'He’s tailormade for Dublin': Late bloomer Tom Lahiff making up for lost time

'He’s been constantly asking people like Kevin McManamon and Billy Sheehan in the club what he could do to improve, to see how he could get into the county panel'

THEN AND NOW: Tom Lahiff, left, during his Championship debut in Dublin’s Leinster SFC quarter-final win over Westmeath earlier this month; and, right, Lahiff representing Dublin in a VHI Cúl Camps team against Kildare at the half-time break of the drawn Leinster quarter-final between Dublin and Meath in June 2007. Pictures: Sportsfile

Chunks of time pass in a flash when you find yourself down a wormhole on the Sportsfile photography website, clicking through old memories.

Type ‘Tom Lahiff’ into the search bar, for instance, and you’ll be shown 35 different images of Dublin’s newest Championship midfielder, effectively charting out his GAA journey.