WHEN THE TIPPERARY hurlers went away on training camps, it was the responsibility of the players in the leadership groups to set the tone for the work ahead.
In 2022, Séamus Callanan was an established member of this group. But while the team were putting the work in at Carton House, Callanan was in a hospital bed in Waterford trying to nurse his way back from a bone infection.
This wasn’t his first brush with injury. Or his second. His body had been barking at him for a while now, and this was latest setback coming in hot to complicate a thumb injury from earlier in the season. There was no timeline on his recovery either. The last orders for drinks was getting closer.
Former Tipp captain Tommy Dunne was part of the Premier County backroom team at the time, and he had something in mind for the camp that he needed Callanan’s opinion on. Even if he couldn’t be there in person, the 2019 All-Ireland-winning skipper could still offer something as a leader of the pack.
“I had a video prepared to start off the camp, and I hadn’t really shown it to anyone,” Dunne begins in conversation about Callanan.
“I sent it to Séamie just to get his thoughts on it, and we spoke then after he watched it, and I could feel his positivity coming through. Even though he was in the bed and really didn’t have any clear expectation of when he might be returning. But you could still feel his energy and his enthusiasm coming through.
“That meant an awful lot to me because 2022 was a tough year for the squad and for him because he missed most of it with that injury. But he was still able to give to the team; he was really good like that.”
Callanan was unable to regain his fitness for the rest of that 2022 campaign, and as we now know, 2023 would prove to be his final season of inter-county hurling. It brings his total to 16 years of playing for Tipperary hauling three All-Ireland medals behind him, along with four All-Stars. He bagged 40 championship goals throughout his career, often turning to his ground strike skills for those scores.
He is the second Hurler of the Year recipient to step away this week following the departure of Kilkenny’s Richie Hogan. Callanan picked up the gong after captaining Tipperary to Liam MacCarthy glory in 2019.
Dunne’s playing career didn’t cross over with Callanan’s arrival, but he did get a good look at the evolution of Callanan through different stages of his career. In 2018, they also drew swords at club level when Dunne was the Toomevara manager in a county quarter-final against Drom-Inch. Dunne’s side prevailed but Callanan did “some beautiful things” on the pitch that night for his club.
Their working relationship was forged at inter-county level. The year after Callanan made a substitute appearance in Tipperary’s famous victory over Kilkenny in the 2010 All-Ireland final, Dunne was added to the county’s backroom team.
He remained with the squad in 2012 before later coming back for Liam Sheedy’s second coming in 2019.
“In 2011 and 2012, he was starting on the team but wasn’t really nailed on, and probably wasn’t hitting the heights that he expected of himself,” Dunne says, recalling the start of Callanan’s story arc.
“But then as time went on, I think Éamonn O’Shea became manager for a few of years, and he [Callanan] alluded to the special connection he had with Éammon in his statement.
“That probably got stronger as time went on, and then you get older, and maturity comes into it. He was meticulous with his preparation and his attention to detail, and his desire to get better. He also has a huge athletic presence which develops over time with exposure to really high quality set-ups and support structures. He definitely believed in tapping into the expertise that was around the set-ups in Tipperary during those years.
“That definitely made him a better all round player. But he had a huge amount of natural talent and the standout skill was his ability to score goals consistently over the years.”
Tipperary came into that glorious 2019 season under severe pressure. Their 2018 championship ended abruptly as they failed to make their way out of the inaugural Munster round-robin series.
Some of their more experienced players, including Callanan, were being questioned. Their age profile, and miles on the clock were stirring up doubts about the time they had left at this level. The manner in which Tipperary responded to the uncertainty, topped with Callanan’s Hurler of the Year honour, underlined the resolve of their seasoned players.
“I remember when the team was picked for the Cork game in the first round of the Munster round-robin,” says Dunne, “and that was really a crossroads game for Séamie and a number of those other players around that age profile.
GOAL!! Seamus Callanan unleashes an absolute rocket for Tipperary. #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/wycCOmekDQ
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 28, 2019
“That was a day when we were going to find out what was in the tank. Tipp had been beaten earlier that season in a league quarter-final by Dublin, and that only added to the pressure. But in the group, there wasn’t that much doubt because we had a good structure, a good set-up, our preparation was going really well. We were expecting a big performance from Cork and we got it. That was the foundation and that gave everybody confidence.
“The season took off from there and Séamus took off from there. He had a phenomenal season and got Hurler of the Year. Noel, Brendan and Pádraic all got All-Stars.”
Callanan’s exit is a reminder for Dunne that we’re all getting a bit older, and that not even the great players can defeat time. He hopes that the Drom-Inch man is content with his decision, and is certain that Callanan can be a servant for Tipperary once again in a mentoring capacity if that is his wish.
“I met him socially a few weeks ago and we had a lovely chat. We didn’t talk a lot of hurling but he didn’t give any indication that this was on the cards.
“I actually hope he has lots more to contribute to Tipperary in the years ahead. He would have so much to offer as a coach and other roles.
“He’s had outstanding innings with Tipperary over a long period of time. He’s reached the pinnacle of his sport and he’s been able to stay at the top of the sport for a good few years. I was privileged to see it all unfold up close.”
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