Inside the pages of ‘Gooch, The Autobiography’

A sporting autobiography confirms some street truths and puts others to bed as nonsense. Tony Leen analyses the nuggets, the insights, and the revelations in Colm Cooper’s book — which is published today.

The ‘fucking animals’ interview

From the perspective of a team holiday in South Africa, few of the players sensed that Páidí Ó Sé’s remarks about Kerry supporters were a big thing. Indeed, the real story from the interview as far as they were concerned was the apparent schism between Páidí and John O’Keeffe, the team trainer. Páidí had signalled a change of tack for the following year and Johnny, who wasn’t on tour with the team, was not amused.