Every night during his training camp in Dublin, after he’s finished his stretching routine on the floor of the hotel room, Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan pulls out a pen and paper.

Neil McManus knows it’s high time Cushendall’s litany of hard luck stories ended on All-Ireland semi-final day.

St Patrick, acclaimed for driving snakes out of Ireland before being adopted as the country’s national saint, is facing a crisis this year as the time approaches for his annual celebration.