Present arms:

THOUGH not quite an overnight success story, at the age of 29 Dublin-based Army captain Alan Quirke has special reason to take pride in his contribution to Cork’s Munster football championship victory this season.

In doing so he made a little bit of history for the Valley Rovers club, after having first been introduced to the panel in 1999 and effectively absenting himself for almost three years due to Army commitments.

Brought in during the 1999 National League campaign, he was reserve to Kevin O’Dwyer when Cork captured the provincial title that summer. And, by and large, it had been a case of playing second fiddle in the interim period to O’Dwyer, who made his debut in 1995.