Declan Hannon had a 'fantastic hurling brain' says Limerick senior hurling manager John Kiely

LIMERICK senior hurling manager John Kiely has paid a heartfelt tribute to Declan Hannon following the announcement of his retirement from inter-county hurling, describing Hannon as a true leader who helped shape one of the county’s greatest eras

"Most of all, we want to acknowledge what Declan has given to the jersey over the last fifteen years. It has been an incredible contribution, he put his life on hold for fifteen years effectively for hurling. He's enjoyed every minute of it, he will tell you that himself, some great challenges in there and some phenomenal contributions in terms of his leadership within the group,"Limerick senior hurling manager John Kiely told Leader Sport. 

"On the field aswell, he was able to get the best of himself and allow his skillset to be a core part of what he was about on the field. An extremely skillful, talented hurler and he just managed to get the mix right."

Decorated Limerick hurler Declan Hannon announced his decision on Tuesday evening to retire from inter-county hurling after a glittering 15-year career in green.

Thirty two-year-old Adare clubman Hannon captained Limerick to an historic five All-Ireland senior hurling titles, including four-in-a-row of Liam MacCarthy Cup wins.

The stylish defender won seven Munster senior hurling championship medals, including captaining his county to an unprecented six-in-a-row of provincial titles.Hannon also won three All-Stars and three Allianz National Hurling League titles.

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Kiely has described Hannon as a fans favourite during his inter-county career with the Shannonsiders. 

"He's always been a favourite of the supporters, if you look at the guy himself, he is full of humility, he is quite, he is understated and nothing is ever too much for him. He is very calm and a very personable individual and of course he had his trademark song aswell. 

"He was a great captain, a great player and we are very grateful that we were able to have him for so long. He is held with extremely high regard within the group amongst the players and amongst all the management teams that have ever worked with him," added Kiely. 

The Limerick senior hurling manager said Hannon consistently put the team before himself and had a special gift for making new players feel at home in the squad.

"He always put the team first, he was never one for personal accolades, he really wanted to be a quite leader in the background and he was extremely effective. He was fantastic to all players, the new players coming into the group, he was very welcoming and he always made time for other players. I think the players will definitely remember their first time they came into the dressing room and Declan making them feel welcome."

Hannon's versatility through his inter-county career was impressive, he started out his career in attack and then he went on to make the number six jersey his own. He scored 1-104 in 67 appearances for Limerick