Christy Ring and Cloyne: Donal Óg Cusack on the man from down the street who became the greatest

On the road to school, two statues loom on either side of the road. Christ with a cross in his hands, Christy with a hurley in his. We spent many hours praying to one to be as good as the other, writes Dónal Óg Cusack

LOCAL LADS: Dónal Óg Cusack with Diarmuid O’Sullivan under the Ring statue in Cloyne. The year was 1999, when both won their first All-Ireland with Cork.

George Berkeley, the famous philosopher and empiricist was Bishop of Cloyne from 1734 onwards.

There is a monument to him at the cathedral in Cloyne. The famous University of California, Berkeley and the city where the campus sits are named after him.