Anthony Foley: Stand up, fight on

BY ANY criteria, by any yardstick anywhere, at any time, the reaction to Anthony Foley’s tragically premature death has been extraordinary.

This afternoon, when Munster and Glasgow meet in Thomond Park, that heartfelt public sorrow and real empathy will be concentrated in a way without precedent in recent Irish history.

On Wednesday night, when Foley’s body was brought back to Limerick and passed his spiritual home, Thomond Park, for the last time, the communal expression of great sorrow, deep respect, and incomprehension at death’s random, unexpected calling was profoundly moving.