The big interview with Jackie Tyrrell: A winner, warts and all

Jackie Tyrrell was a winner before he was ever a warrior. It took him a long time — and a lot of work with a dedicated mentor — to play with confidence in a Kilkenny jersey. Once he developed that confidence, he was willing to go to the very edge, and sometimes beyond, to stay a winner. And he didn’t care what Tipp or anyone else thought of him.

To get an idea of how Jackie Tyrrell used to rock with Kilkenny and how Jackie Tyrrell has rolled with his terrific new autobiography, his account of the first training session back after the drawn 2014 All-Ireland final is as good a snapshot as any.

The previous Sunday the Tipperary forward line had led Tyrrell and the rest of the Kilkenny backline a merry dance around Croke Park. Noel McGrath had taken Tyrrell for four points from play. In total Tipp had raided the Kilkenny backline for 1-28. By Tyrrell’s admission, it could have been 5-30.