Niall Donoher: The buzz is back in Laois football

In an era of automatons on elite teams regurgitating messages that have been delivered by the PR boss via WhatsApp, it is refreshing to talk to someone who is comfortable enough in his skin to tell it as it is.

It is not too often you have heard an inter-county footballer say he didn’t expect to be in a Leinster final at the start of the year, but that’s exactly what long-serving Niall Donoher was thinking.

And he is not shy about admitting it.