.jpg) Callanan in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Séamus Ó Callanáin | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Full-forward | ||
| Born | (1988-09-15)15 September 1988 (age 37) Drom,County Tipperary, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Nickname | Séamie | ||
| Occupation | Sales representative | ||
| Club | |||
| Years | Club | ||
2005–present | Drom & Inch | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Tipperary titles | 1 | ||
| College | |||
| Years | College | ||
2009–2013 | Limerick Institute of Technology | ||
| College titles | |||
| Fitzgibbon titles | 0 | ||
| Inter-county* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
2008–2023 | Tipperary | 66 (40–226) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 6 | ||
| All-Irelands | 3 | ||
| NHL | 1 | ||
| All Stars | 4 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of match played 28 May 2023. | |||
Séamus Callanan (born 15 September 1988) is an Irishhurler who plays forTipperary Senior Championship clubDrom & Inch and is a formerAll-Ireland winningcaptain of theTipperary senior hurling team. Often considered one of the best players of the current generation, Callanan has been a four-time nominee forHurler of the Year, winning the award in 2019, and has won fourAll-Stars. He has won ten major trophies in his inter-county career, including threeAll-Ireland Championships, sixMunster Championships and oneNational League. A prolific goalscorer, Callanan holds the Tipperary and All-Ireland record for most championship goals scored (40). He has scored 63 career goals overall in 126 league and championship appearances.
Born and raised inDrom,County Tipperary, Callanan began his hurling career with theDrom & Inch club. He joined the club’s senior team as a 16-year-old in 2005 and enjoyed his first success, aMid Tipperary Championship, in 2006. Over the next three years he won a further two divisional championship titles before captaining the club to their firstTipperary Senior Championship in2011. Callanan added three more divisional championship titles to his collection in 2013, 2014 and 2019.
Callanan has lined out for Tipperary in three different grades of hurling over a 13-year period. After making his first appearance for the minor team in April 2006, he ended the year by sharing in theAll-Ireland Championship success. Two years with the under-21 team, yielded aMunster Championship title in2008. Callanan made his competitive debut for the senior team aged 19 in2008. His debut season yielded National League and Munster Championship titles. The following four seasons saw Callanan win three more Munster Championships as well as his first All-Ireland Championship in2010. Further Munster Championships were claimed in 2014, when he was the championship’s top scorer, and 2015 before winning a second All-Ireland Championship asman of the match in2016 and a third All-Ireland Championship as captain of the team in2019. This period also saw Callanan be presented with fourAll-Stars in six seasons and receive four nominations forHurler of the Year.
Callanan first came to prominence as a hurler with St. Joseph's College inBorrisoleigh. He played in every grade before eventually joining the senior hurling team and lined out in several campaigns including a munster b title win in 2006.[1]
During his studies at theLimerick Institute of Technology, Callanan was selected for the institute's senior hurling team during his second year. He lined out as a forward in severalFitzgibbon Cup campaigns.[2]
Callanan joined theDrom & Inch club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He was still eligible for the minor team when he was drafted onto the club's senior team.
On 16 October 2005, Callanan was just 17-years-old when he was selected at left corner-forward for Drom & Inch'sTipperary Senior Championship final meeting withThurles Sarsfields. He was held scoreless from play and substituted in the 49th minute as Drom & Inch suffered a 1-17 to 0-15 defeat.[3]
Drom & Inch qualified for theMid Tipperary Championship final on 30 August 2006, with Callanan starting the game on the bench. He was introduced as a substitute forSéamus Butler and scored 1-02 from play in the 3-13 to 0-16 defeat ofBoherlahan-Dualla.
On 21 October 2007, Callanan lined out in his secondTipperary Senior Championship final in two years when Drom & Inch facedLoughmore-Castleiney. He top scored for the team with 0-05, however, Drom & Inch suffered a 0-22 to 0-13 defeat.[4]
Callanan lined out at centre-forward when Drom & Inch qualified to play reigning championsThurles Sarsfields in the Mid Tipperary Championship final on 31 August 2008. He top scored with 1-06 in aman of the match display and claimed a secondwinners' medal following the 2-19 to 0-21 victory.
On 23 August 2009, Callanan lined out in a second successive Mid Tipperary Championship final. He ended the game with a third winners' medal in four years after a 2-11 to 0-14 defeat ofUpperchurch-Drombane. On 18 October 2009, Callanan lined out in a secondTipperary Senior Championship final. He scored two points, including a free, in the 0-14 to 0-05 defeat by Thurles Sarsfields.[5]
Callanan was captain of the Drom & Inch team that facedClonoulty-Rossmore in theTipperary Senior Championship final on 16 October 2011. He top scored with 0-06 and collected awinners' medal after a 1-19 to 2-14 victory.[6]
On 14 October 2012, Callanan lined out in a fifthTipperary Senior Championship final when Drom & Inch had the opportunity to retain the title. He scored 1-03 but ended the game on the losing side after a 1-21 to 2-15 defeat by Thurles Sarsfields.[7]
Drom & Inch qualified for a Mid Tipperary Championship final meeting with Loughmore-Castleiney on 11 August 2013. Callanan collected a fourth winners' medal after top scoring with 1-12 from full-forward in the 3-20 to 1-11 victory.
On 14 September 2014, Callanan lined out at full-forward when Drom & Inch reached a second successive Mid Tipperary Championship final. He ended the game with a fifth winners' medal after a 1-16 to 1-15 defeat of Upperchurch Drombane for the second year in-a-row.
On 29 September 2019, Callanan collected a sixth Mid Tipperary Championship winners' medal, following a 2-19 to 1-21 AET defeat of Upperchurch Drombane in Littleton.
Callanan first played forTipperary as a 17-year-old when he joined the minor team during the2006 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 5 April 2006 and scored a point from left wing-forward in a 2-13 to 1-08 defeat ofClare. Callanan was switched to right corner-forward for theMunster final againstCork 25 June 2006. He was held scoreless from and substituted in the 2-20 to 1-15 defeat.[8] On 3 September 2006, Callanan was selected on the substitutes' bench when Tipperary facedGalway in theAll-Ireland final. He was introduced as a substitute forTony Dunne at full-forward and ended the game with awinners' medal following the 2-18 to 2-07 victory.[9]
Callanan was drafted onto the Tipperary under-21 team in advance of the2008 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 17 July 2008 when he lined out at centre-forward in a 1-13 to 0-15 defeat of Limerick. On 30 July 2008, Callanan won aMunster Championship medal after scoring 1-05 from left wing-forward in a controversial 1-16 to 2-12 defeat of Clare in the final.[10] He was switched to the centre-forward position when Tipperary suffered a 2-13 to 0-15 defeat byKilkenny in theAll-Ireland final on 14 September 2008.[11]
Callanan was again eligible for the under-21 grade for a second and final season in2009. He made his last appearance in the grade on 15 July 2009 when he scored a point from centre-forward in a 3-21 to 2-14 defeat byWaterford.
Callanan joined the Tipperary senior team in2008 prior to the start of the2008 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 10 February 2008 when he came on as a 48th-minute substitute forRyan O'Dwyer and scored three points in a 2-25 to 2-08 defeat ofOffaly.[12] On 20 April 2008, Callanan was named on the bench when Tipperary facedGalway in theNational League final. He came on as a 55th-minute substitute and claimed awinners' medal after the 3-18 to 3-16 victory.[13] On 13 July 2008, Callanan was selected at centre-forward when Tipperary qualified to playClare in theMunster final. He scored 1-03 from play and claimed his firstMunster Championship medal after a 2-21 to 0-19 victory.[14] Callanan ended his debut season by receiving anAll-Star nomination.[15]
On 3 May2009, Callanan lined out in a second successiveNational League final when Tipperary faced Kilkenny. He top scored for the team with 1-07 from centre-forward but ended on the losing side after a 2-26 to 4-17 extra-time defeat.[16] On 12 July 2009, Callanan started theMunster final at centre-forward. He ended the game with a second successive winners' medal after scoring 1-01 in the 4-14 to 2-16 defeat ofWaterford.[17] Callanan was again selected at centre-forward for theAll-Ireland final against Kilkenny on 6 September 2009. He scored three points from play but ended the game on the losing side following a 2-22 to 0-23 defeat.[18] Callanan ended the season by receiving a second consecutive All-Star nomination.[19]
On 5 September2010, Callanan failed to secure a place on the starting fifteen when Tipperary qualified to play Kilkenny in a second successiveAll-Ireland final. He scored two points from play after coming on as a substitute forJohn O'Brien and collected his firstAll-Ireland medal following a 4-17 to 1-18 victory.[20] McGrath ended the season by winning a second All-Star award.[21]
On 10 July2011, Callanan won a third Munster Championship medal after scoring a goal from centre-forward in a 7-19 to 0-19 defeat of Waterford in theMunster final.[22] On 4 September 2011, he was switched to right wing-forward when Tipperary faced Kilkenny in a third successiveAll-Ireland final in a 2-17 to 1-16 defeat.[23]
On 15 July2012, Callanan was selected amongst the substitutes when Tipperary qualified to play Waterford in a second successiveMunster final. He came on as a substitute forNoel McGrath at left corner-forward and ended the game with a fourth winners' medal in five seasons after a 2-17 to 0-16 victory.[24]
On 5 May2013, Callanan was selected at left corner-forward when Tipperary faced Kilkenny in theNational League final. He scored two points from play but ended on the losing side following a 2-17 to 0-20 defeat.[25]
Callanan lined out at full-forward in a second successiveNational League final against Kilkenny on 4 May2014. He top scored for Tipperary with 0-09 in the 2-25 to 1-27 defeat.[26] Callanan ended the league as top scorer with 5-62. On 7 September 2014, Callanan scored seven points from full-forward in a 1-28 to 3-22 draw with Kilkenny in theAll-Ireland final.[27] He retained his position on the starting fifteen for the replay on 27 September 2014, however, he ended the game on the losing side in spite of top scoring with 2-05 in the 2-17 to 2-14 defeat.[28] Callanan ended the season as the championship'stop scorer with 9-50.[29] He also received his first All-Star award but lost out toRichie Hogan in the race to be namedHurler of the Year.[30]
On 12 July2015, Callanan was at full-forward when Tipperary qualified for aMunster final appearance against Waterford. He scored six points and ended the game with a fifth winners' medal following the 0-21 to 0-16 victory.[31] On 16 August 2015, Callanan started againstGalway in the semi-final of the2015 All-Ireland Championship atCroke Park. Callanan scored 3-9 (3-4 from play) during the game to win the man of the match award but Galway won the game with a late point.[32][33]Callanan finished the season by being nominated for Hurler of the Year, however, he lost out for the second year in succession withT. J. Reid taking the accolade.[34] He also received a second successive All-Star award.[35]
Callanan claimed a sixth Munster Championship medal on 10 July2016 after top scoring with 1-11 from full-forward in a 5-19 to 0-13 defeat of Waterford in thefinal.[36] On 5 September 2016, he retained his position at full-forward for theAll-Ireland final against Kilkenny. Callanan top scored with 0-13 and collected a second All-Ireland medal following a 2-29 to 2-20 victory.[37] He was also named as theman of the match.[38] Callanan ended the season by receiving a third successive All-Star award, however, he was also overlooked for the Hurler of the Year title for the third successive year.[39]
On 29 November 2016, Callanan was appointed vice-captain of the Tipperary senior team for the2017 season.[40] On 16 April 2017, he broke his thumb in Tipperary'sNational League semi-final defeat ofWexford, an injury which ruled him out of the final.[41] On 14 January2018, Callanan suffered another injury setback when it was revealed that he would miss theNational League with a disc problem.[42]
On 22 January 2019, Callanan was named as thecaptain of the Tipperary senior team for the2019 season.[43] On 2 June 2019, he became Tipperary’s highest championship goal-scorer in history when he scored his 30th goal in the 3-21 to 0-17 defeat ofClare in theMunster Championship.[44] On 30 June 2019, Callanan scored 1-01 from full-forward when Tipperary suffered a 2-26 to 2-14 defeat byLimerick in theMunster final.[45]
On 18 August 2019, Callanan captained Tipperary to win the2019 All-Ireland Final against Kilkenny. He scored 1-2 in the game to keep up his record of scoring a goal in every championship game during the year, eight in total.[46][47][48][49]
On 1 November 2019, Callanan was named as the 2019Hurler of the Year and also picked up his fourthAll Star award.[50]
Callanan returned to the Tipperary team in2023 after missing the2022 championship due to a finger injury. He made five appearances in the2023 Championship scoring 1-05 including his 40th goal in the championship againstOffaly on the 17 June 2023.[51] His 66th and final inter-county appearance came a week later in the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat toGalway.[52]On 6 September 2023, Callanan announced his retirement from inter-county hurling after 16 years.[53][54][55][56]
Callanan has also lined out withMunster in theInter-provincial Championship. On 11 December 2016, Callanan scored 1-7 againstUlster in the2016 GAA Interprovincial Championships semi-final.[57]
| Team | Year | National League | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Tipperary | 2008 | Division 1B | 5 | 1-07 | 2 | 1-06 | 1 | 1-03 | 8 | 3-16 |
| 2009 | Division 1 | 6 | 2-34 | 3 | 3-04 | 2 | 0-06 | 11 | 5-44 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 1-08 | 1 | 0-01 | 5 | 1-03 | 11 | 2-12 | ||
| 2011 | 0 | 0-00 | 3 | 2-10 | 2 | 0-01 | 5 | 2-11 | ||
| 2012 | Division 1A | 0 | 0-00 | 2 | 0-01 | 0 | 0-00 | 2 | 0-01 | |
| 2013 | 7 | 1-27 | 1 | 0-04 | 1 | 0-02 | 9 | 1-33 | ||
| 2014 | 7 | 5-62 | 1 | 0-05 | 6 | 9-45 | 14 | 14-112 | ||
| 2015 | 7 | 3-45 | 2 | 2-11 | 1 | 3-09 | 10 | 8-65 | ||
| 2016 | 2 | 0-04 | 3 | 2-25 | 2 | 0-22 | 7 | 2-51 | ||
| 2017 | 5 | 4-34 | 1 | 0-06 | 4 | 3-28 | 10 | 7-68 | ||
| 2018 | — | 4 | 0-05 | — | 4 | 0-05 | ||||
| 2019 | 6 | 3-29 | 5 | 5-12 | 3 | 3-06 | 14 | 11-46 | ||
| 2020 | 4 | 1-04 | 1 | 0-00 | 2 | 1-04 | 7 | 2-08 | ||
| 2021 | 2 | 1-02 | 2 | 1-02 | 1 | 2-00 | 5 | 4-04 | ||
| 2022 | 3 | 0-00 | — | — | 3 | 0-00 | ||||
| 2023 | 3 | 0-00 | 3 | 0-05 | 2 | 1-00 | 8 | 1-05 | ||
| Total | 62 | 23-256 | 34 | 16-97 | 32 | 24-129 | 126 | 63-482 | ||
Media related toSéamus Callanan at Wikimedia Commons