Dan Shanahan

Dan Shanahan

Personal information
Irish name	Dónal Ó Seanacháin
Sport	Hurling
Position	Half-forward/Full-forward
Born	January 4, 1977 (1977-01-04) Lismore, County Waterford
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Nickname	Big Dan, Dan the Man
Club(s)
Years	Club
1993-present	Lismore
Club Titles
Waterford titles	1
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
1998-2010	Waterford	52 (26-58)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	4
NHL	1
All Stars	3
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 9 August 2009.

Dan Shanahan (born 4 January 1977 in Lismore, County Waterford) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Lismore and was a member of the Waterford senior inter-county team from 1998 until 2010. In recent seasons Shanahan has come to be regarded as one of the best players in the game being named undisputed Hurler of the Year in 2007. Dan is the older brother of Maurice Shanahan and cousin of Eoin Kelly (Waterford hurler) who are also members of the Waterford hurling panel.Dan usually played in the forwards.

Playing career

Club

Shanahan plays his club hurling with his local Lismore club in Waterford. He has enjoyed some success at underage levels winning county medals in hurling at under-14, under-16, minor and under-21 levels. Shanahan won a senior county title in 1993 at the age of sixteen. Lismore were in the county final in 2009 but narrowly lost in the replay.

Inter-county

In the mid-1990s Shanahan played hurling with the Waterford minor and under-21 teams, however, he had little success at these levels. He first played for Waterford in 1995, however, his senior championship debut for his native-county came in 1998. That year Waterford held All-Ireland champions Clare to a draw in the Munster final, however, the Decies lost the replay. Shanahan’s side later faced Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final, however, they were defeated by a single point. This was a bleak period for Waterford’s hurlers and the famine that had lasted since 1963 continued. All this changed in 2002 when Justin McCarthy took over as manager of the team. That year Waterford reached the Munster final again, however, Shanahan could not command a definite place on the starting fifteen. In spite of this he came on as a substitute in Waterford’s provincial final victory over reigning champions Tipperary. It was Shanahan’s first Munster title. Unfortunately, the men from the Deise were later defeated by Clare in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Shanahan's autobiography

In 2003 Waterford reached the Munster final again, however, Shanahan remained on the substitutes’ bench as his team was defeated by Cork. Waterford later crashed out of the championship in the All-Ireland series. By 2004 Shanahan had established himself on the county team and it turned out to be one of his best seasons to date. In his first game against Clare he scored a hat-trick of goals (an impressive feat in hurling). He added to this by scoring another two goals against Tipperary and then scoring a vital goal against Cork in the memorable Munster final, giving Shanahan a second provincial title. This victory allowed the team to advance directly to the All-Ireland semi-final, however, Kilkenny defeated Shanahan’s side on that occasion. In spite of this there was some consolation at the end of the year as Shanahan's scoring prowess earned him his first All-Star award. The following few years proved difficult for Shanahan. Waterford crashed out of the early stages of the provincial championship in 2005 and 2006. On both these occasions his team was defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland series. Shanahan won a second All-Star award in 2006.

In 2007 Shanahan’s season began well. That year he collected his first National Hurling League title following a victory over reigning champions and three-in-a-row hopefuls Kilkenny. It was Waterford’s first national title in forty-four years. Shanahan’s side later defeated Cork in an exciting Munster semi-final, giving the team a place in the provincial decider once again. Limerick provided the opposition on that occasion. In the game itself Shanahan scored a remarkable total of 3-3. Remarkably, he scored all three of his goals during the second-half at rain-soaked Semple Stadium, as his strikes in the 52nd, 63rd and 71st minutes closed out a deserved, if somewhat flattering, victory. Shanahan was named "Man of the Match" along with picking up his third Munster winners medal. In the subsequent All-Ireland quarter-final Waterford defeated Cork after a replay, setting up an All-Ireland semi-final rematch with Limerick. While many had predicted a Waterford victory, Limerick had learned a lesson from the earlier defeat. Shanahan was prevented from scoring any goals in that game while Limerick’s forwards scored five. For the fifth time in almost a decade Waterford’s championship came to an end at the penultimate stage. In spite of falling short of championship success Shanahan’s tally of eight goals over the whole championship marked him out as one of the best forwards in the country. He was later presented with a third All-Star award as well as claiming the coveted Vodafone Hurler of the Year award. Shanahan later made a clean sweep of all the player of the year awards by also collecting the GPA Hurler of the Year and Texaco Hurler of the Year awards as well.

In August 2010, Shanahan announced his retirement from the inter-county game after Waterford's exit to Tipperary in the All Ireland semi final.

Provincial

Shanahan has also lined out with Munster in the Railway Cup inter-provincial competition. He first lined out with his province in 1998, however, he did not capture a winners medal in this competition until 2007 when Munster defeated Connacht.

Championship Appearances

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Match report
1	24 May 1998	Austin Stack Park, Tralee	Kerry	0-6	0-20 : 1-09	Munster Quarter-Final	Irish Independent
2	7 Jun 1998	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork	Tipperary	0-2	0-21 : 2-12	Munster Semi-Final	Irish Independent
3	12 Jul 1998	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Clare	0-3	3-10 : 1-16	Munster Final	Irish Independent
4	19 Jul 1998	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Clare	0-0	0-10 : 2-16	Munster Final Replay	Irish Independent
5	26 Jul 1998	Croke Park, Dublin	Galway	0-1	1-20 : 1-10	All-Ireland Quarter-Final	Irish Independent
6	16 Aug 1998	Croke Park, Dublin	Kilkenny	0-2	1-10 : 1-11	All-Ireland Semi-Final	Irish Independent
7	30 May 1999	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Limerick	0-1	1-16 : 1-15	Munster Quarter-Final	Irish Examiner
8	14 Jun 1999	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Cork	0-3	1-15 : 0-24	Munster Semi-Final	Irish Examiner
9	28 May 2000	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork	Tipperary	0-1	0-14 : 0-17	Munster Quarter-Final	Irish Independent
10	10 Jun 2001	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork	Limerick	0-1	2-14 : 4-11	Munster Semi-Final	Irish Independent
11	26 May 2002	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Cork	0-0	1-16 : 1-15	Munster Semi-Final	Irish Independent
12	30 Jun 2002	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Thurles	Tipperary	0-0	2-23 : 3-12	Munster Final	Irish Examiner
13	11 Aug 2002	Croke Park, Dublin	Clare	0-0	1-13 : 1-16	All-Ireland Semi-Final	Irish Independent
14	11 May 2003	Walsh Park, Waterford	Kerry	0-1	2-26 : 1-12	Munster Quarter-Final
15	1 Jun 2003	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Limerick	0-0	4-13 : 4-13	Munster Semi-Final	Irish Examiner
16	8 Jun 2003	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Limerick	0-1	1-12 : 0-13	Munster Semi-Final Replay	Irish Examiner
17	20 Jul 2003	Nolan Park, Kilkenny	Wexford	0-1	0-18 : 1-20	3rd Round Qualifier	Irish Independent
18	16 May 2004	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Clare	3-1	3-21 : 1-8	Munster Quarter-Final	Irish Examiner
19	6 Jun 2004	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork	Tipperary	2-0	4-10 : 3-12	Munster Semi-Final	Irish Examiner
20	27 Jun 2004	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Cork	1-3	3-16 : 1-21	Munster Final	Irish Examiner
21	8 Aug 2004	Croke Park, Dublin	Kilkenny	0-0	3-12 : 0-18	All-Ireland Semi-Final	Irish Independent
22	22 May 2005	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Cork	1-0	2-15 : 2-17	Munster Semi-Final	Irish Examiner
23	18 Jun 2005	Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow	Offaly	0-0	1-26 : 1-15	Group Stage Qualifier	Irish Independent
24	2 Jul 2005	Walsh Park, Waterford	Dublin	0-0	4-17 : 1-3	Group Stage Qualifier	Irish Independent
25	9 Jul 2005	Cusack Park, Ennis	Clare	0-3	0-21 : 4-14	Group Stage Qualifier	Irish Independent
26	24 Jul 2005	Croke Park, Dublin	Cork	1-0	1-13 : 1-18	All-Ireland Quarter-Final	Irish Examiner
27	4 Jun 2006	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork	Tipperary	1-0	1-12 : 3-14	Munster Semi-Final	RTE Sport
28	18 Jun 2006	Cusack Park, Mullingar	Westmeath	1-2	3-22 : 1-14	Group Stage Qualifier	Irish Independent
29	2 Jul 2006	Walsh Park, Waterford	Galway	0-2	1-25 : 2-20	Group Stage Qualifier	RTE Sport
30	8 Jul 2006	O'Moore Park, Portlaoise	Laois	0-0	2-17 : 1-13	Group Stage Qualifier	Irish Independent
31	23 Jul 2006	Croke Park, Dublin	Tipperary	1-5	1-22 : 3-13	All-Ireland Quarter-Final	RTE Sport
32	6 Aug 2006	Croke Park, Dublin	Cork	0-1	1-15 : 1-16	All-Ireland Semi-Final	RTE Sport
33	17 Jun 2007	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Cork	2-1	5-15 : 3-18	Munster Semi-Final	Irish Independent
34	8 Jul 2007	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Limerick	3-3	3-17 : 1-14	Munster Final	Irish Independent
35	29 Jul 2007	Croke Park, Dublin	Cork	1-3	3-16 : 3-16	All-Ireland Quarter-Final	Irish Independent
36	5 Aug 2007	Croke Park, Dublin	Cork	2-1	2-17 : 0-20	All-Ireland Quarter-Final Replay	Irish Independent
37	12 Aug 2007	Croke Park, Dublin	Limerick	0-4	2-15 : 5-11	All-Ireland Semi-Final	Irish Independent
38	1 Jun 2008	Gaelic Grounds, Limerick	Clare	0-0	0-23 : 2-26	Munster Quarter-Final	Irish Examiner
39	5 Jul 2008	Walsh Park, Waterford	Antrim	0-4	6-18 : 0-15	2nd Round Qualifier	Irish Independent
40	19 Jul 2008	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Offaly	0-0	2-18 : 0-18	4th Round Qualifier	Irish Independent
41	27 Jul 2008	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Wexford	1-1	2-19 : 3-15	All-Ireland Quarter-Final	RTE Sport
42	17 Aug 2008	Croke Park, Dublin	Tipperary	0-0	1-20 : 1-18	All-Ireland Semi-Final	RTE Sport
43	7 Sep 2008	Croke Park, Dublin	Kilkenny	0-0	1-13 : 3-30	All-Ireland Final	RTE Sport
44	14 Jun 2009	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Limerick	0-0	0-11 : 1-08	Munster Semi-Final	Irish Independent
45	20 Jun 2009	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Limerick	0-0	0-25 : 0-17	Munster Semi-Final Replay	RTE Sport
46	12 Jul 2009	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Tipperary	0-1	2-16 : 4-14	Munster Final	RTE Sport
47	26 Jul 2009	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Galway	0-0	1-16 : 0-18	All-Ireland Quarter-final	RTE Sport
48	9 Aug 2009	Croke Park, Dublin	Kilkenny	0-1	3-15 : 2-23	All-Ireland Semi-final	RTE Sport
49	7 Jun 2010	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Clare	0-0	0-22 : 1-15	Munster Semi-final	RTE Sport
50	11 Jul 2010	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Cork	0-0	2-15 : 2-15	Munster Final	RTE Sport
51	17 Jul 2010	Semple Stadium, Thurles	Cork	1-0	1-16 : 1-13	Munster Final Replay	RTE Sport
52	15 Aug 2010	Croke Park, Dublin	Tipperary	0-0	1-18 : 3-19	All-Ireland Semi-final	RTE Sport

Awards
Preceded by Henry Shefflin (Kilkenny)	Vodafone Hurler of the Year 2007	Succeeded by Eoin Larkin (Kilkenny)
	Texaco Hurler of the Year 2007
	Gaelic Players' Association Hurler of the Year 2007