
ITโS THE stuff of any boyโs dreams as on Sunday Declan Hannon attempts to rewrite history by becoming the first hurler to captain four All-Ireland SHC winning teams.
But has the novelty worn off?
Not a bit of it! ย โAny time you get to an All-Ireland final is great. Thereโs still the same excitement. There was a bit of the circus the first year, tickets and that sort of thing. But weโve learned to park that.โ
He continued: โIf you look back five or six years ago, you wouldn’t have said weโd ever be in the situation weโre in now.โ
โWe brought the bit of confidence with us from the recent All-Ireland Under-21 wins. And, of course John Kiely, Paul Kinnerk and Caroline Currid have done an unreal job of building up trust in our ability to work hard and get on with it.โ
He cautioned: โTrying to maintain it can be tough at times. The last number of seasons kind of rolled into each other, we were there right at the end of the championship each year, and thereโs a lot of miles up on the clock But weโre loving it.โ
Of Kilkenny, Hannon opined: โTheyโre an amazing team. The intensity they bring, their skills, the savage work rate they have. However, you just have to play whatever the draw puts in front of you. There’s always something new coming around the corner and you have to get yourself ready for it.โ
Can Adareโs finest son become the sportโs first captain to accept the Liam MacCarthy Cup four times? โTo be honest, I haven’t even thought about it. You can’t let yourself get distracted. Maybe after I retire, I might look back on it,โ stated the 29-year-old.