Paul Geaney: It’s kill or be killed at the top

A steady chorus of criticism has soundtracked the week after the cynicism on show at the end of last Sunday’s All-Ireland final, but you won’t find Kerry’s Paul Geaney lending his voice to that tune.

Geaney was as distraught as the rest of his county colleagues at losing out to Mayo after a semi-final replay but he still dragged himself up to Croke Park last weekend to watch events unfold from the PwC box next to RTÉ’s studio.

He attended last September too. “Every day is a school day,” he explained. So he took mental notes. Ignored the sickening sensation in his stomach, and the pain involved in watching someone else lift Sam Maguire, all in the name of self-improvement.