Get on the ball and lend Alan a hand

JUST OVER a week to Christmas, a time when most inter-county hurlers and footballers are preparing to put their tired feet up and get in a little R&R, before getting back to the slog of training.

For one inter-county player, however, this Christmas is different. Alan Kerins, former dual star with Galway, winner of an All-Ireland senior football medal but now concentrating exclusively on hurling, is preparing himself for a trip of a totally different kind. A chartered physiotherapist, Alan is heading for Mongu, in Zambia, to offer his professional services for a couple of months to the Cheshire Home just outside that town.

A long way from the five-star luxury that will be enjoyed by many of his GAA colleagues in that same continent, Kerins will have his hands full.