That was six years ago.
This week, Danaher's official Irish Rugby Union blazer was only slightly creased from the long flight, his speech was unimpeded, and his thoughts focused on doing his country proud.
This is Danaher, of Ireland, not of the Irish Wolfhounds - a side who have become hugely popular in Hong Kong for their enthusiasm and happy-go-lucky attitude.
It didn't win them anything, but the players loved the trip out to Hong Kong.
Danaher, who captained Ireland last year before Michael Bradley took over, said things are different now.
''I remember when the Wolfhounds arrived for the 1998 tournament,'' said Danaher, who has 21 Irish caps, four of them as captain. ''Our manager gave the press a quote that he thought we would win it.
''When the Wolfhounds took to the pitch, they wanted to win, but when you have invitation sides, there is a bit of fun involved and we have a good time as well.
''We still want to enjoy Hong Kong and the tournament, but it is a bit different now. We are wearing the Irish national jersey and whenever we do that, we want to do that much better.'' Danaher himself feels lucky to be part of this year's squad as his international teammate Vince Cunningham was unavailable through injury.
Another Irishman who has fond memories of the Sevens is coach Ian Burns, who played with the 1985 Wolfhounds.
Although Ireland completed their Five Nations assignments two weeks before the other four competing countries, they have yet to train together as a team.
Their preparations were rocked by the sudden withdrawals of Keith Wood, Niall Woods and flyer Richard Wallace.
They were replaced by international newcomers Eddie Halvey, Brian Walsh and Innes Gray.
But the Irish still hope to recreate the passion that took them to the semi-finals of last year's World Cup Sevens in Edinburgh.
It was Australia who proved Ireland's bogey team in Sevens last year. In fact, their two meetings were uncannily similar.
The first clash was in Hong Kong when Australia fought back from behind to beat the Irish in the quarter-finals.
The same thing happened in the semi-finals of the World Cup Sevens three weeks later. In both matches, a missed conversion by Ireland swung the match in Australia's favour. Even the referee was the same.
Despite the defeat, Ireland had done enough to establish themselves as a world sevens force.
What more could you ask from a team after they had beaten Western Samoa - the champions at Hong Kong - at Murrayfield? And the opportunity is there for a repeat clash because if Ireland qualify from their difficult group, they are likely to come up against the Samoans in the quarter-finals.
However, cold and damp Edinburgh is a far cry from hot, humid and tension-packed Hong Kong Stadium.
The loss of Wallace, who was the major Irish destroyer against Samoa, will also be felt.
When international winger Simon Geoghegan made himself unavailable, Wallace was expected to take over much of the speed work.
But Burns is confident they can get things right on the day: ''Although our Five Nations campaign finished early, we did not get a chance to prepare.
''Ireland have a tour to Australia coming up and the players needed a break. But I'm sure once the competition starts the players we have will do the job.'' Unluckily for the Irish, they have been drawn in Pool B with a strong President's Seven side, containing five players from England's World Cup winning squad, and Singapore.
Defeat against the President's Seven, who also include players from Scotland and Fiji, would relegate the Irish to the Plate event.
Ireland, who are making only their second appearance in Hong Kong in their national colours, are captained by veteran sevens player Denis McBride and include internationals Paddy Johns, Brian Robinson, Alain Rolland, Eric Elwood and newcomer Alex McGowan.
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