‘It was a bit of a circus’ - Hannon reflects on 2018 All-Ireland 

The Limerick squad are now better equipped to prepare for All-Irelands, experience does help, and they've got plenty of that

BETTER EQUIPPED: Limerick’s Declan Hannon. ©INPHO/James Crombie

This is their fourth All-Ireland final in five years, so the Limerick hurlers are used to the build-up.

Not so for the first, says captain Declan Hannon.

“I suppose we’ve probably learned a lot from 2018 in terms of that being the first All-Ireland for any of us to play in,” he says.

“It was a bit of a circus at times in terms of tickets and everything else that goes on outside the pitch, and I suppose we’ve learned to park that and let somebody else deal with all that stuff.

“From the players’ point of view, it’s obviously just to get ready for what happens inside the white lines and do the best we can in that sense, that’s all we can do then.” Getting ready means dealing with the run-in. Again, experience helps.

“I think we had three weeks in 2018, but this year we are used to the two-week turnaround.

“The Munster final (break) was obviously longer, but with the round-robin back it’s every second week or every week you are playing. It’s great, it’s what players want I suppose and the more games the better for us.

“Lads are so fit that they recover quite quickly now, so there’s no issues with the game being a two-week turnaround.” For all the challenges, Hannon stresses that it’s a more enjoyable buildup than 2020, for instance, when “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, 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.” It was a tight squeeze in the semi-final, as seen by the Limerick relief at the end. “Maybe a lot of people weren’t expecting it, but we were certainly expecting a massive battle out of Galway.

“The last few years we’d played them, there’s been very little between the two teams so it was never going to be any different. There’s nobody ever going to turn up to an All-Ireland semi-final and just roll over; that’s just never going to happen.

“So I suppose there’s relief after every game you win, especially those tight games when the small margins make the difference and luckily enough we kept going near the end and got those last couple of points to see us through.” Manger John Kiely said Limerick’s work rate was slightly off that day. Hannon agrees.

“I think so. I don’t know, but that comes down to Galway as well. They probably outworked us and we were disappointed from that point of view.

“If that was against Kilkenny you’d be blown off the field, they really pride themselves on the workrate and intensity that they bring to games, so we are going to have to match that for the full 70, 75 minutes to have any chance at all.” Despite the reference to Kilkenny, Hannon says reversing the 2019 semi-final defeat isn’t a motivation.

“Not really. You just have to play whoever comes out the other side of the draw. We just haven’t played Kilkenny for the last few years but no doubt it’ll be a titanic battle.

“They’re an amazing team, no doubt a lot of teams have learned from Kilkenny over the years, how hey play, the intensity they bring, the work rate, the skill levels - we’ve all learned from them. It’s a real battle we’ll embrace and go for it as hard as we can.

“That day (2019) Kilkenny started like a train and we were ten or eleven points down after fifteen minutes, and you give any team a lead like that you’ll be chasing your tail.

“It was the start of that game that cost us rather than the end so we’ll be focusing on starting well. It’s whoever brings the better performance will win it.

“They came with savage intensity and work rate. It wasn’t that we weren’t expecting it, we weren’t able to handle it in the first ten or fifteen minutes. It was a shock to the system but it’s something we can look back on and use and hopefully it’ll never happen again.” 

Hannon’s a fan of the split season - “I think it works well.

“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.” Not that they’re distracted by fixtures. Asked if that All-Ireland final date is moved again, the answer is quick: “If it’s is on the first of January we’ll be there.”