Con Houlihan - A life that enriched all of ours

Coming so soon after the death of Maeve Binchy, the death this weekend of Con Houlihan is another great loss to Irish letters, journalism, sport, and public life.

Though they used very different palettes, both were astute and provocative commentators who made us all look in the mirror, even if we might not like what we would see. Both were, however, instinctively and irredeemably positive and humane.

Maeve Binchy was rooted in urban Ireland but Con Houlihan was cut from a different cloth, most probably one in the green and gold colours of his beloved Kerry. He often used the imagery and cadences of an Ireland becoming less familiar as every year passes, but with a sophistication as sharp as it was contemporary.