On the morning of the 2007 Munster Hurling final, this writer was tempted by an attractive bet on Paddy Powers. Limerick (+7) were at even money to win the Munster hurling final. A banker. We had just come out of a trilogy against Tipperary, and we would compete. No doubt about it, there wasn’t a hope we would lose by more than seven. We might not win the match, but at least the winnings would cover the ticket for the All Ireland Quarter final. Most people on the day over in Thurles were sickened that they didn’t have the bet, even more so at half time and beyond. Enter Dan Shanahan, bang, bang and bang. Three second-half goals and Waterford were the Munster champions.

We had lost by nine, though the game didn’t reflect that score line, and as proven in Croke Park a few weeks later, if Brian Begley and Barry Foley had scored the early goals in the Munster final, things might have been different. In fact it might have suited the progression of Limerick hurling better to win the Munster final and lose the All Ireland semi final. But that’s another matter. My abiding memory is of hanging around in the New Stand for the presentation because it began to lash rain and I was totally sickened over losing the bet even more so than losing the match. Paddy Power hasn’t made a single cent from me since. If only Big Dan had settled for two goals!

Three years on and the goals have dried up, and the ink has dried on his autobiography. It’s a decent format, though integrating the 2010 season between chapters throughout the book, isn’t something that appeals to me. 2010 should appear in one block in the final chapter in this writer’s opinion, not anywhere else. Perhaps I am being fussy, but at least it’s not as bad as Donal Óg Cusack’s jumbled up effort, which, though a great read, was impossible to make head or tail of at times, such was the jumping between eras. GAA Books should be written in chronological order. The reason that Cusack’s became a blockbuster had more to do with waking up with a stranger out in Asia somewhere than it had to the structure of the book. Modern day publishers (apparently the publishers decide these things rather than the writer) tend to overplay the format of the structure in order to be different, but if the story is good enough, the reader won’t lose focus. The story was good enough in Donal Óg’s case, as it is in Big Dan’s case.

But back to the story. It deals well with his upbringing, tells it as it is, and outlines where he came from and what type of hurler he would have been at a young age. It’s a very honest book, where he says everything as it is. He doesn’t hide from the truth and that’s apparent throughout all his skirmishes and disagreements with managers throughout his career. In fact one of his earliest issues with management was when he was dropped from the panel in early 1997 for playing soccer on the morning of a training session. He recounts how he spent the summer being sour and remorseful, and was stubborn enough to contemplate not going back when the call came to return for the following season. His honesty truly comes to the fore on page 76. He found out that his partner was expecting a child, and how he went through the horror of breaking the news to both sets of parents, which didn’t meet a positive reaction from everyone not least his own mother!

His relationship with Justin is recounted in a reflective manner, in the form of there being times when Justin was right, and times when Dan was right. It’s not a ‘bash Justin’ book, by any manner of means. It’s very fair to him. Perhaps it’s a bit fairer to Justin than Damien Tiernan’s was, but Damien Tiernan spoke to a number of people who had (a) gripes with Justin and Justin only, and (b) never played under Davy Fitz. Dan played under both, and the distinct impression is that in hindsight, the dog you know, is better than the dog you don’t know, and that for all his acknowledged failings of Justin, that he would prefer him to Davy Fitz any day of the week. Perhaps the people of Clare have never really accepted that it was their fitness and their hurling won them the big names, and that the brute force, bullying and ignorance were only peripheral. A few harsh words every so often doesn’t do any player any harm when justified, but the constant barrage of insults etc. picking on certain individuals is only a mug’s game. Dan also freely speaks on opponents, what was said between them, what styles he found difficult etc. He covers the period when he was out of the team, and how his life off the field might have had an impact. He also mentions that he was sour enough with Richie Bennis for the comments in 2007!!!!

Overall it is an excellent read, an excellent companion to Damien Tiernan’s book, and an excellent insight into the life of a man who has been to the forefront of hurling for a number of years. He doesn’t hold back but he isn’t being controversial for the sake of being controversial. He is simply telling the truth and not hiding from the truth, but he does it in a balanced way. There could have been more photographs but don’t let that take from the story. One to add to the shopping list.