All-Ireland winning captain Declan Hannon hailed the Limerick coaching setup for helping them end their 45-year wait for the Liam MacCarthy.

The Treaty men enjoyed one of the greatest days in their history after beating Galway 3-16 to 2-18 at Croke Park despite a late comeback by the Tribesmen.

Limerick suffered disappointment in the semi-finals of the Munster championship after losing to Clare in convincing fashion at Cusack Park.

But rather than dwell on that disappointment, Hannon insisted the loss was a minor hiccup on their route to glory.

“We regrouped very quickly but it was just a case of not hitting our targets in that game,” Hannon told OTB AM.

“In all the other games we’ve played this year we have hit the targets we have set ourselves and we came out the right side.

“Small things went against us and there were a few things we wanted to do against Clare but didn’t and you’re going to get found out very quickly.”

Declan Hannon and manager John Kiely. Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Defeat in Ennis came at a time when Limerick were being spoken of as the form team in the country after coming through Tipperary, Cork and Waterford unbeaten.

The Treaty men were accused of running out of steam as question marks began to emerge over Limerick’s All-Ireland title credentials.

But Hannon dismissed the notion he and his teammates doubted themselves after the defeat.

“Not really because we played against Tipperary, Cork and Waterford and I suppose we proved to ourselves we were good enough to compete with them,” Hannon added.

“The Clare game was a setback but it wasn’t going to derail us from the bigger picture of the championship.

“John, the management team and Caroline Currid were great at getting us focused again for the next round of the championship.”

James Hopper