John Joseph Callanan (10 March 1894 – 19 December 1970) was an Irish hurler who played as a centre-forward for the Tipperary and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

senior teams. Born in

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, Callanan first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-four when he first linked up with the Tipperary senior team. He joined the senior panel during the 1918 championship and was a regular member of the Tipperary and Dublin teams at various times for over a decade. During that time he won two

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

medals, two

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

medals and one

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

medal. The All-Ireland-winning captain in 1930, Callanan was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion. As a member of the

inter-provincial Callanan won one

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

medal. At club level he was a one-time

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

medallist with

Thurles Sarsfields Thurles Sarsfields is a Tipperary GAA club which is located in County Tipperary, Ireland. Both hurling and Gaelic football are played in the "Mid-Tipperary" divisional competitions. The club is centred in the town of Thurles at Semple Stadium. T ...

while he also played with

Collegians Collegians are an Australian rugby league football team based in Wollongong, New South Wales, Wollongong. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and compete in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership. Originally known as CBC Old Boys, the c ...

. Callanan retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1930 championship.

Playing career

Club

Callanan began his club hurling career with

before later transferring to

in Dublin. He enjoyed little initial success, with his only major victory coming in the twilight of his career after moving back to Thurles Sarsfields. In 1929 Sarsfields qualified for the championship decider. A 4-3 to 1-3 defeat of

Toomevara Toomevara, officially Toomyvara (), is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland, 11 km east of Nenagh. It is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe, and is in the historical barony of Ormond Upper. Transport Local Link Tipperary ...

secured a first title in eighteen years and gave Callanan a

Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship The Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the FBD Insurance Tipperary County Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Tipperary GAA, Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Ath ...

medal.

Inter-county

Callanan joined the Tipperary senior team during the 1918 championship. After two unsuccessful years he later transferred to Dublin. In 1920 Callanan was a regular member of the starting fifteen with Dublin and won his first

medal following a 4-5 to 2-2 defeat of

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

. The

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

hampered the organisation of the championship with the All-Ireland decider not being played until 14 May 1922. Reigning champions

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

provided the opposition, however, Dublin won with a four-goal blitz from Joe Phelan. The 4-9 to 4-3 victory gave Callanan an

medal. Callanan added a second Leinster medal to his collection in 1921 as Dublin accounted for Kilkenny by 4-4 to 1-5. On 4 March 1923 Dublin faced

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

in the All-Ireland final. Four goals by Limerick captain Bob McConkey helped the Shannonsiders to an 8-5 to 3-2 victory as the

Liam MacCarthy Cup The Liam MacCarthy Cup () is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Based on the design of a medieval drinking vessel, the trophy was first awarded i ...

was presented for the very first time. By 1926 Callanan had rejoined the Tipperary senior team, however, Cork dominated the championship. In 1930 he was captain of the team as Cork's bid for a record-equaling fifth successive provincial title faltered. Tipperary bested

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

in the decider by 6-4 to 2-8, giving Callanan a

medal. On 7 September 1930 Tipperary faced Callanan's former side Dublin in the All-Ireland decider. Goals at the end of the first half from Martin Kennedy and Callanan gave Tipperary the edge. An eventual 2-7 to 1-3 victory gave Callanan a second All-Ireland medal, while he also had the honour of lifting the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

Inter-provincial

Callanan was chosen for the

inter-provincial team in 1928. He won his sole

medal that year following Munster's defeat of arch rivals

in the decider.

Honours

;Thurles Sarsfields *

(1): 1929 ;Dublin *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(1):

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hur ...

(2):

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

;Tipperary *

(1):

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

(1):

(1): 1928

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callanan, John Joe 1894 births 1970 deaths All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Dublin inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers Thurles Sarsfields hurlers Tipperary inter-county hurlers UCD hurlers