Sport the vehicle for unique social commentary

Con Houlihan was a philosopher who masqueraded as a sports journalist.

Sure, sport was his chosen métier and he was passionate about it. But he bent it to his purpose by using it as a vehicle for a form of social commentary uniquely his.

In its richness of insight, metaphor and respect for the common man (and woman), it is not an exaggerated claim to say that Con’s brand of social commentary was unmatched in the annals of Irish journalism.