Derek McGrath: The Déise driver

The English teacher is bringing new challenges to the Waterford hurlers but is learning about himself as he goes. Be less sensitive. Be truer to himself. And get the balance right between instinct and structure. Ahead of the Allianz league final, Derek McGrath offers a fascinating window to the dressing room, writes Michael Moynihan

The GAA’s best-known To Kill A Mocking Bird fan is as happy to chat about his reading list as he is about his Waterford hurlers, who play Cork in the Allianz Hurling League final tomorrow.

Derek McGrath, who teaches English at De La Salle College in Waterford, doesn’t confine himself to stories of the American South, though.