Eimear Ryan: Connecting again with the honesty and vulnerability of Nicky English

It’s often the most vulnerable parts of ourselves that allow us to truly connect and find recognition in others.

Galway manager Cyril Farrell with Nicky English of Tipperary following the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final match between Tipperary and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

In Vincent Hogan’s superb and far-ranging interview on Off the Ball this past summer, on the occasion of his stepping back from the role of chief sports writer at the Irish Independent, he reflected on four decades of sports journalism in a rapidly changing media landscape. Even while recalling the various Olympics, World Cups and Augusta Masters he has been involved in as a journalist, he maintained that hurling is king: "Can you imagine our summers without the GAA? So much colour would be rinsed out of our lives." 

A man with numerous ISBNs to his credit, he talked about his experience of co-writing biographies with various sports stars – in particular his celebrated 2006 book with Paul McGrath, Back From the Brink, but also briefly mentioning his collaborations with Henry Shefflin and Nicky English. Henry, he said, belongs in the pantheon for being "ridiculously consistently good" over time – but Nicky, along with Joe Canning and Cian Lynch, had "the ability to make time stop in the frenzy of a hurling match".