And there’s more to come...

ON MY way to Croke Park yesterday I met Michael Bond; we all know what Michael did with Offaly in 1998.

Offaly had been well beaten in the Leinster final by Kilkenny, there was a revolt by the players against manager Babs Keating after he was quoted in a newspaper article complaining about his sheep in a heap; Babs was gone, Michael came in, and the rest is history – Offaly won the All-Ireland.

To my own cost, I was part of the Clare scene that year, the famous three-game saga when the Offaly fans took over the Croke Park pitch for an afternoon, had a little revolt of their own, helped Offaly to a replay of a game which, on the field, they had lost. I suppose that’s destiny, Offaly’s name was on the McCarthy Cup long before they met and beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.