Bright lights big pity ...

Some of Ireland’s finest young players have headed Down Under in search of a career as a professional sportsman. While, the allure of Sydney and Australia’s other attractions fill many a dream, the reality for Tommy Walsh, Michael Quinn, Chris McKaigue and Setanta Ó hAilpÍn also includes bouts of homesickness and a punishing schedule.

THIS is how big you can be. This is how good you can have it. This is when you can lean back some sunny afternoon, take stock of it all and tell yourself you’ve made it.

Back before Tadhg Kennelly fulfilled his destiny, popping home to pick up an All-Ireland medal as if visiting the corner shop for a sliced pan, he was amongst a group of Sydney Swans who travelled to a local Catholic girls’ school in Wollongong.