Three-time All-Ireland senior hurling winner Séamus Callanan called time on an illustrious career on Wednesday and admits that it's only now that the magnitude of his achievements is setting in.
The Tipperary great this week brought the curtain down on a 16-year spell as a senior inter-county hurler.
Callanan enjoyed a stellar career leading the line for the Premier County, lifting Liam MacCarthy in 2010, 2016 and 2019, along with a National League title in 2008. He was named Hurler of the Year in 2019, as Tipp, with him as captain, won a second Liam MacCarthy Cup under Liam Sheedy.
The 35-year-old had been beset by injuries in recent seasons and went into this summer’s championship knowing that it would be his last.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he confirmed he'd already decided to retire from the inter-county scene at the start of the campaign, but admitted it’s still a wrench to walk away from the county he served so well.
"It was a difficult thing to do," said Callanan. "I had my mind made up for the last year but at the same time, when it’s final, it’s a very difficult day.
"I have no regrets after it all. I gave everything I could to the Tipperary jersey, I’m very proud of that and very happy with the contributions I made.
"I’ve made lifelong friends and that’s genuine, people have been very good to me.
"I had a great time, it’s the best journey I was ever on and here’s to the next chapter."
The knowledge that he would be announcing his retirement has given Callanan time and space to reflect on his achievements throughout his career and it comes as no surprise that Tipperary’s 2019 triumph is the one that he’s most proud of.
"For me, ’19 was just incredible," he said. "I’ve touched on this before but the feeling... I'll never forget.
"We had the homecoming in Semple Stadium on the Monday night and then the bus took off with all the players back out for homecoming out in The Ragg, out in my own club.
"I just remember I was sitting in the back of the bus there and Tommy Dunne called me up. He said, 'come up here and sit in the front’. He said, ‘you need to see everything here, you need to witness this’, and I'm very thankful for that moment that he called me up because I suppose I was sitting back trying to be a bit modest and maybe stay away from the limelight too much.
"I’ll never forget being at the front of the bus and just looking out the front window passing The Ragg pub and all my friends and everyone's kind of cheering and roaring.
"My house is just beside the pub there and my parents were standing outside the front gate waving at the bus. The pride that I must have brought to them, you know it would nearly bring a tear to your eye really because they've watched me walk out the gate of our house and down to the hurling field for years and years.
"It's the type of thing that you wish you enjoyed more at the time, but you're always kind of looking for more and trying to do it again next year and that kind of thing.
"If you could go back to a day in your life, you know it would be that day and those special moments."
Callanan walks away from the inter-county scene with no regrets and is now taking time to appreciate all he has achieved.
It’s a bittersweet ending for the Drom & Inch man but having the time to reflect on his glories has given him a new appreciation for those 16 years in a Tipperary jersey.
"Until I announced the retirement I never went there in my own head really," he said. "Because you're always chasing the next thing. The next championship match and the next performance and the next score or whatever it is.
"I think that until the curtain really came down on it and you finalised that you aren't going back and the messages come in and people prompt the memories.
"I can picture it clearly as if it's just today. Every moment, every step that I took that day [in 2019], and every person I met. It was so personal, and it is emotional.
"You know it's a sad day when you call the curtain down on your career. But to have those memories… I’ll never forget those times and all the people that I met that were so good to me through the years."
