that’s something you have to think about going forward.

“I am probably training more now than I ever did. I take a day off on a Sunday, but every other day, I’m out in the gym in the back shed, running the roads, or in ball alleys. I’ll never give up on putting on a Waterford jersey. It is probably not looking likely.”

The phone call from Cahill 18 months ago to tell him he was no longer part of the Waterford set-up was a difficult one to stomach.

When you get a call like that after being there 10 years, it’s hurtful. It did hurt me and it probably still hurts me to this day. But you just have to be a bigger man and move on from it.”

What also hurt was watching on from home as his old teammates rescued a nine-point deficit to overhaul Kilkenny in last November’s All-Ireland semi-final and their subsequent final involvement.

“Jesus, the joy I got from them winning and getting to the All-Ireland final was great. It’s a pity they couldn’t get over the line, but it would hurt you. Like, the last 15 minutes of the Kilkenny game when Stephen [Bennett] got the goal to bring on the comeback, I had to walk out to the back garden for five minutes because it kind of hit home.

“Jesus, I would have loved to have been there with them.

“When I came back in, I was roaring the boys on again, but definitely, and I think if you ask Noel [Connors] or even Tommy Ryan or any of them lads, it would have hurt. We are human people, and if it doesn’t hurt you after the last 10 years you gave to Waterford, it didn’t mean much to be honest.”

Coming to terms with no longer being an inter-county hurler is one of the many changes Shanahan has had to adjust to over the past 18 months.

He tied the knot in February 2020, but the Covid pandemic, which arrived a month later, saw him lose his job of 13 years with Iverk Produce.

Unemployment coupled with the restrictions that came with the rolling lockdowns of the past year took their toll on someone who attempted to take their own life when going through mental health difficulties in the middle of the last decade.

“In 2014, I kind of hit my rock bottom. I can’t really tell you why, but just things started to really get on top of me. Everyone knows I tried to commit suicide. Thankfully, it didn’t work out for me. But other families aren’t so lucky. Only for the people around me at the time, I wouldn’t be here talking to you today.

“When I got depression I didn’t want to leave my family down saying, ‘I’m depressed’.

“It wasn’t a chat I wanted to have with my parents because my father at the time was battling cancer.

“I didn’t want anyone knowing either because I was kind of too proud at the start. It’s not because you’re an inter-county hurler, I’m a proud person. Proud of where I come from, that kind of stuff. It’s not an easy thing to come out and say to anyone. 

I bottled it up for a long, long time. The minute I said to people, I was suffering, there was a bit of relief lifted off me straight away.”

He has his bad days still and there are mornings where he doesn’t feel like climbing out of bed, but, in the main, he reports to be in a “good place right now”. He no longer hides his emotions, arranging to meet friends for a coffee and a chat if he is feeling off.

Certainly, his world has been brightened beyond recognition by the baby girl he and his wife Katie welcomed into their life six weeks ago.

“The best thing that ever happened,” he says of Rosie, adding “to have her around everyday is unbelievable”.

• Maurice Shanahan has teamed up with Electric Ireland to invite the public to join them for a special ‘One Sunrise Together’ for Darkness Into Light on Saturday, May 8, in order to raise vital funds for Pieta’s lifesaving services. You can sign up now at darknessintolight.ie