‘I could have said worse’ – Declan Hannon laughs off Munster’s latest mistake as Limerick focus on chasing five

No sooner had Hannon thanked the “team of 53” in Thurles after the Munster final than people began to swoon at the generosity of it all.

“I’m not going to thank them all,” Hannon says gratefully. “But I want to thank John Kiely and Paul Kinnerk in particular for everything they do for us.”

It turns out that Hannon had included the panel of players, all 36 of them in his count. We know this because a presidential clarification was issued on Morning Ireland the next day, when Jarlath Burns – after carrying out his own investigations – revealed the true extent of Limerick’s behind-the-scenes.

“It gave people something to say, and that’s what happened,” Hannon says now, speaking at eir headquarters. “Obviously, that included the 36-player panel. We definitely don’t have 53 in the backroom team, that’s for sure.

The funny thing is, Hannon’s own father believed it. A photo was hastily mocked up of a triple-decker bus which was apparently used to transport Limerick support staff between venues.

“My dad also sent me a picture of the bus,” Hannon said. “He, like, believed in it. Everyone believed it but it’s funny, I guess. These things happen. I could have said worse but you have to laugh about it in hindsight.

When you’ve won six Munster titles in a row, people tend to focus on the little details. An extraordinary and unprecedented feat, the only thing that could put it in the shade is if they also become the first team to win five All-Irelands next month.

Hannon reports that Limerick doesn’t care about the perception of where all that money came from.

“I don’t really see it that way, to be honest. We’re not involved in playing GAA or representing Limerick looking for credit every time we go out or anything,” he insists.

“We try to reach a certain level and perform according to our abilities every time we go out on the training ground or when matches take place. It’s probably an internal thing that makes us look back and say: “Yes, we did well here, we did poorly there, we met our goals, we didn’t meet our goals.”

“In terms of external credit, I don’t think it really affects us. We don’t listen to it in full. It’s more of an internal thing. If we are satisfied with our performance, I think that is enough for us.

Yet, after all these trophies, they give off the feeling of a team lost in its journey. Somehow Limerick doesn’t seem to carry any extra weight in the form of pressure and expectations, despite the importance of this stretch of road.

For his part, Hannon looks very much like a player who is thinking about this All-Ireland showdown, which features Cork in Croke Park on Sunday week, as if it were his first.

“It’s obviously a fantastic achievement for the playing group and we’ve had different panels of players from number one all the way up to number six,” he said.

“It’s been a great journey, a great achievement, but it’s not something we dwell on or it wasn’t something in our heads before the Munster final either, to be honest with you.

“It was another game and that’s how it’s been for us the last few years. I’m sure that in the years to come, when we stop playing, we will be able to look back on all those days, the videos and the photos with a smile on our faces.

eir, Ireland’s leading telecommunications provider, is calling on GAA clubs across the country to take part in the ‘eir for All’ Poc Tapa Challenge for a chance to win up to €5,000 for their club and luck to play on the field. hallowed turf of Croke Park during the All-Ireland semi-final weekend.