Jerry Hannon: ‘I’ve been lucky in life, not everyone’s dream becomes reality’
Almost 20 years after beginning his career at a pony meeting in Athea, Jerry Hannon became Ireland’s primary racecourse commentator in July following the retirement of his ‘inspiration’, Dessie Scahill.
“The seed was planted in my hometown of Listowel. It seemed that all of North Kerry would grind to a halt for the annual festival every September. People who might never step inside a racecourse from one year to the next would be there.
My first memory of the races down at ‘the island’ was when I was about seven or eight. I had a black and red BMX that I would park up at the finishing post — but then I would turn my back on the racing itself.
Instead of watching the horses, I would watch Dessie Scahill who was the course’s racing commentator. He was my inspiration. I was just in awe of him and what he was doing.
I’m not from a big racing family but my late dad, Joe, would have been into it and I would travel with him to race meetings like Killarney and Galway as a child. The more I went, the more interested I became.
People might remember that Sports Stadium used to have racing highlights back then. I would sit in front of the TV on Saturday afternoons and record the commentary sections on cassette and play them back over and over again. When I got older I had this impression I would do of Micheal Ó Hehir’s famous commentary of Foinavon’s win in the 1967 Grand National.
The Racing Post had a transcript of what he had said that day and I learned it off by heart. I used to do it for friends and family but I’d be so shy that I would only do it if I was behind a door or under a table. Liz Horgan, who was from Listowel, heard it and was really impressed. Her dad, James, was hugely involved in the pony circuit at the time and she twisted his arm to let me commentate on some races one day.
And so I did on October 17, 1999, in Athea in Limerick. I can remember the day clearly — Chris Hayes, Nina Carbery, Billy Lee, and Davy Condon were all there that afternoon, starting out, just like me.
And look where we all are 19 years later.
My dad was very good friends with Liam Healy, the legendary racing photographer from Listowel. I used to go up to his office as a child and soon started to help out, numbering and indexing the pictures. From there I progressed to being his bagman at race meetings throughout my teenage years. Then he gave me a camera — he always said I had a great eye for a photo! Would you believe that I had visited every Irish racetrack by the time I was 17 in my work with Healy Racing. So when I finished secondary school at St Michael’s College I went straight to work with him on a full-time basis. He had a huge influence on my career and I’m eternally grateful to him for the support and advice that he gave me. So when I started doing more and more commentaries at the point-to-points, I’d often be double jobbing. I’d call a race and then sprint down to take pictures of the winning connections in the parade ring afterward.
It was. A few months after that pony debut in Athea I started out working at point-to-points which was a very big career step. But the connection with the Healys was perhaps a help as I wasn’t a complete unknown around the circuit (in fact my first racecourse access card read Jerry Healy, not Jerry Hannon). I started off doing point to points in Askeaton and Bruff in Limerick and it took off from there.
I was up in Downpatrick in May 2000 taking pictures for Healys. It was a two-day meeting and on the Friday night we were out for dinner with the Polly Family and it turned out their dad’s memorial race — the Willie Polly Memorial Handicap Hurdle — was on the next day. I did one of my commentary party pieces that night and they enjoyed it so much that they asked me to do the commentary on their dad’s race the following day. The racecourse manager Iain Duff and the inhouse commentator Neville Ring happily acceded to their request and that is how I got my break into racecourse commentary. Neville stood down from the role a few months later and asked me if I would like to take over. Needless to say I’ve had a soft spot for Downpatrick ever since.
It has been a hard slog to get to where I am. I grafted very hard and made a lot of sacrifices. I missed so many family occasions like weddings, communions, birthdays because of racing commitments. I also had to hold down other jobs as well because the number of racing commentaries I was doing simply wasn’t enough to keep me going alone. So I had stints working with Cadburys and Paddy Power over the past 19 years.
I’d say hard work first and foremost but you still need a sprinkling of talent as a foundation.
The soundest piece of advice was from Pat Keane (former Irish Examiner racing correspondent). He told me to ‘keep it simple and don’t add anything that is unnecessary.’ And I’ve worked to that mantra since then. And my Dad used to tell me that I should treat every single race like a Derby or a Grand National. And those are words that I never forget. I’m a bit of a traditionalist, I’m not paid to be a comedian or have these flashy one-liners. My job is to call it like I see it. That is what I aim to do with every race I commentate on.
Yes, nowadays all the racecards are in colour so it is easier to work out the jockeys and so on. When I started out in point-to-points the cards would be in black and white so I would bring my own pencils to add the colours!
Yes. You are very exposed and quite vulnerable to keyboard warriors. It is a bit like being a jockey, you are only as good as your last performance. Nowadays your commentary is more than just at the racecourse. T
his week gone by. I was working at Listowel but that commentary was going out on At the Races, SIS, on Radio Kerry, on phonelines. It means there’s no room for complacency if you are doing a midweek meeting or the major weekend race. You have to be thick-skinned in that regard and for the most part I stay away from forums and the like. But thankfully I’ve never had any issues in terms of trainers, jockeys, or owners.
A 30-runner, five furlough maiden up the Curragh. Which is all done in less than a minute. Now that is a challenge.
Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh.
I’ve been lucky in life, not everyone’s dream becomes reality. I’m 37 and landed the senior racecourse commentary role through nearly 20 years of hard work and hard graft. The Association of Irish Racecourses are my employers and they realised and rewarded me for my loyalty over the years. I have to punch in 220 racing days from July to July around Ireland. I completed the full set the week before last, with my commentary at Laytown meaning that I’ve commentated at every racecourse in Ireland. It is an honour and a privilege every day and hopefully there are more wonderful days ahead.”
