Seamus Callanan is happy to put the Tipperary team ahead of his scoring record

Becoming Tipperary’s all-time leading goalscorer in the hurling championship is of no particular importance to Seamus Callanan.  

Nor is he putting too much store in a red hot scoring streak that has seen him score a goal in each of the county’s seven championship games this season.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH TIPPERARY PURE IRISH WATER

The team captain surpassed the Tipperary record previously held by Lar Corbett when he scored his 50th goal in his 30th championship appearance against Clare at the beginning of June. 

“At the end of the day it’s trying to contribute the best for a Tipperary result”, he says. 

“Whoever gets the goals, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been fortunate to get a good few of them and that’s great. But a Tipperary win is all that matters at the end of the day, and I don’t really look into anything else, any records or personal things like that, I honestly don’t look at it.  

“I suppose until this year, even the last few matches I didn’t know that was the thing (about becoming the record goalscorer). It’s lovely, but it’s three points for Tipperary and hopefully a win, and that’s what it is ultimately”.

Seamus Callanan’s achievement prompted a humorous reaction from Lar Corbett; he said that when he set the record he didn’t even realise he had done so and, apart from a phone call from Nicky English, nobody said anything to him, and now Seamus was getting all the credit!

Laughing, Seamus says “Lar and myself would have a bit of contact, a bit of texting and that. It’s all good, we’re great friends. A lot of the goals I’ve scored, he’s laid them on a plate for me as well, so it’s all healthy and it’s all good. 

“He wished me well after breaking the record, that’s the type of guy he is, he was very supportive”.

When asked about his prolific scoring record in this year’s championship, the 30 year-old Drom/Inch player sincerely hopes it last for another day.  

“If you get the opportunity as a forward you’re just going to make the most of it. Some days they’ll go in and some days you could hit five (shots) and they would go anywhere else bar the goal. You need a bit of luck every day you go out too”.

Above - Seamus Callanan signs a jersey for Newport supporter Jack Ringrose at Semple Stadium Picture: Eamonn McGee

When asked if any of his  seven goals in 2019 had given him particular satisfaction, he replied “every one one of them only gives you three points. Every one is as special as each other because they are three points towards what we hope will be a Tipperary win. That is all that matters”.

Expanding on the theme, he continues “you get half a second to make a thought when you are going through on goal. You have to make these decisions. You have to back yourself in these situations. 

“When we go out we are not told that goals are the only option. You have to play it as you see it in match time. You can’t prepare for any of these things. You can go out and train and practice scoring goals and points, but every match takes on a life of its own. 

“For a goal chance to come you have to have someone else taking on a man, creating space. 

“I was lucky the last day (in the All-Ireland semi-final) that Niall O’Meara did an awful lot of work for my chance. You saw the under-20 team and they banged in eight goals against Wexford. 

“There has to be someone taking on the man and doing the hard work to get someone into a position to score a goal. I don’t think it is a culture that has come into hurling. If a goal is on, it is a natural thing that a forward will want to go for it”.

Explaining his delighted, even emotional reaction to his splendidly-taken goal against Wexford, he says “you’re scoring a goal in Croke Park on All-Ireland semi-final day, it’s special, it’s what you train for. 

“Every time you get a chance to score and to get a three-pointer for your county... first of all, putting on the jersey is incredible, then being able to score when you’re in it and contribute to the team, that’s huge, yeah”.

Has Jason Forde’s designation as freetaker this season offered more freedom to Seamus Callanan, creating the environment for  him to score all those goals from play?

“Not really. I don’t mind. Whatever job I can do for Tipperary, whether it’s taking the frees, not taking the frees, do whatever role you’re asked to play, you would just be glad to do it. This is my 12th season, and you’re going down the line of how many years have you left. 

“Every opportunity you get now to be on that pitch is one that you really savour and one you can’t let slip by you, so you give everything no matter what you’re asked”.

The spirit of the team may have been questioned before they played Wexford, but the manner in which they came through that test was a source of great pride to the captain.

“That’s the character and resilience that I’d see in abundance every single night I go to training - I was just glad that everyone else got to see it, because it has always been there. 

“So it was great that on All-Ireland semi-final day, when the chips were down in the heat of battle, that the guys really, really stood up and took responsibility and took on leadership, and we got there”.

Despite having John McGrath sent off and slipping five points behind, he said “there was no time when we thought this is gone from us. We just kept working on the next score and seeing what happened then. 

“And thankfully we got a run of scores and then it came back to a draw, and (there was) another sucker punch and another goal, and it just kept happening like that. 

“The boys came off the bench and stood up and that was huge for us, they all contributed really well”.

Despite “a few knock backs”, he says the most important thing was that the team “just stayed in the moment and drove on as best we could. We ground it out, so that was a real positive thing for us. 

“The way we ground it out is something that we can be fierce proud of, it was huge really. But it just earned you the right to be onto the next step, and now you have to drive on. There’s a new challenge, there’s something else at stake at the end of it”.

And what a challenge that is, as they face a Kilkenny team that dethroned the All-Ireland champions in the semi-final. 

“They were incredible (against Limerick). In the Cork and Limerick games they set the standard. Limerick were the reigning All-Ireland, Munster and National League champions. That was a huge feat. That is what we are coming up against. We will have to get a huge performance if we are to win”.

Above - Seamus Callanan about to shoot a goal in the All-Ireland semi-final against Wexford, which meant that he found the net in each of Tipperary's seven championship games this season 

Are Tipp a much different team to last year, when it came down to fine margins with Jake Morris hitting the post when they bowed out of the championship against Clare?

“It definitely is fine margins too. Every year you go out as a panel to do your best for your county, and to represent them as best you can and ultimately go on and win something. Who knows what would have unfolded as the year went on last year. 

“The championship structure is difficult, it’s really enjoyable, it’s exciting. But it’s cut-throat stuff and you could be gone if you don’t get it right early. 

“There’s not a huge amount of difference (to last year), a lot of the lads, the same faces are there. A lot of the U-21s came in from last year and they upped the energy again, and put a real challenge to us who have been there for a long time. So it’s a really positive place to be, and we’re here preparing for an All-Ireland Final, it’s great times”.

One essential difference is Liam Sheedy’s return to the fold.

“Liam is just a bundle of energy, he gives you 110% every night as well. He probably does as much running at training than any of us! 

“Liam in 2010 and any of us panel members from 2010, we’re all different to what we were back then. And the game itself is different, the game has evolved so much that you can’t compare, it’s not like for like, everything about it has evolved and changed, a lot of factors have changed.

“He’s an unbelievable manager, he’s a great guy. It’s an exciting few weeks and thank God we’re back there (in the final)”.

He describes captaining the team as “a huge honour”.

“When Liam (Sheedy) came in and gave me the call to be captain it was huge for your club, Drom and Inch, your family and yourself. At the end of the day I am very, very lucky. We have a lot of really good leaders who came in from the under-21s.

“Of course we have the likes of Brendan (Maher) and Padraic (Maher), guys who captained Tipperary before; we have that so there is no weight on  anyone’s shoulder”. 

Seamus Callanan is one of four survivors (the injured Bonner Maher is a fifth) from the team that stopped Kilkenny in their tracks in the famous 2010 final. 

Reacting to suggestions made before the championship started that those players may have too much mileage on the clock, he says “I think I am fine. You hear all that, but at the end of the day a lot of the lads who are seemingly over the hill are playing in Croke Park on All-Ireland final day. 

“Things can’t be too bad”.

For a preview of Sunday's All-Ireland Final read Tipperary hope that the force will be with them against Kilkenny