Just as he brought some fresh thinking to hurling as a player, Donal Óg Cusack has thankfully extended the same as a pundit.

In the lead-up to any stressful event, it helps performance significantly to take a few minutes aside and define yourself as something other than as a sportsperson or student.

Nine months on from her golden summer at the Olympics in London, and boxer Katie Taylor’s star shines ever brighter in the eyes of the adoring Irish public.

This column isn’t one to head to the bookies but in case you are, here’s one to run past them.

Brendan Devenney spent a decade trying in vain to get his hands on an Ulster medal. Now his old Donegal team-mate and fellow amateur DJ Jim McGuinness has brought the county to the promised land, sparking feelings of fierce pride — and regret.

Reading Ronan O’Gara explain the timing of his retirement in these pages the other day, it reminded us of the outlook of another Cork sporting legend on the end game.

They say the measure of you as a coach or manager is what your players honestly think of you as a man 10 years after they’ve played for you.

Frank Lampard may equal Bobby Tambling’s Chelsea scoring record today, but the bond between the Stamford Bridge legends will always be stronger than stats. Kieran Shannon spoke to the Cork-based striker about Lampard, Jimmy Greaves and the swinging sixties in West London.

He still gets blamed for Paris nearly as much as Thierry Henry, just because Roy Keane once said he should never have let that ball bounce in the penalty area.

It had to be Joe.