IN the lead-up to last Sunday’s All-Ireland final, a close friend of Seamus Callanan was predicting big things.
Callanan was in great form. Mentally, he was in a great place. In Callanan’s own mind, he felt ready to cut loose.
Callanan hadn’t scored from play in the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway, but watching Callanan off the ball in that game was an instruction manual in game-management, of patience and experience. Daithi Burke had him in his pocket. Callanan went the opening 21 minutes of the second half without having a possession. Yet his silent contribution during that hiatus reflected the flowering and maturation of the player Tipperary always hoped Callanan could become of the player they desperately needed Callanan to be in that moment.
Beside him, John McGrath was also struggling for oxygen. McGrath clearly wanted to go on an expedition but Callanan wouldn’t allow him to wander. The message was clear. ‘Don’t go. Wait. Be patient. The chances will come.’ Eventually, they did.
Callanan had already sacrificed his game when moving to the corner and left flank. McGrath’s first play of the half was almost a goal. It was a precursor of what was to come, but moving Callanan out of that central channel eventually took Burke with him, which opened the door for McGrath, who engineered John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer’s goal, and scored another goal himself.
Callanan only made four plays in the second half but he showed the same composure and patience he was coaching into McGrath. His brilliant improvisation set up McGrath for his goal. That clinical mindset was the emblem of Tipp’s victory.
There was a time, though, when Callanan wouldn’t have been afforded that exemption from the Tipp supporters for not scoring from play.
That luxury didn’t exist because Callanan had no collateral built up to allow for it.
In the lead-up to Tipp’s 2014 Qualifier against Galway, some of the mob was calling for his head. Against Limerick in the previous month’s Munster semi-final, Callanan scored two points from play, set up Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher’s goal and engineered two more points.
Yet the Tipp public had completely lost patience with Callanan to even bother crediting him with a couple of points and a handful of scoring assists. The scoring opportunities he’d missed were screaming louder than any of those digits.
The mob is always ruthless in their demands but they felt they had a right to protest. From his 14 plays in that Limerick match in 2014, Callanan was either blocked down or hooked on five occasions.
Some of those plays were clear scoring opportunities, which further sharpened the blades of those looking for a public execution.
Eamon O’Shea could hear the racket but he just shrugged his shoulders and reinvested the same trust he had shown in Callanan throughout that season.
Ever since, Callanan has more than reciprocated that trust. Runner up for Hurler-of-the-Year over the last two seasons, Callanan is odds-on to win that award this year.
Last Sunday, he delivered one of the great individual All-Ireland final displays, scoring nine points from play from just 11 plays.
Nobody reacts with a reflex to Callanan anymore because there is a steadiness to his career now after it wildly oscillated for four years.
Nobody doubted his massive talent, but prior to 2014 his
inter-county career was mired in a mediocrity unbecoming of his outrageous ability and potential. Everybody was beginning to doubt Callanan.
After he was substituted in the 2010 qualifiers against Wexford, Callanan saw out just two of Tipperary’s next 16 Championship matches.
He only started half of those games and Callanan couldn’t exactly crib with many of those decisions. He came on after 30 minutes of the 2010 All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway and bagged a brilliant goal, but it was the only time he had the ball in his hand in the match.
He was hauled off at half-time in the 2011 All-Ireland final after making just two plays.
He was taken off scoreless from play against Limerick in the 2013 Championship and was dropped for the subsequent defeat to Kilkenny.
A clear trend was emerging in Callanan’s career, but O’Shea handed him the number 14 jersey at the start of the 2014 season and publicly declared a renewed faith. Even when Tipp were struggling during that spring, Callanan’s status remained intact and he handsomely repaid O’Shea’s trust. Callanan embraced the responsibility and thrived on it. Callanan ended that 2014 League campaign with 5-62, 4-17 from play, the top scorer in the competition by a distance.
In Drom & Inch, Callanan grew up across the road from the national school in ‘The Ragg’. Paudie Butler, former National Hurling Co-ordinator, was his teacher and principal and Callanan was always considered a protege.
After scoring six goals in a mid-Tipperary U-12 final against Durlas Og, the path to big days with Tipp stretched out in front of him.
He was on the Tipp minor team which won the 2006 All-Ireland title and Liam Sheedy drafted him onto the senior panel in 2008.
When Callanan arrived, he exploded. In his first eight Championship matches, he racked up a whopping 5-18, all of it from play, all of it from the half-forward line.
Although his form started to dip in 2010, his slump continued when Declan Ryan took over and it really began to go south in the middle of the 2011 season. It got worse in the 2012 Championship when Callanan made just two substitute appearances for a sum total of 24 minutes.
Tipp became more direct, but Callanan didn’t trade on aggression and physicality and dominating defenders under puckouts and long deliveries wasn’t his game. There were stories of issues between Callanan and Ryan, but Ryan wasn’t getting the most out of Callanan and Callanan wasn’t getting the most out of himself.
During that difficult period with Tipp, Callanan captained Drom & Inch to their first county title in 2011. Callanan was immense in the final, effectively deciding a tight game with six points in the last quarter. That game reaffirmed his potential and once O’Shea rehabilitated his career, Callanan took off.
He got stronger. He became much better at winning his own ball. His confidence flourished.
And once all those elements fused together, Callanan finally performed on the biggest stage like he had always threatened; he shot the lights out. And absolutely cut loose.
