Rory Hanniffy retirement from offaly hurling

[townman]

just like to say best of luck to Rory in his retirement from offaly hurling was a great hurler for offaly and Birr and always gave his best enjoy your retirement from inter county scene, but theirs a few years left in you for Birr still.

[Toxicity234]

Bad news for Offaly Hurling to lose such a great hurler.
I just want to wish him best on his retirement.

[townman]

ye its a pity he wasn't around in the 90's with the great sides, i remember him as a chap in 1999 scoring a goal for Birr again kilkennys Glenmore in the leinster club winning side that year, but time has caught up with him it has with many others will be a big lost for offaly.

[Buttons]

Served county well, enjoy retirement

[kingscounty]

Great centre back , huge loss

[Chris]

Great and stylish hurler who will be sadly missed by Offaly county team

[sam88885a]

fine hurler , hurled in nearly every position for offaly , anywhere there was a problem rory was sent which i think was unfair on rory .
great stylish midfielder one of they few current hurlers that could have made the offaly team of the 90s . pity he missed out .
thanks rory enjoy retirement

[The Outsider]

Fantastic servant for Offaly over the last 14 years, hurled every position except in goals. Finished his intercounty career with less medals and accolades than I am sure he would have liked but no doubting the esteem in which he is held by Offaly hurling followers.

[Kevin]

Best wishes to Rory on his retirement.

In the drawn game against Galway in 2010 remember him grabbing a long puckout out of the sky, shedding his marker and banging it over the bar from 50 yards.

He made it look easy.

What the hell, here it is - have a look if you wish (aforementioned commences at about 7:00 in the following video) - a very brief segment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW8t8paQB6U

[timber]

Best wishes to Rory on his early retirement. A great hurler. Probably still the best in the county at present.

Awful pity he did not feature more in attack over the years. He was an outstanding minor full forward on that Leinster winning team and also played corner forward for the U21s who beat Kilkenny in Leinster final that same year.

Last year had to be tough. A player of his Athletism and skill being thrown in at full back. Anybody who has been in a similar position for their club would tell you how frustrating that is so at intercounty level it must have been hard to stomach. But he got on with it and hurled quiet well there.

He has plenty still to offer and Birr should gain valuably from having his full attention.

A great servant. Well done and best of luck.

[GreatDayForTheParish]

It is hard in mere words to do justice to Rory Hanniffy as a hurler.
He was exceptional. Utterly, utterly, exceptional. Everything was fast, at times a blur - the feet, the wrists, the strike, the head. His skill was incomparable. Respected on the pitch and a gentleman off it, he is the player for any young hurler to model themselves on.

It was his singular misfortune that his inter county career coincided perfectly with the least successful period for Offaly hurling in decades. He never played hurling for Offaly in August. As bad as it was, and is, without him it would have been much worse. On even our darkest days, he rose above all others. The poor quality of the teams on which he played meant he was often forced 'to plug the hole'. He thus played, and played exceptionally, in every line on the pitch for Offaly. Such accomplished versatility is, for me, the mark of all truly great hurlers. He was certainly one.

Offaly's uselessness over the past thirteen years also meant that Rory never received the national attention he deserved. Look back at the All Star awards over the last ten years. Look at how average some of the award recipients are - gifted by being on a successful team or having a personal decent year in a career otherwise marked by mediocrity. How easy it must be to be a player from Kilkenny, Cork, Tipperary etc, knowing that over an 10 year inter county career you are almost guaranteed to win an All-Ireland medal. No, the real heroes are those players, like Rory, who toil for interminable years on 'lesser teams' knowing in their hearts of hearts that they probably won't win a single thing. The writer PM O'Sullivan wrote in May of this year in the Offaly/Kilkenny match programme: ''Indulge a digression about this man. He has never received sufficient acclaim. Hanniffy's prime would have seen him starting on any team in Ireland, including the Kilkenny one of 2008. A coaching video could centre on his strokeplay. Rory Hanniffy, but for lack of exposure, would nigh be discussed in the same terms as Ken McGrath. Markedly different styles, of course, but the same status as supreme hurlers who did not land, no fault of their own, a Celtic Cross. Such figures set important example.'' Indeed they do.


Back to his club now with whom he has won it all. There are many from Birr, and beyond, who claim his absence in the 2004 final was what granted Coolderry the win, such was the esteem he was held in and influence he exerted at that time. He has a few more years to try and get them over the line again.

To finish, he is one of the greatest players this county has ever produced and would have easily graced any of our All-Ireland winning teams. A sincere thanks, from me, for his service to our county.

[Kevin]

It is hard in mere words to do justice to Rory Hanniffy as a hurler.
He was exceptional. Utterly, utterly, exceptional. Everything was fast, at times a blur - the feet, the wrists, the strike, the head. His skill was incomparable. Respected on the pitch and a gentleman off it, he is the player for any young hurler to model themselves on.

It was his singular misfortune that his inter county career coincided perfectly with the least successful period for Offaly hurling in decades. He never played hurling for Offaly in August. As bad as it was, and is, without him it would have been much worse. On even our darkest days, he rose above all others. The poor quality of the teams on which he played meant he was often forced 'to plug the hole'. He thus played, and played exceptionally, in every line on the pitch for Offaly. Such accomplished versatility is, for me, the mark of all truly great hurlers. He was certainly one.

Offaly's uselessness over the past thirteen years also meant that Rory never received the national attention he deserved. Look back at the All Star awards over the last ten years. Look at how average some of the award recipients are - gifted by being on a successful team or having a personal decent year in a career otherwise marked by mediocrity. How easy it must be to be a player from Kilkenny, Cork, Tipperary etc, knowing that over an 10 year inter county career you are almost guaranteed to win an All-Ireland medal. No, the real heroes are those players, like Rory, who toil for interminable years on 'lesser teams' knowing in their hearts of hearts that they probably won't win a single thing. The writer PM O'Sullivan wrote in May of this year in the Offaly/Kilkenny match programme: ''Indulge a digression about this man. He has never received sufficient acclaim. Hanniffy's prime would have seen him starting on any team in Ireland, including the Kilkenny one of 2008. A coaching video could centre on his strokeplay. Rory Hanniffy, but for lack of exposure, would nigh be discussed in the same terms as Ken McGrath. Markedly different styles, of course, but the same status as supreme hurlers who did not land, no fault of their own, a Celtic Cross. Such figures set important example.'' Indeed they do.


Back to his club now with whom he has won it all. There are many from Birr, and beyond, who claim his absence in the 2004 final was what granted Coolderry the win, such was the esteem he was held in and influence he exerted at that time. He has a few more years to try and get them over the line again.

To finish, he is one of the greatest players this county has ever produced and would have easily graced any of our All-Ireland winning teams. A sincere thanks, from me, for his service to our county.

Perhaps justice can't be served in 'mere words', but this was a mighty effort. Nice job!!

[SearingDrive]

It is hard in mere words to do justice to Rory Hanniffy as a hurler.
He was exceptional. Utterly, utterly, exceptional. Everything was fast, at times a blur - the feet, the wrists, the strike, the head. His skill was incomparable. Respected on the pitch and a gentleman off it, he is the player for any young hurler to model themselves on.

It was his singular misfortune that his inter county career coincided perfectly with the least successful period for Offaly hurling in decades. He never played hurling for Offaly in August. As bad as it was, and is, without him it would have been much worse. On even our darkest days, he rose above all others. The poor quality of the teams on which he played meant he was often forced 'to plug the hole'. He thus played, and played exceptionally, in every line on the pitch for Offaly. Such accomplished versatility is, for me, the mark of all truly great hurlers. He was certainly one.

Offaly's uselessness over the past thirteen years also meant that Rory never received the national attention he deserved. Look back at the All Star awards over the last ten years. Look at how average some of the award recipients are - gifted by being on a successful team or having a personal decent year in a career otherwise marked by mediocrity. How easy it must be to be a player from Kilkenny, Cork, Tipperary etc, knowing that over an 10 year inter county career you are almost guaranteed to win an All-Ireland medal. No, the real heroes are those players, like Rory, who toil for interminable years on 'lesser teams' knowing in their hearts of hearts that they probably won't win a single thing. The writer PM O'Sullivan wrote in May of this year in the Offaly/Kilkenny match programme: ''Indulge a digression about this man. He has never received sufficient acclaim. Hanniffy's prime would have seen him starting on any team in Ireland, including the Kilkenny one of 2008. A coaching video could centre on his strokeplay. Rory Hanniffy, but for lack of exposure, would nigh be discussed in the same terms as Ken McGrath. Markedly different styles, of course, but the same status as supreme hurlers who did not land, no fault of their own, a Celtic Cross. Such figures set important example.'' Indeed they do.


Back to his club now with whom he has won it all. There are many from Birr, and beyond, who claim his absence in the 2004 final was what granted Coolderry the win, such was the esteem he was held in and influence he exerted at that time. He has a few more years to try and get them over the line again.

To finish, he is one of the greatest players this county has ever produced and would have easily graced any of our All-Ireland winning teams. A sincere thanks, from me, for his service to our county.

You have expressed what we all think about Rory Hanniffy, a really graet palyer. Can I wish him well in his retirement. As stated above great players come from all counties, not just the so called 'traditional counties' whatever that arrogant phrase means.

[SearingDrive]

PS that should have read really great player.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Thanks to GDFTP for his beautifully written tribute. When I heard the news last night I instantly thought of that PM O’Sullivan piece and thought I must dig it out. I’m glad someone else thought of it.

Rory is one of the great stylists of hurling. I can’t think of anyone else who had wrists like him and there was a wonderful elegance to his play.

He may not have won the cups and medals that his predecessors in Offaly jerseys won, but he did make 114 appearances for his county (between league and championship), a tally that has been exceeded by just 9 Offaly hurlers.

Rory won’t be remembered for great deeds, dominating games, scores that lifted a county, or great booming clearances. Rather his hallmark was a perfectly placed pass, or an interception. My own favourite was in the very early stage of the 2011 qualifier against Cork. A Cork forward got in behind the full-back line and headed for goal. The just when it seemed the net would bulge Rory made up tremendous ground from the centre half-back position and flicked the ball away as the cork forward was about to pull the trigger.

Hard to know if versatility is a blessing or a curse. Rory began his career in the full-forward line, spent time in the half-forward line around 2003 and 2004, a few years at centre half-back, was midfield for a time around 2009 and 2010, reverted to the half-back line before completing the set by going to full-back last year. Even at square’s edge and on a team who sank without trace he still hurled admirably.

But within the versatility was much more. He was the freetaker around 2003 and 2004, probably the last of the marksman who used the minimum of movement of feet between the lift and the strike. He scored 3 goals and 40 points during his 45 championship appearances, most of which was scored during the earlier part of his Offaly career when he lined out in attack. The goals were scored against Wexford in 2003, Clare in 2004 and the all-important goal that broke Antrim’s resistance in Parnell Park in 2010.

I will always remember his wristy strokes for nobody had wrists like him. Thanks for the memories and for your contribution to hurling, Rory.