Declan Hannon

Declan Hannon (born 25 November 1992) is an Irish hurler who plays for Limerick Senior Championship club Adare and at inter-county level as captain of the Limerick senior hurling team, whom he captained to the All Ireland hurling title in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022 2023 becoming the first Limerick captain since Mick Mackey to captain Limerick to victory twice, and the first hurling captain to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup a record four times. As well as lifting the Mackey cup in the Munster hurling final six times.He usually lines out as a centre-back.

Declan Hannon

Personal information
Irish name	Déaglán hAnnáin
Sport	Hurling
Position	Centre-back
Born	(1992-11-25) 25 November 1992 (age 31) Adare, County Limerick, Ireland
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Occupation	Recruitment consultant[1]
Club(s)
Years	Club
2009–	Adare
Club titles
Limerick titles	1
Colleges(s)
Years	College
	Mary Immaculate College
College titles
Fitzgibbon titles	1
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
2011–	Limerick	64 (1–103)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	7
All-Irelands	5
NHL	2
All Stars	3
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 19:37, 07 July 2024.

Early life

Hannon attended Scoil Naomh Iosaf, an all boys school situated in the village of Adare. Hurling was a pillar of the education system in the school, pushed by two Tipperary men, Brother Cathal Duane (Kilruane) and Principal Barry O'Riordan (Nenagh). Hannon was born in Adare, County Limerick. His granduncle, Pat Stakelum, captained Tipperary to the All-Ireland title in 1949.^[2]

Playing career

Ardscoil Rís

Hannon first came to prominence as a hurler with Ardscoil Rís in Limerick. Having played in every grade as a hurler, he was centre-back on the college's senior hurling team. On 11 March 2010, Hannon scored three points from play when Ardscoil Rís defeated Thurles CBS in the final of the Harty Cup.^[3]

On 27 February 2011, Hannon was again at centre-back when Ardscoil Rís retained the Harty Cup title after a 3-19 to 0-03 defeat of C.B.S. Charleville in the final.^[4]

Mary Immaculate College

During his studies at Mary Immaculate College, Hannon was selected for the college's senior hurling team. On 27 February 2016, he won a Fitzgibbon Cup medal as Mary I won their first ever title after a 1-30 to 3-22 defeat of the University of Limerick after two periods of extra-time. Hannon, in spite of being substituted in the 79th minute and ending as the game's top scorer, said: "That was one of the most unbelievable games I have played in. We had it won and lost so many times throughout the game, but we’d have stayed until midnight to win."^[5]

Adare

Hannon joined the Adare club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He enjoyed championship success in the under-14 and under-16 grades before making his championship debut with the club's senior team as a sixteen-year-old. On 18 October 2009, Hannon scored three points from right wing-forward when Adare defeated Na Piarsaigh by 1-17 to 0-03 in the final of the Limerick Senior Championship.^[6]

Limerick

Minor and under-21

Hannon first played for Limerick at minor level. He made his first appearance on 25 June 2010 in a 1-17 to 2-12 defeat by Clare in the Munster Championship.^[7]

Hannon subsequently joined the Limerick under-21 hurling team. On 3 August 2011, he scored 1-04 from play when Limerick defeated Cork by 4-20 to 1-27 in the final of the Munster Championship.^[8]

Senior

On 17 April 2010, Hannon made his senior debut at right wing-forward for Limerick in a National League defeat of Antrim at Loughguile.^[9] He later won a National League Division 2 medal after a 4-12 to 2-13 defeat of Clare in the final.^[10][11]

On 14 July 2013, Hannon was at full-forward in Limerick's 0-24 to 0-15 defeat of Cork in the Munster final.^[12]

Hannon's performances during the 2011 and 2014 seasons earned him All-Star nominations.^[13][14]

In December 2017, Hannon was appointed captain of the Limerick senior hurling team for the 2018 season.^[15] On 19 August 2018, he scored two points from play and captained Limerick to their first All-Ireland title in 45 years after a 3-16 to 2-18 defeat of Galway in the final.^[16] Later that day Hannon was named on The Sunday Game Team of the Year.^[17][18] He ended the season by winning an All-Star Award.^[19][20]

On 31 March 2019, Hannon was selected at centre-back for Limerick's National League final meeting with Waterford at Croke Park. He collected a winners' medal and the cup after contributing with a point in the 1-24 to 0-19 victory.^[21] On 30 June 2019, Hannon won his first Munster Championship medal in six years after captaining Limerick to a 2-26 to 2-14 defeat of Tipperary in the final.^[22]

Hannon won a second successive National League medal on 25 October 2020, after captaining Limerick to a 0-36 to 1-23 defeat of Clare in the delayed 2020 league final.^[23] On 15 November 2020, he won a third Munster Championship medal after captaining Limerick to a 0-25 to 0-21 win over Waterford in the final.^[24] Hannon was the first Limerick player since Mick Mackey to captain the team to two provincial title successes.^{[citation needed]}

Hannon entered the history books in 2022 when he became the first hurling captain to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup on four occasions.

He won a fifth All-Ireland medal in 2023, but missed the All-Ireland semi-final and final with a knee injury.^[25]

Munster

On 19 February 2012, Hannon was an unused substitute in Munster's 3-14 to 1-16 Railway Cup semi-final defeat by Leinster.^[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 07 July 2024.

Team	Year	National League			Munster		All-Ireland		Total
		Division	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
Limerick	2011	Division 2	2	1-07	0	0-00	3	0-28	5	1-35
	2012	Division 1B	0	0-00	1	0-01	4	1-12	5	1-13
	2013		5	3-35	2	0-17	1	0-02	8	3-54
	2014		1	0-00	2	0-02	2	0-09	5	0-11
	2015		5	1-07	2	0-03	2	0-05	9	1-15
	2016		5	3-23	1	0-02	2	0-03	8	3-28
	2017		7	0-02	1	0-00	1	0-00	9	0-02
	2018		5	0-00	4	0-00	4	0-03	13	0-03
	2019	Division 1A	6	0-02	4	0-02	1	0-00	11	0-04
	2020		5	0-02	3	0-01	2	0-02	10	0-04
	2021		2	0-01	2	0-00	2	0-02	6	0-03
	2022		5	0-01	5	0-03	2	0-02	12	0-06
	2023		3	0-03	5	0-02	0	0-00	8	0-05
	2024		2	0-00	5	0-02	1	0-00	8	0-02
Total			53	8-83	37	0-35	27	1-68	116	10-186

Honours

Ardscoil Rís

• Harty Cup (2): 2010, 2011

Mary Immaculate College

• Fitzgibbon Cup (1): 2016

Adare

• Limerick Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2009
• Limerick Senior Football Championship (3): 2017, 2018, 2020
• Limerick Intermediate Football Championship (1): 2016

Limerick

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (5): 2018 (c), 2020 (c), 2021 (c), 2022 (c), 2023
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship (7): 2013, 2019 (c), 2020 (c), 2021 (c), 2022 (c), 2023 (c), 2024 (c)
• National Hurling League (2): 2019 (c), 2020 (c)
• National Hurling League Division 2 (1): 2011
• Munster Senior Hurling League (2): 2018 (c), 2020 (c)
• Waterford Crystal Cup (1): 2015
• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (1): 2011

Awards

• All-Star Award (3): 2018, 2021, 2022
• The Sunday Game Team of the Year (3): 2018, 2021, 2022

References

1. "'We sometimes wouldn't see each other from one week to the next' - Limerick captain Declan Hannon on making his relationship work". Irish Independent. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
2. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (17 November 2009). "Moran: Hannon has 'great potential'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
3. "Ard Scoil Rís end Harty Cup marathon with historic victory". Irish Examiner. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
4. "Awesome Ardscoil storm to Harty title". Irish Independent. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
5. Cormican, Eoghan (29 February 2016). "Eamonn Cregan hails heroic Mary I". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
6. "Adare swat Na Piarsaigh aside to claim Limerick title". Irish Examiner. 18 October 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
7. "Arthur's accuracy the catalyst as Clare march on". Irish Examiner. 26 June 2010. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
8. Rooney, Declan (4 August 2011). "Hannon on the mark to edge thriller". Irish Independent. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
9. "Limerick stride on". Irish Times. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
10. O'Connor, Christy (2 May 2011). "Limerick on the rise". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
11. "The long road to unparalleled glory … how captain Declan Hannon is following career path of Stephen Cluxton". Irish Independent. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
12. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (15 July 2011). "Day of joy sends tremor through Treaty". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
13. "And the winners are ... GAA and GPA announce nominees". Irish Independent. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
14. Byrne, Cormac (24 October 2014). "Tipperary earn more hurling All Stars than the Cats as Richie Hogan and James O'Donoghue land top awards". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
15. Byrne, Cormac (16 December 2017). "Limerick confirm Declan Hannon as new hurling skipper". The 42. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
16. McGoldrick, Seán (19 August 2018). "Limerick are All Ireland hurling champions for the first time in 45 years following epic victory over Galway". Irish Independent. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
17. "Limerick rule in The Sunday Game team of the year". RTÉ Sport. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
18. "Redemption, relief, and joy for Limerick captain Declan Hannon". Irish Examiner. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
19. "All Star hurling nominees: 15 Limerick players in contention". Hogan Stand. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
20. "Treaty lead the way with six hurling All-Stars". RTÉ Sport. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
21. O'Toole, Fintan (31 March 2019). "Limerick end 22-year with for league honours in style with final win over Waterford". The 42. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
22. O'Toole, Fintan (30 June 2019). "More glory for Limerick as they lift Munster crown with 12-point win over Tipperary". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
23. Fogarty, John (25 October 2020). "Lethal Limerick storm to victory despite Tony Kelly brilliance". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
24. Fogarty, John (15 November 2020). "Limerick made to work by Waterford to defend Munster SHC crown". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
25. "Hannon determined to make up for lost time". GAA.ie. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
26. "Early Leinster damage decisive". Irish Examiner. 20 February 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2018.