Alan Brogan happy to be a calming presence from the bench

It’s 2002, late summer. Alan Brogan has been everywhere all championship. His emergence onto a Dublin team swaggering through Leinster under Tommy Lyons has captivated a public drawn in further by his famous dad Bernard and the bridge it builds to the glorious ’70s.

The one time he goes missing is at the Dublin media day, organised in Goblet Pub, just down the road from Parnell Park in Donnycarney. When word goes round that Brogan is in the vicinity, he bounds back down the stairs and out the door before the pack catch the scent.

Fast forward 13 years and his role has been somewhat reversed.