Party piece helped me become voice of Irish racing – Jerry Hannon on iconic Roaring Bull moment & best box in Ireland

The Irish Sun

a day ago

THE Galway Races are in full swing - with thousands of punters flocking through the turnstiles each day to get in on a bit of the action.
Ballybrit Racecourse
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Racing icon Jerry Hannon is the man behind the mic
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Jerry is at the helm to capture all of the twists and turns at Ballybrit
Credit: PA
With €2.17million in prize money, everyone is hoping to go home with a little more in their pockets than they came with.
One man who is crucial to the festival is, of course, the race commentator.
From the first thundering gallop to the photo finishes, commentator Jerry Hannon really is the voice of the Galway Races.
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Eloquently capturing the drama of each race and celebrating wins with the punters, the Kerryman brings the festival alive.
Commentator Jerry has the inside track on everything that goes into calling the big races in Galway and he says preparation is key.
He revealed: 'Some races can be frantic, especially on the flat. Things can change so quickly. You don't get a second in the flat.
'Jump races, you're always waiting for something to happen. A horse could fall at the last, it could be a knock-on effect, bring down an oncoming horse and one of them has to swerve. So you have to be prepared for every eventuality.'
The racing maestro revealed he prepares for big races like the Galway Plate and the Hurdle 'all on the day'.
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He explained: 'I'm usually on site an hour, an hour and a half before the first race, and I get into the 'zone', as it were - marking up my card with non-runners, if there's jockey changes etc.
'And then I just head upstairs for the race. It's race by race. There's a touch of a 'last minute dot com' merchant about me. Always was!
'The later I leave it, I find the fresher it stays. There's declarations now 48 hours in advance. I might give her a run down through the race just to see what is declared to run.'
EARLY DAYS
After performing a party trick mimicking a commentator, Jerry suddenly found himself on his new career path.
He said: 'The late Michael O'Hehir was renowned for his call on the 1967 Foinavon Grand National.
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'Would you believe that when I was asked to do that party piece it was either under the table or behind the door.
'I could never stand up in front of people - or else I had to be inebriated to do so.
'It was that party piece. Of course it helped being born and raised in a town that had racing ­— Listowel in Kerry. That whetted my appetite from a young age as well.'
The Kerryman recalled his first ever commentating job after that.
He said: 'My first commentary was at Athea Pony Races, 17th of October, 1999. That was my very first commentary in public.
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'Luckily enough, it stepped forward from there. I gave 16, 17, maybe 18 years at point-to-point races up and down the country every Sunday, which were such a great foundation.
'Then I progressed on to racehorse commentaries.'
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The Kerryman heralds his Listowel childhood for instilling a love of racing
Credit: Inpho
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Jerry's Roaring Bull commentary back in December 2019 is regularly revisited
Credit: Inpho
The race-caller recalled how his passion for horseracing started from a young age.
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He said: 'In Listowel, from a very young age, we were the envy of all the schools in Kerry.
'We wouldn't be long back after the summer holidays, then we might have been only two weeks into September, then we would break up. We would get a half day on the Friday before the legendary Harvest Festival race meeting, which at that time was Monday to Friday.
'Half day on the Friday and we wouldn't return again until the following Monday week!'
The racing pro's legendary commentary on Roaring Bull has gone down in the history books.
He chuckled: 'Roaring Bull and myself would have to go into the one hole together and never again won a race after that.
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'He didn't have to because he'd won such a big pot in the Paddy Power Leopardstown Race.
'I was just delighted that it was the right one of Gigginstown's that came to win it late on because he had multiple runners in the race.
'He had seven, eight if not nine. So I was just relieved that I had the right one. It's inspired, it was something totally different.'
Now recognised as the voice of Irish racing for many, Jerry admitted there's 'pluses and minuses'.
He said: 'Big meetings can be stressful but you just try to block out the media that comes with those days in advance. On the day itself, when you're in situ, you just get on with the race.'
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ALL GO AT GALWAY
Jerry told how the mixed racecards is a key element that makes Galway so special.
He said: 'For me, it's the mixed cards, which are less nowadays. You have the seven days here and you have Super Sunday in Tipperary, the Sunday of the Arc in Longchamp.
'You could open with a maiden hurdle, halfway through you could have a flat handicap over a mile, you could finish with a bumper.
'And then it's the height of the summer, there's always crowds here which create such a fantastic atmosphere.'
Working as a commentator throughout Ireland, Jerry said that Ballybrit is one of his favourite courses to call at, saying: 'From my perspective, I think it's probably the best commentary box in the country.
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'It's spacious and, in September and October when temperatures drop, you have a room here just to my left and you close the door and it's cosy enough in there. I'm on the line, I don't miss anything in Galway.
'So it's probably one of my favourite places — and favourite commentary box — in the country. Some of them leave a lot to be desired, I must admit, but no… Galway is tops.'